Part I: Introduction, Numerical Overview, and Data-Sets -- Part II: Numerical Methods for the Analysis of Modern and Stratigraphical Palaeolimnological Data -- Part III: Numerical Methods for the Analysis of Stratigraphical Palaeolimnological Data -- Part IV: Case Studies and Future Developments in Quantitative Palaeolimnology.

Numerical and statistical methods have rapidly become part of a palaeolimnologist’s tool-kit. They are used to explore and summarise complex data, reconstruct past environmental variables from fossil assemblages, and test competing hypotheses about the causes of observed changes in lake biota through history. This book brings together a wide array of numerical and statistical techniques currently available for use in palaeolimnology and other branches of palaeoecology.