Research interests
I am a palynologist, so I enjoy having a look into everything that contains pollen, in particular soil and honey, or every topic that is somehow related to pollen such as climate change and food quality assurance, especially where pollination plays a commercial role, for instance sexual reproduction of plants with economic values (e.g. Glycyrrhiza glabra).
I use a variety of methods including coring in the lakes and forests, pollen trapping, conventional microscopic palynology, metabarcoding and data analyses to answer my research questions.
The projects I work are:
(click on the links for details)- Long-term vegetation dynamics along altitudinal and longitudinal gradients in the Hyrcanian forest region (northern Iran) and the role of climate, sea level change, fire and anthropogenic impacts during the late Quaternary (ongoing)
- Using the biological and chemical diversity in Iranian honey for successful beekeeping and bee care
- Economic revival of Iranian licorice (ERIL), from farm to market (future)