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Thank you Hans Kerp

Since 1994 till 2018 Hans Kerp was editor-in-chief of the Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology. The first 5 volumes of the Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology (RPP) were published in 1967 with the proceedings of the second International Conference of Palynology held in Utrecht in 1966 (the IOP did not exist at that time, and Palaeobotany was included in the conference). In the beginning RPP was a ‘Utrecht-based’ journal with the first three editors-in-chief originating from the Laboratory of Palaeobotany and Palynology (Arie Manten, Wim Punt and Hans Kerp), but the editorial board itself was very international. In the early years, the journal mainly contained articles in the fields of systematic palaeobotany and palynology, with additional attention for stratigraphic palynology and pollen morphology; marine palynology was not yet well developed during those years. During the 24 years that Hans Kerp was the editor-in-chief, the journal expanded into an international, highly regarded journal with an innovative and interdisciplinary approach and papers ranging from marine palynomorphs to higher landplants. Subjects such as evolution, taphonomy, palaeoenvironment, and vegetation history became an integrated part of the journal as well. This resulted in the appointment of two extra editors-in-chief, as Hans could not deal with all these subjects. His main interest was with palaeobotany and he edited numerous contributions in that field. He sometimes spent days correcting language issues and he, being a very good photographer, was always very focused on excellent illustrations. The transition to a digital journal was in that respect also a problem that he managed to solve.

Hans, many thanks for all your work for this important journal in our palaeobotanical world.

Johanna van Konijnenburg-van Cittert (Leiden)