Surface Pollen deposition in arctic-alpine environments, Scandinavia

The relationship between vegetation and surface pollen deposition is complex and still poorly understood. Many factors affect pollen deposition including the quantity of pollen produced which varies from species to species, the distance that individual pollen grains are transported before being deposited and the nature of the collecting surface.

This project looks at surface pollen deposition on 26 glacier forelands in Norway by comparing pollen deposited in moss polsters with the local vegetation. The results reveal that the majority of pollen spectra are dominated by tree pollen that is likely to have been transported many kilometres before being deposited. Nevertheless, using sophisticated multivariate analysis techniques, it is possible to distinguish contrasting plant communities and to gain insights into patterns of pollen deposition. These results can be compared to Holocene pollen diagrams to improve our interpretation of past changes in vegetation.