MODERN POLLEN RAIN IN FINNISH LAPLAND INVESTIGATED BY ANALYSIS OF SURFACE MOSS SAMPLES.

The results of pollen analyses from ten surface moss samples collected from the different regional vegetation types of northern Finland are presented. The main features distinguishing the pollen assemblages and the trends observable in transecting the series of vegetation types are outlined and compared with the results of similar studies from elsewhere. With the aim of using the modem pollen assemblages to interpret fossil ones, a simple graphical method of classifying the boreal assemblages is given and specific limits for the forest types presented are suggested. The inability of this graph to distinguish 'tundra' assemblages is noted and additional criteria for separating out this regional type are detailed. Emphasis is also placed on the importance of having absolute pollen frequency values to supplement the relative ones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]