Modern pollen assemblages from mown and grazed vegetation types in western Norway

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The aim of this study was to investigate pollen–vegetation relationships on a local scale and to identify grazed and mown vegetation types by their pollen assemblages. Vegetation frequency analysis and pollen analysis of surface moss polsters from grazed and mown vegetation types in western Norway were carried out. Five one-square-metre plots within 10×10 m plots from 36 different sites were investigated using classification (TWINSPAN, DISCRIM) and ordination (correspondence analysis, canonical correspondence analysis) methods. The pollen assemblages reflected the local vegetation and there was good agreement between the classifications and ordinations of the two data sets. This agreement occurred despite both the inclusion of extralocal and regional pollen and the low representation of entomophilous species affecting the pollen assemblages. Gradients were found in the pollen assemblages relating to land-use practices as well as geographical regions. Pollen assemblages from heath were separated from the other investigated vegetation types and characterized by high percentages of Calluna. A pollen-analytical separation of mown meadows from grazed sites was identified, whereas a separation between mown meadows and grazed sites which had previously been mown was found to be unclear. Plantago lanceolata, Rumex acetosa type, Ranunculus acris type, and Asteraceae Cichorioideae were common in both mown and grazed vegetation types. Galium type, Cirsium type, and Succisa were more associated with grazing than mowing, whereas the opposite was true for e.g. Achillea type, Alchemilla, and Conopodium majus type and several pollen types were connected with the mown meadows. The modern pollen assemblages from mown and grazed vegetation types may aid in the identification of past hay meadows and pastures from local pollen diagrams.