Modern Pollen Deposition in the Athabasca Valley, Jasper National Park

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Abstract
Surface pollen spectra collected along 2 altitudinal transects near Jasper, Alberta, Canada, are used to describe modern pollen-vegetation relationships in the Athabasca Valley. All pollen samples are dominated by conifer pollen, but the representation of Pinus, Picea and Abies pollen in individual spectra closely parallels the canopy dominance of each tree in major forest zones of the area. High percentages of Picea and Abies pollen (averages of 17% and 9%, respectively), are diagnostic of subalpine forest associations with Ericaceae pollen prominent at timberline. Spectra of the montane forest are distinctive in the almost exclusive occurrence of Pinus pollen, approaching 90% in most areas. Alpine tundra, however, shows poor resolution in the pollen rain and may only be tentatively separated from the other vegetation zones on the basis of low Gramineae values (average, 3%) and sporadic traces of Dryas and Caryophyllaceae. Regression analysis of ratios between principal conifer pollen types and elevation provides simple functions for quantitatively reconstructing the past upward or downward movement of vegetation in the fossil pollen record. However, interpretation of vegetation shifts indicated by fossil pollen ratios is usually not straightforward and must be compared with local macrofossil and charcoal records to avoid misleading results.