Mutivariate numerical analyses of surface pollen studies from a range of glacier forelands in Jostedalsbreen and Jotunheirnen, southern Norway, are used as a basis for comparison with four Holocene pollen profiles from the same area. Four vegetation groups were defined for three regions within the area using two-way indicator species analysis (TWINSPAN). Modem pollen data from the sites in these groups were then analysed using detrended correspondence analysis (DCA) to establish their pollen assemblage characteristics. The Holocene data were then added to the analysis and DCA repeated to examine the correspondence of modern and sub-fossil pollen assemblages. In general, the results showed very little direct overlap between Holocene and modem assemblages. The limited occurrences of analogous samples is believed to be a feature not only of changing vegetation structures but also due to the methodology adopted, especially the comparison of moss polster results from ''dry'' glacier foreland sites with predominantly bog profiles which were often characterised by high counts for Cyperaceae. Modem foreland samples were most similar to samples from a buried arctic-alpine Brown Soil from Memurubreen. It is suggested that modem sampling over a much smaller spatial area utilising more comparable sampling media would be likely to improve the level of correspondence between the modem and Holocene samples. Nevertheless the analyses illustrated the potential of the overall approach for improving the explanation of Holocene vegetation and climatic changes, and indicated the limited occurrence of direct analogues for Holocene plant communities in the present flora represented on glacier forelands.
