Notes from Norway

[Hoy]

Haukelifjell - main road between Oslo and Haugesund (and also to Bergen and Stavanger) crosses this plateau.

Mixed spruce and birch forest. It is easy to see in this autumn picture.





Typical "forest" at the coast. Few trees grows here naturally. It is not the climate but the use of the land that keeps trees away. But after WW1 much have been planted. Sitka spruce is much used for that and it self seeds everywhere (picture).

[Robert]

Trond,

Several years ago my wife and I watched some Swedish movies. One was about a Norwegian farmer. All the scenery of the countryside showed the spruce/pine or spruce/birch type forest, much like your photographs. These images and my idea that Southwestern Norway might be like Southeastern Alaska gave me the perception that there would be much more forested land in Norway, especially the southern coast.

For me it is surprising to learn that the southern coast has very few trees. May it have been thickly forested in the long distant past? And I have to wonder why the use of Sitka Spruce? Yes, it does thrive in Southeastern Alaska, but are there not conifers native to the coastal areas? Would they be a better choice? If the forest are somewhat gone, may there have been many other species of plants at one time and they are gone now too?

Maybe too many questions, so please do not feel you have to answer any of them. It is all very very fascinating for me. I definitely appreciate you posting the photographs.

I wonder how many understand that a "thing" (not spoken as in English) was a sort of tribunal used the keep the ancient blood feuds from getting completely out of control? I do not think that I would like to have Eric the Red / Eric Blood Ax or his children as neighbors, although Leif seems like he might have been okay. I definitely would not want to mess with his sister!     

[Hoy]

Robert,

spør i vei!    Just ask and I will try to answer the best I can. Hope my English is understandable

The spruce is in most places a rather new immigrant to Norway. It is 3 sources (at least), In north (Pasvik) it is a form sometimes considered another species coming from east. Most trees in southeast Norway (up to Trøndelag) come from east during the last 2000 years. It has not reached the western ends of the eastern valleys yet, and not the west coat where it grows fast when planted. The 3. source was maybe a refugium in the North sea during the glaciation. Some of the north-westernmost trees in S Norway has a different genetic fingerprint than the majority.

The natural forests along the coast are pine and hardwood. But the western coast has been inhabited since the glaciation ended and forests never developed in many populated areas. It is trees of course, and some pine forests but the land was intensely used as pastures. To keep the pastures productive they were burnt regularly.

Once Sweden was a big power and they wanted to be independent in all ways - so Mr Carl Nilsson Linnæus (Carl von Linné) wanted to grow all the Worlds cultivated plants in Swedish soil. He believed he could train them to grow in all conditions. So his students went abroad and sent all kind of plants home to Sweden.

Have to stop, will continue

[Hoy]

This idea also spread to Norway where a society was established (I think it was the one named Selskabet for Norges Vel). Anyway a large scale tree planting started mid 19th century. Timber was big business in Norway and they aimed to increase the productivity. A lot of foreign species (mostly conifers) were tried and eventually planted. Now it is a lot of forests consisting of foreign species, especially at the west coast. Today many are black listed!

[Robert]

Trond,

In one of the Swedish movies, they filmed from the border of Sweden - Norway to somewhere near the west coast of Norway (it was not stated). Near the border it appeared as if all the conifers had been planted in rows (like what we see in the U.S.A. in certain areas). In other areas it appeared that the conifers had grown naturally. The scenery was not the subject of the film, however the trees looked very much like Spruce.

I had thought of Southwestern Norway as being like Southeastern Alaska. From your information it is clear that, although the climatic conditions are somewhat similar, there are climatic differences too. Southeastern Alaska basically does not have hardwood trees. There are Bigleaf Maple (Acer macrophyllum), and maybe a few others, however Sitka Spruce and other conifers are dominant. The ocean currents must keep Southern Norway much warmer to support some hardwoods such as Oak, Linden, etc.

This is all extremely interesting to me. Thank you for answering my questions.

[Hoy]

Robert,

when they cut down the forest they are obliged to plant. A certain amount of the profit has to be used especially for replanting. Those plants are usually in rows unless it is more favorable to put the plants otherwise.

You know, Norway (150,000 sq miles incl the islands) is almost as big as California (158,000 sq miles) but probably cover more climatic differences.

Yes, Norway is warmer than expected from the latitude but that doesn't mean it is hot here!

[Hoy]

Now to the sea level - Kragerø archipelago in Telemark, 58.9N (a little north of Juneau, Alaska!).

Most islands here are solid rock polished by the glacier some time ago

Typical pine forest on Oterøy (where I have my summerhouse).




Some islands, particularly Jomfruland is mostly sand. Beneath the layer of sand is a layer of blue clay. The island is a terminal moraine. This little wood is black alder (Alder glutinosa) but the forest of the island is a mixture of many species.




The island Stråholmen is a mixture of sand and rock.

[Hoy]

Sea of sea lavender (Limonium humile).






Sea kale (Crambe maritima). Bleached it tastes not bad.





With a moist summer and enough food (rotting seaweeds) this beggarticks (Bidens tripartita) has grown huge. Normally they are smaller out here.

[Hoy]

Rocky shores and cold water!




Sea rocket



It looks like this:




Sea holly (Eryngium maritimum) is a rare and endangered plant here.

[Hoy]

Sea mayweed (Tripleurospermum maritimum) is all along the shore. It starts early but this year it is still in flower now due to the moist summer.




Thornapple (Datura stramonium) has naturalized along the sandy shores.




Compact rush (Juncus conglomeratus) and milk parsley (Peucedanum palustre).




Bullrush (Typha latifolia) has found a home in a very small pond. The pond is a pothole.




Purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria).

[Hoy]

The bedrock is shaped by ice and running water which have created potholes and other structures. The lichen is Xanthoria sp.










A grazed meadow. Yarrow (Achillea millefolium), brown knapweed (Centaurea jacea) and burnet-saxifrage (Pimpinella saxifraga) are left.

[Robert]

Trond,

The coast seems a beautiful and open land for the most part. The polished rocks with the lichen are beautiful.

Thank you for the names and locations. I does help me map things out so I get an idea of what is where.

It appears that I am out of service for a while. Far too ill the get out, except to work (not very fun  ), at least I can enjoy your outings and other postings on the forum.

[ashley]

Very sorry to hear you're unwell Robert.  I hope you recover soon.

Interesting photos and notes Trond.  Does Mertensia maritima grow along these coasts, or is it localised as in northern Iceland?

[Hoy]

Robert,

Hope you recover soon!

I'll bring a few more pictures soon

[Hoy]

Ashley,

Martensia maritima is very rare around here. I have seen it once on the mainland not far from Stråholmen. It is a species with a more northerly distribution. It is more common in the north of Norway and even at Svalbard where I did see it in 2013.

Mertensia maritima, Svalbard: