Abstract

Øyen, B.-H. 1997 . Furuskogene på Vestlandet og noen fellestrekk med de skotske furuskogene Blyttia 108-119.
Scots pine forests in Western Norway and some affinities with Scots pine forests in Scotland.

The Scots pine forests in Western Norway represent highly valuable natural habitats and contain timber resources in commercial demand. There has been a gradual change from a little human influence on primeval pine forests to heavy utilisation during the development of farming societies, until the present post-industrial period of consolidation, which includes small scale forestry. The history of the Scots pine in the western parts of Norway and in Scotland are similar in many ways, and shows how man has exploited the forests. The total area of pine forest in the four West Norwegian counties Rogaland, Hordaland, Sogn og Fjordane and Møre og Romsdal amounts to about 305 000 ha; half of which could be classified oceanic native pine forests. These forests are situated in the outer and middle fjord districts and include areas with boreonemoral rainforest, which Norway has a particular responsibility to attend in an European context. Oceanic pine forests in Western Norway have many similarities with forest types of Northwest Scotland. Semi-oceanic or south-boreal forests in the inner fjord districts of Western Norway resemble the Caledonian pine forests in the eastern parts of the Scottish Highlands. However, the richest pine forest vegetation types of Western Norway, basiphilous and herb rich pine forest, seem to have no corresponding pine forest communities in Scotland.

Bernt-Håvard Øyen, Norsk institutt for skogforskning – Bergen, Fanaflaten 4, N-5047 Fana.
E-mail: bernt-havard.oyen@nisk.no.

Blyttia 56(2)
Blyttias hjemmeside
Lagt ut 26.1.1999 Jan Wesenberg