The Vanishing Old Growth Forests of Norway
4/1/98
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Title: The Vanishing Old Growth Forests of Norway
Source: Taiga News
Status: Contact source for reprint permissions
Date: 4/1/98
From Taiga-News no 24
The vanishing old-growth forests of Norway
Norway is one of the richest countries in the world. It has no financial debts
and petroleum revenues are expected to reach approximately US$30,000 million by
the year 2000. Yet, within the boreal forest region Norway has the poorest
record of old-growth forests protection, despite having the greatest diversity
of rare forest-types. Rein Midteng, of the Norwegian Society for the
Conservation of Nature and FoE-Norway, reviews the situation.
Most people associate Norway with ice and mountains. Whilst there are certainly
present, Norway is also home to some of the most remarkable forests in Europe.
In the south the country is divided by a mountain range going in a north/south
direction. The mixture of rough topography, humid coasts and the long
geographical extension, is the main reason for its wide variety in forest-
types. There are five main forest ecosystems in need of protection:
1. Western pine forests with large amounts of deciduous trees
2. Coastal rainforests
3. Humid canyon and swamp-forests in south-east
4. The most northern pine forests in the world
5. Hemi-deciduous forests
The Western Pine Forests and Pine/Deciduous Forests
Like many other countries with boreal forests, spruce, pine and birch make
up the majority of Norwegian forests. Spruce, however, is not found naturally
in the western parts of the country (Vestlandet) due to the dividing mountain
range. Consequently, this region is a centre of diversity and has some species
not found elsewhere in Europe. The pine forests occupy all the productivity
classes including the most productive ones. In other places in Scandinavia
these productivity classes are dominated by spruce. This, in combination with
very high humidity and a high concentration of deciduous-trees, makes these
forests an excellent habitat for rare species such as whitebacked woodpecker
(Dendrocopos leucotos). In large parts of Vestlandet this species is by far the
most common woodpecker, with a population estimated to be close to 1,500 pairs.
Others threatened species on a European level, which are still quite common
here, are the white-tailed sea eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla) (Norway has more
than 50 per cent of the European population), grey-headed woodpecker (Picus
canus) and species of lichens and mosses that are threatened elsewhere in
Europe such as Usnea fragilescens, Collema leptaleum and Lobaria virens.
Only about 1 per cent of these forests are in confirmed protection programmes,
whilst about 20 per cent of region's pine/deciduous forests have been
transferred into monocultures of exotic species. This trend is continuing due
to subsidies from the Agriculture Department. Road building and logging are
also heavily subsidised in the steep terrain threatening the remote old-growth
forests. With its fjords, glaciers, steep hills and old-growth forests this
area is Norway's equivalent of British Columbia.
The Coastal Rainforest (Boreal Rainforests)
Central Norway (the counties of Tr"ndelag and southern Nordland), has very
humid weather due to cold wet summers and snowy winters. Spruce thrives in
these conditions and grows all the way to the Atlantic ocean. This, in
combination with old-growth forests, results in the main European distribution
of more than 40 species of lichens being located here. Examples are
Pseudocyphellaria crocata, Phanara ahleri, Ramalina thrausta and Lobaria
hallii.
These temperate rainforests are located between 0-200 metres above sea level,
which makes them very productive and thus very threatened by clearcutting. It
is estimated that more than 95 per cent of these forests have disappeared since
the introduction of clearcutting in the 1930s. Several species may have
disappeared. One example is Erioderma pedicellatum. The remaining fragments of
this forests were surveyed between 1993-1996. The result was depressing. Only
2000 ha. were left, which is only 0.5 per cent of the productive forest cover
in the distribution area for the rainforests.
Only four small areas of these forests are protected. Even in Europe's richest
country it is not possible to protect all the small remaining fragments of
forest due to insufficient protection programmes. Many areas with highly
threatened species will be left to the fate of commercial forestry.
The Canyon and Humid Spruce-Forests
In central southern Norway (Oppland and Buskerud counties), long deep valleys
(Gudbrandsdalen, Valdres etc) provide excellent conditions for rare vascular
plants and lichens. The dense wet forests are dominated by spruce but also have
a large amount of deciduous trees. Good examples of internationally threatened
lichens are: Chaenotheca cinerrea, Heterodermia spociliosa and Evernia
divericata. The only other habitats of vascular plants such as Cystocpteris
sudetica and Clematis sibirica are in Russia. Further south, one of the most
highlighted species in the Scandinavian old-growth forest debate, the lichen
Usnea longissima, is located in 300-400 localities on between 10-20,000 trees
in the Oslo-Toten-Lillehammer region. This area of humid old-growth spruce
forests also contains other threatened species such as Bryoria bicolor, Bryoria
nadovikerna and Ramalina thrausta.
Only a few of these valuable forests are protected. Environmentalists fear that
the situation will not improve following the implementation of the new
protection programme. Several areas are threatened by clearcutting and road
building. Recently, the area with the biggest European population of Usnea
longissima, an area of 2,000 ha in Fiskelausen (Toten area) which has more than
1,000 trees with the lichen, was taken off the list for proposed protection
areas. The reason for this decision was that the area was too big, and
therefore would take too much of the quota. This shows how critical the
situation is.
The World's most Northerly Pine Forests
The world's most northern pine forests are in Finnmark county. Small areas of
pine forest are found in sheltered bays along the coast all the way up to the
Arctic ocean. But inland, in the Pasvik and Porsanger regions, these forests
can dominate the landscape. The forests do not harbour any particularly rare
species due to the harsh climate, but their remoteness and size means that they
do provide good living conditions for area-dependent species like Siberian jay
(Perisoreus infaustus), golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos), three-toed woodpecker
(Picoides tridactylus), Siberian tit (Parus cinctus) and others. These are the
true wilderness forests of Norway.
These eastern localities are a part of the green belt of Fennoscandia. About 8
per cent of these forests are, or will be, protected, meaning that the
protection situation is better for this area than for the rest of the Norwegian
forest estate. However, some of the largest areas will probably not be included
in the authorities plans due to the small protection quota. The main threats to
these areas are clearcutting, road building and pollution from Russia.
Hemiboreal Deciduous Forests in the South
Recently, there were discovered in the southern Norway (in Vestfold, Agder and
Telemark), small areas of old-growth forests with large amounts of dead-wood
and many rare and endangered species, in particular of fungi and insects
dependent on large trees of oak, aspen, lime, elm, ash and maple. The discovery
caused quite a sensation since previously such old trees with many threatened
species were only known from old cultural landscapes. Due to the rough
topography, these old-growth forests have survived.
This Norwegian forest-type, where the hemiboreal and boreal forests elements
meets, has the largest number of threatened species. Insect fauna is
particularly rich. Several highly endangered species, on a European level, are
found in these forests. Despite this none of these forests are protected.
Hopefully the most valuable ones will receive protection in the protection-
programme.
Old-growth Protection
In June 1996, the Norwegian Parliament decided to protect 12,000 ha. of
productive old-growth. The areas to be included in the decision are currently
being decided. In addition to areas currently protected, 1.06 per cent of
Norway's productive old-growth are or will be protected by the year 2000. The
problem is that there are many more valuable old-growth forest than this.
The authorities have in previous and new registrations documented about 100,000
ha of unprotected productive old-growth. But due to the decision to protect
only 12,000 ha, only 30,000 of this 100,000 ha area were chosen for the
authority's "bruttolister". The bruttolister is a tentative list of areas to be
protected, from which the 12,000 ha which will actually receive protection are
chosen. Just after the protection programme was passed by the parliament, 4,000
ha of the allocated 12,000 ha was immediately used to protect western pine
forests meaning that only a maximum area of 8,000 ha is left. The areas on the
bruttolist will be discussed, and narrowed down, at local/regional hearings in
1998/99. The remaining areas will be discussed at a national hearing in 1999
which will reduce the list to the required 8,000 ha, to receive protection in
year 2000. The destiny of the 22,000 superfluous hectares is likely to be
commercial forestry. All together then, about 88,000 ha of productive old-
growth which has been registered and found valuable for protection by Norwegian
authorities, will not be protected.
NSNC/FoE-Norway have documented that several of these areas have already been
destroyed. The authorities signalled when the protection programme was passed
that there will be more old-growth protection after 2000, but it has not been
decided how much and when. Meanwhile will the areas that could be protected
continue to be destroyed by commercial forestry operations? Norwegian
authorities are quick to criticise countries such as Brazil for their
destruction of rainforests - but at the same time they are not able to protect
the small fragments of the remaining old-growth forests of Norway. More
attention to these problems are necessary both in Norway and abroad. It is
estimated that most of the remaining old-growth forests will be gone within the
next 5 years. Norway has the money, but lacks the will to stop this devastating
process.
For more information: e-mail: u971841@studbo.hit.no. Address: sagatun 3810
Gvarv, Norway. Phone: +47 35955252 or FoE-Norway, Hammersborg Torg, box 6891,
St.Olavs plass 0130, Norway. Phone +47 22993300 e-mail: naturvarn@sn.no