Are we moving in the right direction?
Some common plants have declined in Southern Norway, and acid rain is the most likely cause. The situation is being monitored to find out whether the trend is continuing, stopping or being reversed.
The fern oak fern is a common fern in spruce and birch woods. Oak fern has declined in the spruce woods south of Dovrefjell. Long-range transboundary pollution has resulted in acidification of the soil which again has led to a reduction of minerals in South Norway. This could be the reason for a decline of oak fern in the south. Further north, oak fern’s abundance varies.
The results are from Norway’s terrestrial monitoring programme.
Published by Directorate for Nature Management, 31.08.2009, 14:48.