Fróðskaparrit - 01.01.2004, Blaðsíða 237

HÆDDARÚTBREIÐSLA AV PLANTUSAMFELØGUM í FØROYUM
235
Conclusion
In this study, it was possible to define three
significant vegetation zones in the Faroe
Islands. Older studies have defined similar
vegetation zones (Bocher, 1937; Hansen,
1972), but showed different altitudinal lim-
itations. We find the temperate vegetation
to have an upper limit at 200 m a.s.l., com-
pared to 300 m a.s.l. in older studies, while
the lower limit for the alpine zone in this
study is found to be at 400 m a.s 1., com-
pared to 500 m a.s.l. in previous studies.
This study has thus provided us with new
information on the altitudinal distribution
of vegetation in the Faroe Islands, which
can be used as a framework for future study
of climate change.
Acknowledgements
I would like to acknowledge Martin T. Sykes and Jonas
L. Lawesson (t) for reading previous versions of this
paper and Magnus Gaard and Erla Olsen for assistance
with the fieldwork. This paper is a part of the project:
Vegetation zones in relation to some climatic parameters
on some Faroese mountains, which is partly funded by
the Danish Research Council (the North Atlantic Pro-
gramnte) and tlie Faroese Museum of Natural History.
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