Fróðskaparrit - 31.12.2000, Qupperneq 37

A Review of Plant Communities
of the Faroe Islands
41
Eitt yvirlit yvir føroysk plantusamfeløg
Anna Maria Fosaa
Faroese Museum of Natural History, Debesartrøð, FO-IOO Tórshavn, Faroe Islands, E-mail: anmarfos@ngs.fo
Úrtak
Gróðurin í Føroyum er sera nógv ávirkaður av seyðabiti
og torvskurði. Soleiðis ber neyvan til at tosa um
“natúrligan” gróður nakrastaðni uttan á støðum, ið ikki
eru atkomulig hjá seyði. Fjallagróðurin er fyrst og
fremst grámosi, nakað av kavadeldargróðri, har kavin
verður liggjandi leingi, og eyrslættagróðri. Heiðalyngur
er vanligur á láglendi í flestu oyggjunum. Heiðagróðurin
er sera blandadur - við mongum grøsum, urtum og
mosum. Nógv tann vanligasti vøksturin í Føroyum er
graslendi, ið er at finna frá sjóvarmála til fjallatind. Trý
sløg av mýrulendi eru í Føroyum; hesi eru lendisgjørd
mýra, tilrenningarmýra og regnmýra. Hámosar eru
eingir. Størsti parturin av strondini er berg við fáum
sandstrondum og síðlendum. Mølheyggjar eru bara á
einum stað.
Abstract
The vegetation of the Faroe Islands is heavily grazed by
sheep and affected by peat cutting. So-called “natural”
vegetation, therefore, can only be found in inaccessible
places. Racomitrium heaths, some snow-bed vegetation
in areas with late-lying snow, and fell-field vegetation
dominate the alpine vegetation. Calluna heaths are
common in the lowlands on most of the islands. The
heath vegetation is very mixed with many grasses, herbs
and mosses. The most dominant vegetation in the Faroe
Islands is grassland vegetation, found from sea level to
mountaintop. Three types of mires are found in the
Faroe Islands, topogenic, soligenic, and ombrogenic.
Raised bogs are not found. Most parts of the Faroese
coastline consist of more or less vertical cliffs with a few
sand beaches and salt marshes. Sand đunes are found in
only one place.
Introduction
The vegetation of the Faroe Islands has
been of interest to botanists since the 18th
century and is relatively well documented.
Most of the investigations, however, are re-
stricted to qualitative descriptions and lists
of species from various vegetation types
and localities (Svabo, 1781-1782; Landt,
1800; Trevelyan 1837; Rostrup, 1870;
Børgesen and Ostenfeld, 1896; Ostenfeld,
1897; 1899; 1902). Warming (1901-1908)
edited the publication Botany of the
Faeroes /-///, which contains the results of
botanical investigations made in the Faroe
Islands during 1895-1900. Among other
contributors to this work are Ostenfeld,
who described phanerogams, pteridophytes
and phytoplankton; Jensen, who described
bryophytes (see also Jensen, 1896); Ros-
trup, who described fungi; Deichmann
Branth, who described lichens; Dahlstedt,
who dealt with the genus Hieracium; and
Warming, who summarised biological in-
vestigations and ecological perspectives.
In 1934, Ostenfeld and Grontved pub-
lished a flora from Iceland and the Faroe Is-
lands, and, in 1936, Rasmussen published
the first Faroese flora and a second revised
Fróðskaparrit 48. bók 2001: 41-54