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The ongoing loss of red‐listed coastal heathlands is a threat to biodiversity and cultural heritage legacies throughout the Atlantic coastal regions of Europe. It is possible to restore degraded and afforested heathlands, but restoration interventions are often labour‐intensive and costly, and the outcome of specific restoration actions are not well documented. We assess the efficiency of restoring coastal heathlands through natural succession (i.e. 'passive restoration') after removal of Sitka spruce Picea sitchensis (Bong.) Carr. plantations. The study was replicated on two neighbouring islands in a nature reserve in Western Norway. Low‐intensity free‐range sheep grazing was implemented as part of the reserve management plan. Furthermore, we tested the effect of leaving the clear‐felled woody material as chips on site, this being a cost‐efficient strategy on islands. Succession was monitored 1, 2, 4/5 and 8 years after clear‐felling, and revegetation of vascular plants and bryophytes was compared to target heathland vegetation. Surprisingly, we found different successional trajectories on the two islands. Species composition on one island approached target heathland vegetation during succession, but not on the other. Wood chips reduced species richness and slowed the restoration process, but these negative effects were only short‐term (<8 years). Differences in seed bank composition and soil conditions due to land use may explain the deviating successional trajectories on the two islands. We also found that management actions beyond clear‐felling and introducing sheep grazing are necessary due to the rapid seed regeneration of the Sitka spruce. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the relationship between the species composition of lichen and vascular plant species with microtopography at fine scale. We conducted our study in Hardengervidda National Park, Norway. Specifically, we aim to test whether the species richness of different plant life-forms peaks at middle of the microtopography gradient, and then explain the observed patterns with an aid of snow cover gradient along microtopography and snow cover. We sampled 69 species of vascular plants and lichens in 151 plots of 4 m2 along 23 transects during summer on Tronsbu, Sandhaug and Besso. Detrended correspondence analysis (DCA) was performed to explore how microtopographical gradient was related to the variation in the species composition. One-way ANOVA was performed to test the microtopographic variability in species richness. Afterwards, generalized linear model (GLM) was used to reveal species richness patterns along the snow cover gradient. The first axis in DCA represents the complex gradient from snow free ridge to wet snowbed habitats and the second axis represents a gradient from acidic to calcareous sites. Lichens species richness is greater in ridge than in snowbeds, while all other life forms follow the opposite trend. Species richness for total plant species, vascular plant species and herbaceous plant species increased with increase in weighted average snow indicator value (WASI), whilst species richness for lichen species declined substantially towards the maximum WASI value. In contrast, species richness for dwarf shrub species showed a unimodal relationship with WASI. This study shows that liquid water availability provides a good potential explanation for species composition and richness in mountains, which is controlled by snow cover and prevalent wind direction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wild reindeer have a range that extends across the circumpolar region. In the last few decades, however, populations of wild reindeer have been on the decline. The reasons for these declines are poorly understood, but are suggested to be linked to both local and global climatic factors, disease, and human interference. Hardangervidda plateau in Norway is home to the largest wild reindeer population in Europe, and is at the southern end of its European range. This population is therefore of particular importance, particularly in the light of climate change. We investigated how weather and hunting have affected the wild reindeer population in Hardangervidda over the last two decades. Our findings suggest that the wild reindeer population in Hardangervidda is most affected by winter temperature and hunting, where colder temperatures and lower harvest rates typically result in higher growth rates. We did not find significant evidence for linear density dependence. Our results show trends across Hardangervidda, and give an indication of how region‐wide weather and hunting pressure can affect the wild reindeer population. As new data emerge, future investigations should look into the existence and nature of density dependence and the influence of other weather and human disturbance related factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]