Stora Alvaret
| Agricultural landscape of southern Öland | |
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UNESCO world heritage 
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| Stora Alavaret |
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| National territory: |
 Sweden
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| Type: | Culture |
| Criteria : | (iv) (v) |
| Surface: | 56,323 hectares |
| Reference No .: | 968 |
| UNESCO region : | Europe |
| History of enrollment | |
| Enrollment: | 2000 (session 24) |
The Stora Alvaret (German meaning: Great Alvar ) is an Alvar on a limestone plateau in the south of the island of Öland ( Sweden ).
meaning
Stora Alvaret is the largest Alvar area in the world and represents a quarter of the world's existing Alvar area. The Alvar is located on an Ordovician limestone subsoil. It is one of the last natural karst landscapes in Europe. The Stora Alvaret was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site on November 30, 2000 with the surrounding area as an agricultural landscape in southern Öland and may therefore no longer be changed. In the summer, the animals of the Öland farmers are driven to the Alvar and only picked up in the autumn, similar to the alpine pastures in the mountains. The area is designated as a Natura 2000 area .
location
The area begins about south of the place Färjestaden . It is about 40 km long and 10 km wide and covers an area of about 26,000 hectares (260 km²) the entire inner southern part of Öland and thus about a quarter of the island. Three west-east running streets lead through the Stora Alvaret. Between Kastlösa and Skärlöv a railway line crossed the Alvar at times. The railway embankment on the line that was closed in 1961 is now used as a cycling and hiking trail. The Alvar itself is largely uninhabited, but peppered with prehistoric monuments ( Röse von Gösslunda ). Gösslunda is a small village that is completely surrounded by the Alvar. On the edges of the Stora Alvaret there are several small villages such as Albrunna , Frösslunda , Hulterstad , Kastlösa, Mysinge , Triberga and Vickleby .
In the middle of the Stora Alvaret is the Möckelmossen , a very shallow Alvar lake , which is created by rain and snowmelt and usually disappears completely in summer. Its extent changes after every rainfall and the riparian zones are mostly wet marshland. Other wetlands are the Bårbykärret and Kvarnkärret on the western edge of the Alvar , the Dröstorpmossen and Södra utmossen in the northern part , the Triberga-Alby-mosse and Frösslundamossen on the eastern side and Stormaren in the south . The Stora Alvaret is traversed by some smaller rivers such as the Frösslundabäcken , Penåsabäcken and the Torpbrobäcken .
Characteristic of the Stora Alvaret are the stone walls running through the area, which separate the various pastures from each other. A large number of wooden stairs enable pedestrians to overcome the walls. The central wall runs through the Alvar from north to south. In the extreme south of the Alvar is the historic royal hunting wall Karl X Gustafs mur .
Appearance
Due to its diverse geological and botanical differentiations, the Alvar is by no means the monotonous landscape that it initially presents itself to the untrained eye. Since the end of the 19th century, this landscape, which constantly offers the artist's eye new visual stimuli as the seasons and weather conditions change, has attracted numerous painters and served as a model for them.
From horizon to horizon you can see a wide plain without human dwellings, speckled with individual bushes - above all the ever-expanding juniper ( Juniperus communis ), the dog rose ( Rosa canina ), the double-fluted hawthorn ( Crataegus laevigata ) and the sloe ( Prunus spinosa ) - as well as solitary low and wind-ruffled trees - Swedish whitebeam ( Sorbus intermedia ), ash ( Fraxinus excelsior ), Scots pine ( Pinus sylvestris ) and birch ( Betula sps. ). Here and there boulders left behind by the glaciers of the Ice Age . Kilometers of waist-high ramparts criss-cross the terrain in a straight line, made up of head-sized, rounded, lichen-covered granite blocks and flat limestone slabs, the former with a completely different lichen growth than the latter, and these always speckled with two different crusty lichen, the bright white Aspicilia calcarea and the coal-black Placynthium nigrum . In the 19th century, the outskirts of Alvar used these walls to mark the sectors within which they drove their cattle and sheep, and occasionally horses, to the barren pasture of the Alvar from spring to autumn.
history
The oldest evidence of human settlements in southern Öland, which can still be seen today, comes from around 6000 to 4000 years before the beginning of our era. Only two to three thousand years earlier, the ice of the last Ice Age had cleared the area. The island rose from the sea, freed from the heavy ice. While bushes and trees grew on the bank walls and in areas of deeper soil, the Stora Alvaret was probably largely free of forests when the region was first settled. Pine and birch groves are only likely to have been found in some places.
For the younger Stone Age in the period between 4000 and 1800 years before the beginning of the era, efforts can be demonstrated to use some soils of the Alvar for agriculture. Clearance and fire clearance should enable the cultivation of grain in areas where soils were present at a significant depth. In the Bronze Age , the use of the barren Alvar soils increased significantly. Above all, livestock farming and the need for wood consumed the soil. This situation peaked in the Iron Age . The remains of a particularly large settlement can still be found east of the village of Gårdstorp . Rows of stones that represent the remains of enclosures extend over several kilometers. The foundations of more than 30 houses and burial mounds can also be found. It is believed that overuse of the soil led to people abandoning their settlements around AD 500.
It was only about 500 years later that the Alvar began to be used more intensively. The number of grazing animals and the population increased again, but decreased again after a while.
Bjornflisan
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Bjornflisan
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Bjornflisan
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Björnflisan (Oil 25) is the only known rune stone in the Stora Alvaret. It is named after a bear. The light red limestone stone is 120 cm high, 80 cm wide and 20 cm thick. The runes are badly weathered and overgrown with salt lichen. The vertical rows of runes in the middle of the stone show traces of red paint. One is read from bottom to top, the other from top to bottom. The rune height is 12–13 cm.
In 1741 Carl von Linné also visited the Stora Alvaret during his Öland trip and described the unusual flora and fauna of the Alvar. In the 18th and 19th centuries there was a significant increase in population on Öland. Almost twice as many people lived on the island as at the beginning of the 21st century. Once again, the Alvar was used more extensively by grazing and clearing the forest groves. As a result, the Alvar was almost entirely without trees or bushes in the 19th century. In addition to the extensive grazing, the need for firewood and brushwood, especially in the poorer parts of the population, was the cause.
The village of Dröstorp in the northern part of the Stora Alvaret , which became desolate again at the end of the 19th century, is an example of the temporary uses of even the most difficult soils . Other desert areas are Penåsa , east and Parteby south of Kastlösa. Until the beginning of the 19th century, the entire Alvar served as common pasture for the surrounding villages. However, a division of the soil was then carried out. Each Alvar area was assigned to a village after land surveys. The stone walls that still characterize the face of Stora Alvaret were built along these borders. The construction of the walls dragged on until the 1940s. The so-called middle wall, which runs through the Stora Alvaret in a north-south direction, is particularly long.
Clear evidence of the various settlement periods has remained to this day. The remains of several prehistoric castles such as Eketorp , Träby borg and Triberga borg can be found in the Stora Alvaret or on its edge. Björnflisan rune stone in the northern part of the Alvar dates from the time of the Vikings . Other stones of historical importance on the Alvar are Tingstad flisor and the Tingstenen , which is integrated into the central wall , south of the road from Södra Möckleby to Solberga . Prehistoric tombs such as Röser can also be found in the Alvar.
Due to the technical upheavals in agriculture in the 20th century, the use of the Alvar fell sharply. The attempt to reclaim Alvar areas with new agricultural methods only took place in peripheral areas. The horses originally farmed and grazed in Stora Alvaret have been replaced by tractors. Oil and gas replaced the wood previously obtained on site as an energy source for heating. In several waves of emigration, a large part of the Öland population also left the island to find work in industry on the mainland or abroad. The areas of the Stora Alvaret that have a sufficient layer of soil began to overgrown with increasingly dense bushes, especially the junipers and, in some cases, with trees. The existing wetlands in the Alvar began to silt up more quickly. The Stora Alvaret in its appearance as a pasture landscape used for thousands of years began to disappear. In order to preserve this cultural landscape and the animal and plant species specially adapted to the local conditions, a start has been made to intensify use again. For reasons of nature protection, the grazing of the Stora Alvaret has been increased again. Farmers receive bonuses when they keep their grazing cattle on the Alvar. In 1994 60% of the Alvar was grazed, and in 1999 it was again 90%. Clearing also took place. In 2000, it was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO as part of the agricultural landscape of southern Öland. Alvar Ölands is featured on a Swedish postage stamp issued on March 20, 2003.
flora
The Stora Alvaret has, due to the unusual environmental conditions, an extraordinary flora and fauna. Hard winters with long frosts and strong winds as well as hot and dry summers prevail on the rocky lime subsoil. Where the soil layers are thin, it is dried out in summer and moved by frost in winter. Wave-like deformations of the soil occur. When it rains, especially in autumn, there is a lot of moisture in which parts of Vätar and around the Alvar lakes are flooded.
Some special plant species have adapted to these harsh living conditions. With increased photosynthesis , the short period of favorable conditions is optimally used. For a few weeks in spring, a lush sea of flowers of numerous species such as chives , meadowsweet , spicy stonecrop and white sedum plant emerges over large areas of the Alvar. With the onset of the summer dry season, the seeds are already ripe. In May orchids bloom on the limestone, which almost cover the whole area, ( spotted orchid ).
Due to the difficult soil and climatic conditions, the Stora Alvaret has a wide variety of biotopes in close proximity. The almost invisible species of blue-green algae and dozens of lichens can be found in the crevices that run horizontally through the rocky subsurface and seem almost free of vegetation . In the areas where the crevices open and humus and weathered gravel can collect, up to 51 higher plant species were found per square meter.
The degree of weathering of the limestone surfaces is also different, even on neighboring surfaces. The soil cover ranges from gravel to granular or fine gravel to the coal-black humus typical of the weathering of lime. The thickness of the soil layer varies from millimeters to several decimeters. The water permeability of the soil also differs from location to location. In some parts the water seeps very quickly into the karst subsoil. The result here is rapid drying out of the soil. In other places the water cannot drain away. Vätar and Alvar lakes arise here. It is precisely the different soil moisture and depths that give different groups of plants the chance to survive.
The unusual living conditions mean that in the Stora Alvaret there are more species that only occur here, i.e. endemically . Relict species are also common. These species, which were widespread in other ages (ice age, warm periods), are now only found in other regions and, isolated from their current distribution area, also in the Stora Alvaret.
Endemic species
The following (sub) species are endemic and therefore exclusively on Öland and partly also on neighboring Gotland .
- Chives ( Allium schoenoprasum var. Alvarense )
- Artemisia oelandica
- Crepis tectorum ssp. pumila
- Single-skin swamp rush ( Eleocharis uniglumis ssp. Sterneri )
- Common red fescue ( Festuca rubra ssp. Oelandica )
- Galium oelandicum
- Öland sunflower ( Helianthemum oelandicum var. Oelandicum )
- Helianthemum oelandicum var. Canescens
- Alpine campion ( Lychnis alpina var. Oelandica )
- Ragwort ( Senecio jacobaea ssp. Gotlandicus )
- Silene uniflora ssp. petraea
Relic species
The following relict species are also native to Öland.
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Arctic-alpine:
South West European:
Mediterranean:
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Southeast European:
Continental / Siberian:
Circumpolar:
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fauna
With the development of the special Alvar flora in Öland, an insect fauna adapted to it emerged. Relic species and endemic species can also be observed among insects. Mention should be made of the blue-winged sand insect ( Sphingonotus caerulans ) and the spotted snare insect ( Bryodema tuberculata ). The Alvar doll robber ( Calosoma reticulatum ) is particularly unusual . This beetle, which predates on butterfly larvae, is only found in Sweden in the Stora Alvaret. The long-legged fly Scellus dolichocerus is only native to the Alvar regions of Öland and Gotland and surprises its prey while hunting. The rock snail ( Chondrina clienta ), which feeds on lichen and algae on the limestone slabs, is also only found on Öland and Gotland in Sweden. As the snail eats, limestone slabs near their cracks are brightly colored.
Other insects of the Alvar include the bear moth Setina roscida and the knight bug ( Lygacus equestris ). The latter feeds on the poisonous swallowwort ( Vincetoxicum hirundinaria ), whose poison makes the knight bug inedible.
The bird life of Stora Alvaret is also remarkable. The Montagu's Harrier ( Circus pygargus ) is particularly striking . But also waders such as black godwit ( Limosa limosa ), common snipe ( Gallinago gallinago ), oystercatchers ( Haematopus ostralegus ), redshank ( Tringa totanus ), southern dunlin ( Calidris alpina schinzii ) and sand plover ( Charadrius hiaticula ) live in the Alvar and its wetlands. Also worth mentioning is the golden plover ( Pluvialis apricaria ), wheatear ( Oenanthe oenathe ), Whinchat ( Saxicola Ruberta ) and the lapwing ( Vanellus vanellus ).
literature
- N. Albertson: The great southern Alvar of the island of Öland. Svensk Botanisk Tidskrift 44 (2). 1950.
- U. Ekstam, N. Forshed: Svenska alvarmarker - historia och ekologi. Naturvårdsverket Förlag Stockholm. 2002. ISBN 91-620-1222-3 .
- MOG Eriksson, E. Rosén: Management of Natura 2000 habitats. 6280 Nordic alvar and precambrian calcareous flatrocks. (PDF; 688 kB) European Commission. 2008.
- Thorsten Jansson, Welcome to Stora Alvaret , Länsstyrelsen Kalmar län, Kalmar 1999, ISBN 91-973802-1-0
- A. Johansson, P. Larsson: Ölands stora alvar. Männniskor och miljöer. Carlssons Bokförlag Stockholm. 1992. ISBN 91-7798-581-8 .
- E. Rosén: Periodic droughts and long-term dynamics of alvar grassland vegetation on Öland, Sweden. Folia Geobot. Phytotax. 30: 131-140. 1995.
- H. Rydin, P. Snoeijs, M. Diekmann: Swedish plant geography. Acta Phytogeographica Suecica 84.Svenska Växtgeografiska Sällskapet Uppsala. 1999. ISBN 91-7210-084-2 .
- R. Sterner: Öland's kärlväxtflora. 2nd rev. Ed. Å. Lundqvist from flora of the island of Öland . Acta Phytogeographica Suecica 9 (1938). 1985. ISBN 91-86344-36-6 .
- Länsstyrelsen i Kalmar län (ed.): Nature och Kultur på Öland . 2001, ISBN 91-973802-4-5 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ A b Jansson, Welcome to Stora Alvaret , page 1
- ↑ http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/968
- ↑ Natura 2000 i Kalmar län, page 4. ( Memento of the original from April 13, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (pdf; 54 kB) Länsstyrelsen, Kalmar län
- ↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original dated August 24, 2005 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. .
- ↑ See A. Nilsson (ed.): Ölandsmålare. 100 år av oländsk måleri. Himmelsberga museum. 1995. - A. Nilsson (ed.): Ölandsmålare. Himmelsberga Ölands museum. 2000. - A. Nilsson: Öland: Landskåpsmålningar. Himmelsberga Ölands museum. 2004.
- ↑ Details on the history and variety of forms of these walls in: A.-C. Magnusson: Stenmurar på Öland. Länsstyrelsen Kalmar Län. 2003.
- ^ Jansson, Welcome to Stora Alvaret , p. 5
- ^ Jansson, Welcome to Stora Alvaret , p. 8
- ^ Stamp catalog: Stamp Stone circle, Stora Alvar
- ↑ Ekstam and Forshed 2002, p. 94ff.
- ↑ Ekstam and Forshed 2002, p. 86
Coordinates: 56 ° 28 ' N , 16 ° 33' E