fulltext - DiVA

226 GUNN.AR WISTRANDof the woodland on the other a floristic boundaryis thus discernible but not sharply marked becauseof much overlapping. In the south and middle ofLappland such a boundary would on the wholecoincide with the Caledonian border (WISTRAND .1962, p. 17, 0. RuNE 1963, p. 226). Further norththis floristic boundary becomes diffuse and isdispersed over a broad zone to the east of the Caledonianborder. This corresponds to the fact thatmany southern and eastern species reach the Caledonianborder in the south of Lappland whereasfarther north they have their distribution limits ata greater or lesser distance from the mountainrange. The disappearance to the west of thesespecies is not regularly compensated for by anincrease in the presence of Scandian plants. Manyof the latter have a predilection for open localitiesand in many cases good soils, which are rare conditionseast of the Caledonian border.CULTURAL INFLUENCE ON THE FLORABy Gunna.r WistrandA hunters' and fishermen's migratory culture waswidespread along Lappish watercourses as early asthe Stone Age, whereas reindeer herding wasadopted as a source of livelyhood by the Same(or Lapp) people at a later time, possibly in theIron Age. Ever since, domesticated reindeer exerta significant influence on the forest land wherethey stay in winter (a small number all year). Seefurther STEEN's contribution. In medieval time,the "Lappmarks" were sparsely populated by stillheathen Same, but regularly visited by Swedish orFinnish traders. The agricultural colonization ofthe ancient "Lappmarks" by Finns and Swedesoriginated from the eastern fringe of the Lappmarksand a few centres in the interior only about 300to 200 years ago and proceeded north-westwardalong the river courses and elongated lakes (see,e.g. BYLUND 1956). Most of this movement fallswithin the 19th century.In the early part of the 19th century the presenttowns and church villages of Lappland were onlysmall clusters of simple log cottages. The settlementswere few and far between but steadily increasingin number. There were almost no properroads and of course no railways. Forestry in amodern sense had not yet begun. In fact, Lapplandwas practically a wilderness. The synanthropousflora at that time was poor in species and in themain restricted to the immediate neighbourhoodof villages and farmsteads. However, hay wasgathered in mires and delta-lands, not rarely sub-jected to artificial irrigation, and some forest wascut for production of tar, saltpetre and potash, aswell as fuel and building material. Cattle from thefarms grazed in the woods, especially in burnt areas,and in strips of deciduous wood along the riversand brooks, thus contributing to the dispersal ofsynanthropous plants.In the latter half of the 19th century, the spreadingof settlement was also promoted by forestry,which in the beginning concentrated exclusively onsaw-timber of pine. In addition to their great directinfluence on the former virgin forests, cutting operationsintroduced horse haulage in the forest, anefficient aid for the dispersal of many plants(LINKOLA 1916), as was also the log-floating activities.The present century has brought radical changeswith regard to the influence of culture. Whereasmany remote settlements have been abandonedand the genuinely rural population is now decreasing,the former small church villages have becomealmost town-like and there are in fact two townsin Lappland at the present time, viz. Lycksele andKiruna. The last-mentioned is a mining townfounded in a virgin district, at the beginning ofthe century. About a decade after the foundingof this town the changes brought about in the nativeflora were thoroughly investigated by H. G. SIM­MONS (1910; short summary in English). Othermining centres have grown up in many places.The first railway, in 1891, was followed by a fewActa Phytogeogr. Suec. 50