fulltext - DiVA

Notes on the Vegetation of Lakes in the Woodland ofLule LappmarkBy LENNART GRANMARKIn 1519 0LAUS MAGNUS published his map ofNorden, Carta Marina. This is the first time that thelakes in Lappland, although grossly inaccurately,have been indicated on a map. When 0LOF Run­BECK, the younger, travelled in Lappland in thesummer of 1695, he could use a more reliable map,made by ANDREAS BuRlEUS in 16ll and givingquite a good picture of lakes and river-systemsespecially in northern Lappland. RuDBECK was thefirst naturalist to make notes on terrestrial andaquatic vegetation in this part of Sweden. Moreoverhe made ecological remarks on water vegetation,describing the influence of climate and movementsof water on the growth of hydrophytes (HARTMAN1841).LINNlEUS, who was studying under RuDBECK,says in the diary from his famous journey to Lapplandin 1732 that "the lakes in this part of thecountry did not afford me so many plants as furthersouth. Their bottoms were quite clear and destituteof vegetation. Their shores were no less barren"(from the 18ll English translation of Iter Lapponicum).He was also much astonished to observe howin a fortnight some of the lakes could turn whitefrom the flowers of Ranunculus peltatus. In FloraLapponica, at first he writes that both in runningand stagnant water there is not a single plant.Nevertheless, later on in his flora he mentionsmany water plants. LINNlEUS also gives a longdescription of a green-coloured water bloom,"byssus farinacea virescens, aquae inspersa", andon stones he notices a withered vegetation, probablythreads of various species of Oedogoniales andZygnematales, called '' byssus membranacea aquatica' '.Mter LINNlEUS nobody made hydrobiologicalobservations until G. WAHLENBERG travelled inhis pathway in 1807. WAHLENBERG, best knownfor his phytogeographical regions, also contributedto our knowledge of lake vegetation. From LakeVaikijaure he gives the first algological note fromLule Lappmark when he finds a great many threadsof probably blue-green algae, called "Oonfervajlos-aquae" (WAHLENBERG 1812).In the middle of the nineteenth century sporadicobservations of higher water vegetation are reportedby N. J. ANDERSSON (1844-45, 1846a and 1866) andWICHURA (1859). Towards the end of the centurya few water plants are mentioned by VESTERLUND(1892). The first algological remarks since the daysof WAHLENBERG we find in LAGERHEIM (1884a),and AsTRID CLEVE (1899) took the first net-planktonsamples in this region during a journey alongthe Lilla Lule river system in the summer of 1896.Samples of plankton were also taken in 1907 byLEMMERMAN and HAMBERG in a few woodlandlakes (STROM 1923) and by ALM and v. HoFSTENin 1911 (HUSTEDT 1924).In our century SIMMONS (1907) and VESTERLUND(1924) have reported on higher aquatic vegetation.A thorough investigation of higher water plants inthe woodland lakes of Lilla Lule river was made byARWIDSSON (1926). Also G. BJORKMAN (1939) andSELANDER ( 1950 a and b) give some informationabout lake vegetation. New contributions are madeby M1RTENSSON (1962), C. and S. RuNE (1965)and S. RuNE (1965).The Lule river originates at Porsi in the woodlandof Lule Lappmark through the confluence of twobranches, the Stora Lule river and the Lilla Luleriver with its tributary Parlalven (the Pearl river,Acta Phytogeogr. Suec. 50