Blyttia_200001_skjer.. - Universitetet i Oslo

Blyttia 58(1), 2000
Bl Blyttia Bl Bl yttia
Norges Norges Botaniske Botaniske Annaler
Annaler
Levende værstasjoner –
en bioklimatologisk studie fra Svalbard
Birgit Brosø og Arve Elvebakk
Adventdalen i høstskrud. Operafjellet med «Champagne-glasset» i bakgrunnen. Foto: Birgit Brosø/Arve Elvebakk.
Adventdalen in autumn colours. Mt Operafjellet with the «Champain glass» in the background.
Brosø, B. & Elvebakk, A. 2000. Levende værstasjoner – en bioklimatologisk studie fra Svalbard.
Blyttia 58: 35-45.
Living weather stations – a bioclimatological study from Svalbard, Norway
The relationship between the distribution of plant species and summer temperature is known from many
studies. Elvebakk and collaborators developed a botany-based method where temperature indices were
calculated based on the the relative importance of thermophilous species within an area. The indices were
found to be positively correlated with summer temperature.
This project is the first attempt to apply the method on a series of separate localities scattered over a
larger geographical area in the Arctic. The flora was recorded and the temperature in the phytosphere 5 cm
above ground was measured at eight meteorological stations and six other localities on Svalbard.
In spite of the differences in environmental conditions between the localities there was a high positive
correlation between the temperature indices and the temperature sum in the phytosphere during the growing
season. The method thus seems promising for estimating summer temperature conditions in areas of the
Arctic where little meteorological information is available.
Birgit Brosø, Kings Bay AS, 9173 Ny-Ålesund
Arve Elvebakk, Institutt for Biologi, Universitetet i Tromsø, 9037 Tromsø
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