Abstract
Norway has a rich and diverse orchid flora consisting of 36 species. Orchids are found throughout the country, but most of the species are confined to calcareous or base-rich substrates. Important orchid-rich types of vegetation include rich pine and spruce forests, rich deciduous forests, open calcareous meadows, rocky outcrops and screes, hay meadows and calcareous mires and fens. Many species are rare, and 17 species and 3 subspecies are red listed. 13 species are generally protected. Both the orchids and their habitats are susceptible to various disturbances such as e.g. building activities, road construction, quarrying, drainage, forestry and changes in agricultural practices (less intense grazing, termination of mowing), which has resulted in the continuation of the previously inhibited succession. Most of the types of habitat mentioned are important conservation sites and thus many orchid occurrences (e.g. of Cypripedium calceolus , Epipogium aphyllum , Epipactis palustris and Ophrys insectifera ) are protected by a network of nature reserves designated for these habitats. However, there is an urgent need to secure species with small populations in some of the mire reserves, and succession is also a problem in many of the reserves. Protection of the few existing localities for some species is also needed. A more detailed discussion of the status of the red listed species is presented.
Highlights
Orchids are an important group of organisms associated with nature conservation in Norway, and especially spectacular and “charismatic” species such as e.g. Cypripedium calceolus, Ophrys insectifera and Cephalanthera rubra, are actively used for promoting nature conservation in various contexts
Thinning of trees and shrubs and mowing using scything machines are used to restore mires, and more or less regular mowing is recommended as a management procedure for the reserve (Miljødirektoratet 2013)
Most of the Norwegian occurrences are in basiphilous pine forests, and O. insectifera together with Cypripedium calceolus are explicitly used as “iconic” species for promoting the conservation of this type of vegetation (Bjørndalen and Brandrud 1989)
Summary
Orchids are an important group of organisms associated with nature conservation in Norway, and especially spectacular and “charismatic” species such as e.g. Cypripedium calceolus, Ophrys insectifera and Cephalanthera rubra, are actively used for promoting nature conservation in various contexts (see e.g. Bjørndalen 2006). The current edition of the Norwegian flora (Lid and Lid 2005) presents 36 species, including 2 subspecies. Three additional subspecies have recently been distinguished and are on the current red list (Kålås et al 2010). It is uncertain whether or not one of them, Gymnadenia conopsea ssp. Thirteen species are generally protected in Norway, and four additional species and three subspecies are red listed (Table 1). This paper is the first attempt to present an overall review of orchid protection in Norway. * protected species Cat (category): RE regionally extinct; CR critically endangered; EN endangered; VU vulnerable; NT near threatened Crit (criterium): A severe population reduction B limited area in decline C small population in decline D very small population/area Eur pop: % of European population
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