Setesdal - a nutrient poor alpine habitat

In Setesdal, we study vegetation responses to grazing exclosyre in this very acidic and nutrient poor alpine habitat.

• We established in 2000 10 exclosures (not grazed) and 10 controls (grazed) in Valle, Aust-Agder and Sirdal, Vest-Agder in Setesdal Vesthei (pic 1).
• We follow vegetation development in 200 permanent plots (pic 2).
• Reanalyse vegetation plots every second year (2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, and we will end the study with a last survey in 2010).
• We use pellet group counts to estimate use and density of sheep outside the exclosures.
• Central questions are how different levels of sheep grazing affect plant species richness and the coverage of wildlife forage plants and resistant plants.

Pic 1. The experimental design.

Pic 2. Gunnar Austrheim and Inger Måren doing vegetation survey in one out of the 200 permanent plots.