page_title: Geography of Norway
section_title: North Boreal
hierarchical_section_title: Geography of Norway / Flora / Boreal / North Boreal
caption_attribution_description: Sand with pines... one would say the Campine here
context_page_description: Norway is a country located in Northern Europe on the northern and western parts of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The majority of the country borders water, including the Skagerrak inlet to the south, the North Sea to the southwest, the North Atlantic Ocean to the west, and the Barents Sea to the north. It has a land border with Sweden to the east and a shorter border with Finland and an even shorter border with Russia to the northeast.
  Norway has an elongated shape, one of the longest and most rugged coastlines in the world, and some 50,000 islands off its much indented coastline. It is one of the world's northernmost countries, and it is one of Europe's most mountainous countries, with large areas dominated by the Scandinavian Mountains. The country's average elevation is 460 metres, and 32 percent of the mainland is located above the tree line. Its country-length chain of peaks is geologically continuous with the mountains of Scotland, Ireland, and, after crossing under the Atlantic Ocean, the Appalachian Mountains of North America. Geologists hold that all these formed a single range prior to the breakup of the ancient supercontinent Pangaea.
context_section_description: The North Boreal (NB) zone, (also known as open or sparse taiga) is the zone closest to the tree line, bordering the alpine or polar area, and dominated by a harsh subarctic climate. There are at least 30 summer days with a mean temperature of 10 °C (50 °F) or more, up to about two months. The trees grow very slowly and generally do not get very large. The forest is not as dense as further south or at lower altitudes and is known as the mountain forest (Fjellskog). The NB zone covers a total of 28% of the total land area of Norway, including almost half of Finnmark, where the mountain birch grows down to sea level. The lower part of this zone also has conifers, but the tree line in Norway is mostly formed by mountain birch, a subspecies of downy birch (subspecies czerepanovii), which is not to be confused with dwarf birch). Spruce and pine make up the tree line in some mountain areas with a more continental climate. Alpine plants are common in this zone. The birch forest 1,320 metres (4,330 ft) above sea level at Sikilsdalshorn is the highest tree line in Norway. The tree line is lower closer to the coast and in areas with lower mountains, due to cooler summers, more wind near mountain summits, and more snow in the winter (coastal mountains) leading to later snowmelt. The NB zone covers large areas at 750–950 metres (2,460–3,120 ft) altitude in the interior of Østlandet; is 800–1,200 metres (2,600–3,900 ft) in the central mountain areas; but at the western coast the tree line is down to about 500 metres (1,600 ft) above sea level, increasing significantly in the long fjords (1,100 metres (3,600 ft) at the head of Sognefjord). Further north, large areas in the interior highlands or uplands of Trøndelag and North Norway are dominated by the NB zone, with the tree line at about 800 metres (2,600 ft) amsl in the interior of Trøndelag, 600 metres (2,000 ft) in Rana, 500 metres (1,600 ft) at Narvik, 400 metres (1,300 ft) at Tromsø, 200 metres (660 ft) at Kirkenes and 100 metres (330 ft) at Hammerfest (only pockets in sheltered areas). The large Finnmarksvidda plateau is at an altitude placing it almost exactly at the tree line. The last patch of NB zone gives way to tundra at sea level about 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) south of the North Cape plateau (near Skarsvåg). Areas south of this line are tundra-like with scattered patches of mountain birch woodland (forest tundra) and become alpine tundra even at minor elevations. The trees near the tree line are often bent by snow, wind, and growing-season frost; and their height is only 2–4 metres (6 ft 7 in–13 ft 1 in). Outside Norway (and adjacent areas in Sweden), the only other areas in the world with the tree line mostly made up by a small-leaved deciduous tree such as birch—in contrast to conifers—are Iceland and the Kamtschatka peninsula.
  The presence of a conifer tree line is sometimes used (Barskoggrense) to divide this zone into two subzones, as the conifers will usually not grow as high up as the mountain birch. Spruce and pine grow at nearly 1,100 metres (3,600 ft) above sea level in some areas of Jotunheimen, down to 400 metres (1,300 ft) in Bergen (900 metres (3,000 ft) at the head of Sognefjord), 900 metres (3,000 ft) at Lillehammer (mountains near Oslo are too low to have a tree line), 500 metres (1,600 ft) at Trondheim (750 metres (2,460 ft) at Oppdal), 350 metres (1,150 ft) at Narvik, 200 metres (660 ft) at Harstad, 250 metres (820 ft) at Alta; and the most northerly pine forest in the world is in Stabbursdalen National Park in Porsanger. There are some forests in this part of the NB zone; and some conifers can grow quite large even if growth is slow.
caption: Road in the pine forest in Karasjok. The climate here has the greatest continentality and the coldest winters in Norway; north boreal zone.
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