Nature protection and biodiversity - Drivers and pressures (Norway)

Changes in land use are the greatest threat to the Norwegian fauna and flora today. The change from a scattered agricultural population in the19th century to a modern industrial society has had a great impact on the natural environment. Hay meadows and other habitats of the traditional agricultural landscape are being lost, along with many of their plant and insect species. Commercial fertilisers alter the composition of plant communities. Many of the most severely threatened habitats are wetlands, which are altered by regulation of river systems, pollution and damage from acid rain. Towns have grown in size and population.

As a result of these changes many habitats are disappearing and being replaced by man-made habitats. This affects the very survival of many species. Climate change will also result in habitat change and allow new species to become established. In the southern part of Norway, acidification of lakes and rivers is still a problem to fish and other aquatic organisms.

Alien species

As seen from the above graph, alien species are not a big threat to the general biodiversity, but there are several cases where they cause severe problems. The problem is expected to increase as a consequence of international transport and a milder climate. In Norway, most of the alien species can be found in agriculture. Of these, more than 60 per cent are fungi, vascular plants and insects. There are also considerable numbers of alien species in forest, marine water and freshwater.

The Norwegian Black List

The 2007 Norwegian Black List is produced by the Norwegian Biodiversity Information Centre in cooperation with experts from Norwegian scientific institutions. It has been prepared on the basis of criteria developed for the purpose of standardising assessments of ecological consequences of alien species. A risk analysis has been carried out for 217 of 2483 alien species. The species have been divided into three categories:

• Low risk – species which most probably have no, or no significant, negative impacts on indigenous biological diversity
• Unknown risk - species about which too little is known to assess whether they have negative impacts on indigenous biological diversity
• High risk - species that have negative impacts on indigenous biological diversity

• Read more about alien species in Norway