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Plant and animal life
The rich vegetation in Sylan meant that parts of the area became the country’s first protected botanical nature reserve in 1917. A total of 331 vascular plants have been identified. The great variation is due to the wide variety of areas of vegetation and geological and climate conditions. Both coastal and inland species of plant can be found. High up in the mountains the limestone-rich rocks make Syl massif stand out. There are a lot of bogs in Sylan. The boggy areas vary both in form and the vegetation that grows there. Birdlife inn Sylan is rich. The marshes and Sankkjølen and Rageldalen nature reserves are important habitats for ducks and wetland birds. 23 different mammals have been seen. Wolverine, reindeer, Arctic foxes are characteristic species of Sylan.
Plant and animal life
The rich vegetation in Sylan meant that parts of the area became the country’s first protected botanical nature reserve in 1917. A total of 331 vascular plants have been identified. The great variation is due to the wide variety of areas of vegetation and geological and climate conditions. Both coastal and inland species of plant can be found. High up in the mountains the limestone-rich rocks make Syl massif stand out. There are a lot of bogs in Sylan. The boggy areas vary both in form and the vegetation that grows there. Birdlife inn Sylan is rich. The marshes and Sankkjølen and Rageldalen nature reserves are important habitats for ducks and wetland birds. 23 different mammals have been seen. Wolverine, reindeer, Arctic foxes are characteristic species of Sylan.
Plants
On the Syl massif there is a great variation of mountain vegetation including popular and threatened types of vegetation, including rich snowbed willow. There are both coastal plants, such as bog asphodel and bear fern and bear cone and inland species such as hairy butterwort, Arctic bramble, and lousewort. Glacier buttercups and mountain avens – species of plant that require calcareous rock – are also to be found.
The high-altitude areas of Sylan, which have perennial snowbanks, mean that you can still find significantly large areas with snowbed willow, that are highly threatened. This type of vegetation is threatened because the land is drying out because of climate change.
Animal life
Reindeer are present throughout the year. The Arctic fox breeds in several parts of the protected landscape. Along the waterways you can see traces of activity by beavers. You can also see otter tracks in the snow when they are migrating between open waters. The wolverine is the most common of the largest land-dwelling predators. It often moves alone over large expanses of land. Even though it is small in stature, a wolverine can take down a prey much bigger than itself.
Animal life
Reindeer are present throughout the year. The Arctic fox breeds in several parts of the protected landscape. Along the waterways you can see traces of activity by beavers. You can also see otter tracks in the snow when they are migrating between open waters. The wolverine is the most common of the largest land-dwelling predators. It often moves alone over large expanses of land. Even though it is small in stature, a wolverine can take down a prey much bigger than itself.
Read more about the Arctic fox in Sylan (own webpage).
Birdlife
Birdlife in Sylan is rich. Rock ptarmigan and willow ptarmigan are common throughout the year. The sound of cuckoos, snipe and bluethroats fills the air in the spring.
Birds of prey found in the area include the gyrfalcon and golden eagle. They start nesting at the end of March and are at risk of being disturbed. The bogs in Sylan and the Sankkølen and Rangeldalen nature reserves are important habitats for a range of ducks and wetland birds.
Contact us
The National Park for Skarvan and Roltdalen and Sylan
Postbox 2600
7734 STEINKJER
Tel: 73 19 92 20
Email: fmtlmsb@statsforvalteren.no
