Kolbottnarnas påverkan på vegetationen i utmarken i västra Bergslagen

Abstract

In this essay the vegetation on six selected charcoal pits that occur in hundreds, perhaps thousands, around Sweden was studied. The question was whether the spot where a charcoal kiln has existed had a flora deviating from the surroundings? And if so, had the concentrated amount of carbon something to do with the plant material at the site? After an introductory chapter which shows what a charcoal kiln is, its history, where they were located in the countryside and what the literature says about the vegetation on charcoal pits, the investigation itself started. The study deals with how the selection was made and which method the author used. In this case, the six chosen charcoal pits must meet four criteria, including, easy to locate, both on older and more modern maps. The method that was used was visiting the charcoal pits in the field and study the plant material at the site. This was before the flowering season so only trees and shrubs were studied, also cryptogams and remnants of last year´s grass. In the discussion, it is clear that the results were not as expected. The spruce shrubs that both the author and the literature said to be there were not. Some important observations were made about the blueberry shrubs. The author's impression was that the amount of blueberry shrubs was more next to the charcoal pit then on it, which is contrary to e.g. Kardell’s view that there would be as much on the pit as outside. Many new questions arose during this work and much more research must be done before one can answer these questions.