Bergslagen is an informal region in south-central Sweden (ca. 59–61º N latitude, 13–15º E longitude). The history of industrial natural resource use began with production of metals more than 2000 years ago. The name Bergslagen comes from the words mine (berg in Swedish) and law or team (lag in Swedish). The landscapes of Bergslagen form a gradient between urban areas in Mälardalen with temperate forest remnants in agricultural settings, and rural remote boreal forest regions. Bergslagen includes parts of nine counties, and all municipalities and communities in its core has a peripheral location in relation to regional centres of economic growth. Read more: Angelstam, P., K. Andersson, M. Isacson, D.V. Gavrilov, R. Axelsson, M. Bäckström, E. Degerman, M. Elbakidze, E. Yu. Kazakova-Apkarimova, L. Sartz, S. Sädbom, J. Törnblom. 2013. Learning about the history of landscape use for the future: consequences for ecological and social systems in Swedish Bergslagen. AMBIO 42(2): 150–163. Elbakidze M, Dawson L, Andersson K, Axelsson R, Angelstam P, Stjernquist I, Teitelbaum S, Schlyter P, Thellbro C. 2015. Is spatial planning a collaborative learning process? A case study from a rural–urban gradient in Sweden. Land Use Policy 48: 270-285.

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General Characteristics, Purpose, History

Site Status:

existing

Year Site Established:

2009

Size :

4 388 200.00ha

Purpose of Site :

Establishing the Bergslagen region in Sweden as a LTSER site the ambition is to fill the gap between local and regional governance levels by focusing on providing land owners, stakeholders and municipalities, who are responsible for local comprehensive planning processes, with transparent information and integrated assessment about state and trends of different sustainability criteria. The area of the Bergslagen LTSER platform includes several local LTER sites, which constitute natural science research sites in areas within various land cover and land-use.

Research Topics:

Photos

Forestry is the main land use in Bergslagen (Photo by Mikael Angelstam)

Wildlife viewing and ecotourism are emerging new types of forest use (Photo by Mikael Angelstam)

Geographic

Coordinates:

Latitude: 60.000000000000
Longitude: 14.000000000000

Download boundaries [.shp]

Site Details

Ecosystem and Enviromental Characteristics

Elevation Range FROM:

2.00msl

Elevation Range TO:

500.00msl

Elevation - Average:

150.00msl

Temperature Range (Monthly Minimum) FROM:

-6.00°C

Temperature Range (Monthly Maximum) TO :

15.00°C

Temperature: Average Annual:

4.00°C

Precipitation Minimum Monthly :

30.00mm

Precipitation Annual :

700.00mm

Precipitation Maximum Monthly :

90.00mm

Biome :

Taiga

GEO-BON Biome:

Fresh water lakes

Fresh water rivers

Terrestrial

Ecosystem and Land Use:

Agricultural
Forest
Boreal forests/taiga
Deciduous Forest
Taiga
Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests
Lakes
Fresh Water Lakes
Small lakes
Rivers
Small rivers
Fresh Water Rivers
Urban

Biogeographic Region:

Boreonemoral

Geology:

The Bergslagen region is situated predominantly in the south-western part of the Svecokarelian orogen in the Fennoscandian Shield. The region is dominated by Palaeoproterozoic rocks formed between 1.9 and 1.8 Ga. These rocks were variably affected by Svecokarelian deformation and metamorphism over the whole region during the same time period and, to variable extent in western areas, by a Sveconorwegian tectonic overprint between 1.0 and 0.9 Ga. Subordinate rocks consist of an alkaline intrusive rock of uncertain age and rock that formed around or after 1.7 Ga. The latter include Proterozoic rocks that formed after the Svecokarelian orogenic activity but are variably affected, in western areas, by Sveconorwegian deformation and metamorphism. Fault-bounded outliers of Neoproterozoic and Lower Palaeozoic sedimentary rocks are also present and form a cover to the crystalline bedrock in this part of the shield.The Bergslagen region in central Sweden forms one of Sweden’s important provinces for the exploitation of metallic mineral deposits, with three currently operating mines at the base metal sulphide deposits Garpenberg, Zinkgruvan and Lovisagruvan.

Hydrology:

Bergslagen is centered on the watershed between river catchments that flow into the Baltic bay, the Baltis sea and the North sea. Lakes are abundant, and range from oligotrohic at and above the highest late-glacial coast line to eutrophic at low altitudes.

Vegetation:

Bergslagen is located in the transition zone between Fennoscandia´s northernmost temperate deciduous forest areas and the southernmost boreal coniferous forest ares. On average forests cover about 70% of the area. The vast majority of these forests are managed for sustained yield wood production, and with a focus on Norway spruce and Scots pine. Mires, both raised bogs in the south and fens in the north, are common.

Soils:

The terrain in Bergslagen is undulating and consists of hilly till-covered woodlands, and broad valleys covered with the gravelly or sandy deposits of glacial rivers and ice-dammed lakes, ablation (dead-ice) moraine rich in sand and boulders. Below the highest late-glacial coast line of the Baltic Sea there are also fine fraction sediments, e. g. silt, hut as a rule not clay. The highest coast line is situated at about 200 m above the present sea level; most of the cultivated soil is below this limit.

Network Affiliation

Networks/Projects:

International Model Forest Network
eLTER catalogue
LTER
eLTER (H2020)

Site Type (Spatial Design):

Platform

Short name :

Bergslagen LTSER platform

LTER related

LTER Site Code:

LTER_EU_SE_001

LTER Site Classification/Category:

LTSER

Protection Status and Resource Management

Nat. protection

0 - 25%

Management of Resources - Percent of Site:

75 - 100%

Management of Resources - Notes:

The land cover distribution in Bergslagen is forest cover (72%), urban area (1%), water (9%), agricultural land (9), and mires and wetlands (8%). About 95% of forests are management with a focus on sustained yield wood production. Streams and lakes have a long history of water regulation, and supply hydroelectric energy. Agriculture focuses on cereals at lower altitudes and animal production at higher altitudes. Wetlands are general oligotropic and general near-natural.

Design and Scale of Site

Scale of Observation:

beyond catchment

Design of Observation:

only observation

Scale of Experiments:

beyond catchment scale

Design of Experiments:

partly experimentation

Infrastructure

Value of the Infrastructure :

100-700 k

Infrastructure notes:

Lodging and office facilities are available at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences' units in Skinnskatteberg (School for Forest Management) and Grimsö (Department of Ecology). Both units are centrally located in the Bergslagen region.

Accessible All Year :

Yes

All parts of Site Accessible:

Yes

Access Type:

regular car

Permanent Power Supply:

Yes

Infrastructure:

Maintenance infrastructure › Snow clearing equipment
Energy and data infrastructure › Data transmission › Data Transmission Type (within site) › Cable based
Energy and data infrastructure › Data transmission › Data Transmission Type (within site) › Telephone line
Energy and data infrastructure › Data transmission › Data Transmission Type (from Site) › Telephone line
Energy and data infrastructure › Data transmission › Data Transmission Type (from Site) › Cable based
Energy and data infrastructure › Energy supply › Permanent Power Supply Location › All over site/catchment
Supporting infrastructure › Lodging at site › > 10 beds
Supporting infrastructure › Staff room at site › 2 - 5 places
Supporting infrastructure › Transportation › Boat
Supporting infrastructure › Transportation › Vehicle 2WD

Operation

Operations Cost:

100-300 k

Permanent Operation:

Yes

Data Management

General Data Policy:

Co-authorship on publications resulting from use of the dataset

Data Storage Location :

Distributed over multiple institutions

Number of data storage locations :

Data Storage Format :

Paper

Spatial data file (GIS)

Data services :

Other data service

Data Request Format :

Offline (Mail or Telephone)

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Site Name:

Web Address:

Country (Site Location):

LTER Member Network:

Subsite Name(s):

Contact: Site Manager:

Free Keywords:

General Site Description: