Wet, beautiful and teeming with life

Large flocks of shag gather on the Kjørholmane islands. They find food in the productive surrounding shallow seas. Photo: Roy Mangersnes

The Jæren wetlands are some of the most important bird habitats in Norway. Here, they can overwinter in a mild climate with plenty of food, or stopover during migration. More than 20,000 individual waders and seabirds may visit in autumn, often including some rare species.

Rich biological diversity

A large proportion of Norwegian wildlife lives in wetlands, including 400 plants, 300 mosses and 300 arthropods, as well as hundreds of bird species and other animals that depend on them. Wetlands are important for many specialist species that have no other habitat, and one in ten of Norway’s endangered species lives in wetlands. The Jæren wetlands also offer large variation in rare and uncommon habitats such as rich fens, salt marshes and calcareous lakes.

The common newt (Lissotriton vulgaris) spawns in small lakes in Jæren.
Photo: John P. Clare

Sphagnum moss. Sphagnum moss forms peat bogs that can be several metres deep. These bogs can store large volumes of carbon.
Photo: Rafael Medina

Kelp forests containing tangle (Laminaria hyperborea) are an important habitat for many species. They also store greenhouse gases.
Photo: Rudolf Svensen

We depend on our wetlands

Globally, as many as a billion people depend on wetlands for ecosystem services that provide food, work, flood retention and water cleansing. Wetlands also offer us vital experiences in nature. Wetland conservation is important in the mitigation of climate change because wetlands absorb greenhouse gases and reduce global warming. Norwegian peat bogs actually store as much greenhouse gases as have been emitted by the country in the last 66 years.

The four-spotted chaser (Libellula quadrimaculata). The biggest dragonflies belong to the family Libellulidae. The four-spotted chaser is the most common and can be found in wetlands all over Norway. Photo: L. B. Tettenborn