Olav Gjærevoll Overvintringsteoriens stilling i dag

Abstract

Gjærevoll: The position of the theory of glacial survival today (i.e. 1959).

Olav Gjærevoll (1916-1994) was born under the mighty mountain Tronfjell, and was right from his youth fascinated by the alpine flora which he studied intensively, taking his doctoral degree on the vegetation in the snowbeds of the Scandes. He was also the strongest advocate of the glacial survival theory. In this paper he sums up the arguments known at that time, mostly those infavour. While he admits that most of them are indications rather than solid proof, he finds that they add up to be so convincing that he supports this explanation of the distribution patterns. It is pointed out that today (2011) the botanists view onthis is more facetted, as reflected in the statement from the Bergen meeting in 1993 (orig. Norwegian): «The problem is not whether plants have survived the glaciation locally in northern Europe, but where this took place for each individual species.»