Alby, Öland - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Alby is a village

Village

A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...

on the Baltic Sea

Baltic Sea

The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...

in the Hulterstad district at the western fringe of the Stora Alvaret

Stora Alvaret

The Stora Alvaret is a limestone barren plain on the island of Öland, Sweden. Because of the thin soil mantle and high pH levels, a great assortment of vegetation is found including numerous rare species. Stora Alvaret has been designated as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO due to its...

. Archaeological evidence indicates this settlement to have been one of the oldest on the island of Öland

Öland

' is the second largest Swedish island and the smallest of the traditional provinces of Sweden. Öland has an area of 1,342 km² and is located in the Baltic Sea just off the coast of Småland. The island has 25,000 inhabitants, but during Swedish Midsummer it is visited by up to 500,000 people...

, with excavations, dating to the paleolithic

Paleolithic

The Paleolithic Age, Era or Period, is a prehistoric period of human history distinguished by the development of the most primitive stone tools discovered , and covers roughly 99% of human technological prehistory...

era, showing the presence of hunter-gatherer

Hunter-gatherer

A hunter-gatherer or forage society is one in which most or all food is obtained from wild plants and animals, in contrast to agricultural societies which rely mainly on domesticated species. Hunting and gathering was the ancestral subsistence mode of Homo, and all modern humans were...

s. The village prehistory dates to the early Stone Age

Stone Age

The Stone Age is a broad prehistoric period, lasting about 2.5 million years , during which humans and their predecessor species in the genus Homo, as well as the earlier partly contemporary genera Australopithecus and Paranthropus, widely used exclusively stone as their hard material in the...

when settler

Settler

A settler is a person who has migrated to an area and established permanent residence there, often to colonize the area. Settlers are generally people who take up residence on land and cultivate it, as opposed to nomads...

s from the mainland migrated across the ice bridge

Ice bridge

An ice bridge is a frozen natural structure formed over seas, bays, rivers or lake surfaces. They facilitate migration of animals or people over a water body that was previously uncrossable by terrestrial animals, including humans. The most significant ice bridges are formed by glaciation, spanning...

connecting the island via the Kalmar Strait

Kalmar Strait

The Kalmar Strait, Kalmarsund, is a strait in the Baltic Sea, located between the Swedish island of Öland and the province of Småland of the Swedish mainland...

about 6000 to 7000 BC. These early inhabitants are known in the archaeological literature as the Alby People.

In the earliest times villagers subsisted by hunting

Hunting

Hunting is the practice of pursuing any living thing, usually wildlife, for food, recreation, or trade. In present-day use, the term refers to lawful hunting, as distinguished from poaching, which is the killing, trapping or capture of the hunted species contrary to applicable law...

, fishing

Fishing

Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....

and gathering, but by 4000 BC farming supplanted that lifestyle, and continues to the year 2006 to be the primary livelihood. The village lies atop the low lying north-south coastal ridge that defines the separation of the coast

Coast

A coastline or seashore is the area where land meets the sea or ocean. A precise line that can be called a coastline cannot be determined due to the dynamic nature of tides. The term "coastal zone" can be used instead, which is a spatial zone where interaction of the sea and land processes occurs...

al plain

Plain

In geography, a plain is land with relatively low relief, that is flat or gently rolling. Prairies and steppes are types of plains, and the archetype for a plain is often thought of as a grassland, but plains in their natural state may also be covered in shrublands, woodland and forest, or...

from the Stora Alvaret

Stora Alvaret

. Alby is situated along the two-lane east coast highway

Highway

A highway is any public road. In American English, the term is common and almost always designates major roads. In British English, the term designates any road open to the public. Any interconnected set of highways can be variously referred to as a "highway system", a "highway network", or a...

, with the communities of Hulterstad

Hulterstad

Hulterstad is a small coastal town on the southeastern part of the island of Öland, Sweden. Hulterstad is situated at the eastern fringe of the Stora Alvaret, a limestone pavement habitat which hosts a diversity of rare plants and has been designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO...

and Triberga to the south; to the north lie the villages of Stagerstad and Stena. Alby is a component of the Stora Alvaret, which land has been designated as a World Heritage Site

World Heritage Site

A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...

by UNESCO

UNESCO

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...

due to its extraordinary biodiversity

Biodiversity

Biodiversity is the degree of variation of life forms within a given ecosystem, biome, or an entire planet. Biodiversity is a measure of the health of ecosystems. Biodiversity is in part a function of climate. In terrestrial habitats, tropical regions are typically rich whereas polar regions...

and prehistory

Prehistory

Prehistory is the span of time before recorded history. Prehistory can refer to the period of human existence before the availability of those written records with which recorded history begins. More broadly, it refers to all the time preceding human existence and the invention of writing...

Geography

Alby is situated on the southeastern coast of the island of Öland and is bisected by the two lane Sweden Route 136

Route 136 (Öland, Sweden)

Route 136 is the perimeter highway on the island of Öland, Sweden. This facility is a paved two lane structure that circumnavigates the entire island. This highway constitutes the majority of named highway coverage on the island. Route 136 connects to Route 137 somewhat east of the Öland bridge,...

, which is the main perimeter highway of the island. Öland is Sweden's second largest island and is located in the Baltic Sea off of the southeast Swedish mainland. Further south on Highway 136 lie the villages of Triberga (one kilometer) and Hulterstad (three kilometers). The village of Stagerstad is found two kilometers to the north on the perimeter highway. The closest sizable city is Färjestaden

Färjestaden

Färjestaden is a locality situated in Mörbylånga Municipality, Kalmar County, Sweden with 4,636 inhabitants in 2005. It is located in the southern part on the island of Öland and is named after the ferries that used to be the only connection to the mainland...

, which is situated 25 kilometers to the northwest at the Kalmar Strait bridge landing on the Öland side.

Alby is bounded on the east by the Baltic Sea and on the west by the Stora Alvaret, an expansive limestone barren

Alvar

An alvar is a biological environment based on a limestone plain with thin or no soil and, as a result, sparse vegetation. It is also known as a pavement barren although this term is also used for similar landforms based on sandstone. In the United Kingdom the exposed landform is called a limestone...

. Other vicinity landmarks are the ancient royal game reserve of Ottenby

Ottenby

Ottenby is a nature reserve at the southern tip of the island of Öland in Sweden. Ottenby was previously a royal game reserve stocked with fallow deer, and King Charles X Gustav of Sweden built a drystone wall to confine the native deer...

, found at the southern tip of the island about 30 kilometers to the south and the Eketorp

Eketorp

Eketorp is an Iron Age fort in southeastern Öland, Sweden, which was extensively reconstructed and enlarged in the Middle Ages. Throughout the ages the fortification has served a variety of somewhat differing uses: from defensive ringfort, to medieval safe haven and thence a cavalry garrison...

fortress, a restored Iron Age ringfort

Ringfort

Ringforts are circular fortified settlements that were mostly built during the Iron Age , although some were built as late as the Early Middle Ages . They are found in Northern Europe, especially in Ireland...

, lying 21 kilometers south.

Geology

Bedrock layers are primarily Ordovician

Ordovician

The Ordovician is a geologic period and system, the second of six of the Paleozoic Era, and covers the time between 488.3±1.7 to 443.7±1.5 million years ago . It follows the Cambrian Period and is followed by the Silurian Period...

limestone

Limestone

Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....

that dates to at least 600 million years ago. Most of the limited supply of topsoil

Topsoil

Topsoil is the upper, outermost layer of soil, usually the top to . It has the highest concentration of organic matter and microorganisms and is where most of the Earth's biological soil activity occurs.-Importance:...

was created from glacial

Glacier

A glacier is a large persistent body of ice that forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. At least 0.1 km² in area and 50 m thick, but often much larger, a glacier slowly deforms and flows due to stresses induced by its weight...

grinding of the limestone bedrock

Bedrock

In stratigraphy, bedrock is the native consolidated rock underlying the surface of a terrestrial planet, usually the Earth. Above the bedrock is usually an area of broken and weathered unconsolidated rock in the basal subsoil...

, which action created the nearly flat alvar

Alvar

formation. It was the end of the last ice age which led to uplift, creating the landform that is now the island of Öland.

The village of Alby, as well as the precursor civilizations from Stone Age to medieval time, is primarily developed on a narrow ridge running north/south parallel to the Baltic coast. This ridge is the only place (except for beach sands) along the eastern coast that soil extends more than the two centimeter maximum of the Stora Alvaret. The ridge was formed by wave action during the post-Ice Age uplift. Therefore this thicker soil layer provided the only hospitable place for building foundations, burial grounds and agriculture.

Earliest history

The earliest settlers built early Stone Age

Stone Age

wooden hut

Hut (dwelling)

A hut is a small and crude shelter, usually used for dwelling. Its design favors local techniques and materials to allow for swift and inexpensive construction.-Modern use:...

s at the fringe of a prehistoric lagoon

Lagoon

A lagoon is a body of shallow sea water or brackish water separated from the sea by some form of barrier. The EU's habitat directive defines lagoons as "expanses of shallow coastal salt water, of varying salinity or water volume, wholly or partially separated from the sea by sand banks or shingle,...

at the northwest of the present Alby. Archaeological excavations conducted over a period of years in the latter 20th century have revealed evidence of bear

Bear

Bears are mammals of the family Ursidae. Bears are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans, with the pinnipeds being their closest living relatives. Although there are only eight living species of bear, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Northern...

, marten

Marten

The martens constitute the genus Martes within the subfamily Mustelinae, in family Mustelidae.-Description:Martens are slender, agile animals, adapted to living in taigas, and are found in coniferous and northern deciduous forests across the northern hemisphere. They have bushy tails, and large...

, seal

Pinniped

Pinnipeds or fin-footed mammals are a widely distributed and diverse group of semiaquatic marine mammals comprising the families Odobenidae , Otariidae , and Phocidae .-Overview: Pinnipeds are typically sleek-bodied and barrel-shaped...

and porpoise

Porpoise

Porpoises are small cetaceans of the family Phocoenidae; they are related to whales and dolphins. They are distinct from dolphins, although the word "porpoise" has been used to refer to any small dolphin, especially by sailors and fishermen...

, but also elucidate mesolithic

Mesolithic

The Mesolithic is an archaeological concept used to refer to certain groups of archaeological cultures defined as falling between the Paleolithic and the Neolithic....

hunting and gathering technologies through discovery of bone

Bone

Bones are rigid organs that constitute part of the endoskeleton of vertebrates. They support, and protect the various organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells and store minerals. Bone tissue is a type of dense connective tissue...

spear

Spear

A spear is a pole weapon consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head.The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with bamboo spears, or it may be made of a more durable material fastened to the shaft, such as flint, obsidian, iron, steel or...

s, moose

Moose

The moose or Eurasian elk is the largest extant species in the deer family. Moose are distinguished by the palmate antlers of the males; other members of the family have antlers with a dendritic configuration...

antler

Antler

Antlers are the usually large, branching bony appendages on the heads of most deer species.-Etymology:Antler originally meant the lowest tine, the "brow tine"...

harpoon

Harpoon

A harpoon is a long spear-like instrument used in fishing to catch fish or large marine mammals such as whales. It accomplishes this task by impaling the target animal, allowing the fishermen to use a rope or chain attached to the butt of the projectile to catch the animal...

s and flint

Flint

Flint is a hard, sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as a variety of chert. It occurs chiefly as nodules and masses in sedimentary rocks, such as chalks and limestones. Inside the nodule, flint is usually dark grey, black, green, white, or brown in colour, and...

. These earliest inhabitants would have crossed the Kalmar Strait from the mainland toward the end of the last Ice Age

Ice age

An ice age or, more precisely, glacial age, is a generic geological period of long-term reduction in the temperature of the Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental ice sheets, polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers...

, before the glacial cap had fully melted, and thus provided an ice bridge

Ice bridge

. The settlers at Alby are referred to as the Alby People in the archaeological literature, and the Alby mesolithic

Mesolithic

The Mesolithic is an archaeological concept used to refer to certain groups of archaeological cultures defined as falling between the Paleolithic and the Neolithic....

village is one of the key resources that led to the UNESCO designation of the Stora Alvaret as a World Heritage Site.

Bronze Age to Viking era

The principal evidence of life in the Alby area from 1000 BC to 1000 AD is derived from the Hulterstad district gravefields slightly south of Alby. The Hulterstad Gravfeld is situated to the east of the coast highway and contains undulating barrows

Tumulus

A tumulus is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds, Hügelgrab or kurgans, and can be found throughout much of the world. A tumulus composed largely or entirely of stones is usually referred to as a cairn...

comprising over 170 individual burial

Burial

Burial is the act of placing a person or object into the ground. This is accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing an object in it, and covering it over.-History:...

s, making it one of the largest gravefields on Öland. These burials span the late Bronze Age

Bronze Age

The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...

, Iron Age

Iron Age

The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...

and Viking

Viking

The term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to...

periods. The wavy terrain is characteristic of Iron Age barrows, and there are numerous standing stone

Standing stone

Standing stones, orthostats, liths, or more commonly megaliths are solitary stones set vertically in the ground and come in many different varieties....

s present. Numerous artefacts have been recovered from this gravefield, including bronze

Bronze

Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal...

chains and a bone

Bone

needle

Sewing needle

A sewing needle is a long slender tool with a pointed tip. The first needles were made of bone or wood; modern ones are manufactured from high carbon steel wire, nickel- or 18K gold plated for corrosion resistance. The highest quality embroidery needles are plated with two-thirds platinum and...

case.

Viking grave

Grave (burial)

A grave is a location where a dead body is buried. Graves are usually located in special areas set aside for the purpose of burial, such as graveyards or cemeteries....

s have also been found at the Hulterstad Gravefield as well as the extensive Strandvalle Gravfeld a few kilometers further south. These findings imply that Alby was a link within a chain of Viking settlements concentrated on the southeast coast of Öland. Seafaring Viking cultures seemed to prefer the eastern side of the island, probably more due to the good beaches and ample forestation.

Middle Ages through late seventeenth century

While little recorded information exists for this period, Viking interments are dated to the High Middle Ages

High Middle Ages

The High Middle Ages was the period of European history around the 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries . The High Middle Ages were preceded by the Early Middle Ages and followed by the Late Middle Ages, which by convention end around 1500....

. By royal decree detailed church records began to be kept by the latter 17th century in the form of birth

Birth

Birth is the act or process of bearing or bringing forth offspring. The offspring is brought forth from the mother. The time of human birth is defined as the time at which the fetus comes out of the mother's womb into the world...

s, deaths, baptism

Baptism

In Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...

s and annual household census

Census

A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

es. For the entire Hulterstad district, these archives were prepared and maintained at the Hulterstad Church. These records form a basis of estimating the population and lifespans of Alby residents at the end of the 17th century, since the records of Alby were kept distinct from other villages within the Hulterstad district. The late 17th century village population has been estimated at 35 to 60 individuals with life expectancy approximately 45 years. The oldest surviving buildings in Alby date to the 16th century; ironically they are Malmhouse

Almshouse

Almshouses are charitable housing provided to enable people to live in a particular community...

s, homes created for housing the poor and landless; in fact, these homes were built to very high standards of that early era and consist of heavy timber

Timber

Timber may refer to:* Timber, a term common in the United Kingdom and Australia for wood materials * Timber, Oregon, an unincorporated community in the U.S...

construction and interior fireplace

Fireplace

A fireplace is an architectural structure to contain a fire for heating and, especially historically, for cooking. A fire is contained in a firebox or firepit; a chimney or other flue allows gas and particulate exhaust to escape...

s. The social and cultural values of early Swedes are evidenced by the willingness of the landed citizens to fund quality housing for the poorer members of the community as early as the 16th century; moreover, this is an early proof of the industriousness of the poor to build substantial housing on land they did not own.

1680s to 1870s

Population

A population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...

continued to expand, but farming ceased to be the sole form of livelihood, even though it remained the dominant form of work. The village evolved specialists such as blacksmith

Blacksmith

A blacksmith is a person who creates objects from wrought iron or steel by forging the metal; that is, by using tools to hammer, bend, and cut...

and tailor

Tailor

A tailor is a person who makes, repairs, or alters clothing professionally, especially suits and men's clothing.Although the term dates to the thirteenth century, tailor took on its modern sense in the late eighteenth century, and now refers to makers of men's and women's suits, coats, trousers,...

. The village blacksmith's shop was constructed in this era on the west side of the coast highway, probably in the 18th century, and is extant as of 2006; it has been converted to a small museum

Museum

A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...

. It is of interest that the smithy

Forge

A forge is a hearth used for forging. The term "forge" can also refer to the workplace of a smith or a blacksmith, although the term smithy is then more commonly used.The basic smithy contains a forge, also known as a hearth, for heating metals...

structure had to be erected outside of the 17th century drystone town wall, because the activity posed a fire risk to others.

This era began the wave of American

Americas

The Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...

emigration that brought large numbers of Swedes to the New World

New World

The New World is one of the names used for the Western Hemisphere, specifically America and sometimes Oceania . The term originated in the late 15th century, when America had been recently discovered by European explorers, expanding the geographical horizon of the people of the European middle...

. In addition to extensive handwritten records kept by the Hulterstad Church during this time, detailed records of ships' passages carrying immigrants were kept, and they register many people from Alby travelling to the United States of America to begin a new life. Copies of both types of records are maintained at the Swedish Emigrant Institute

Swedish Emigrant Institute

Swedish Emigrant Institute is a research center and museum which is designed to preserve records and memorabilia relating to Swedish-American migration.-Background:...

in the city of Växjö

Växjö

Växjö is a city and the seat of Växjö Municipality, Kronoberg County, Sweden with 64 200 inhabitants in 2010. It is the administrative, cultural and industrial centre of Kronoberg County. Furthermore it is the episcopal see of the Diocese of Växjö. It has a population of about 64 200, out of a...

Demography and current aspect

The 2006 population is estimated at 125 people. Like Öland as a whole, about 94 percent are Lutheran Protestant. More than 90 percent of the population are native Swedes, and the entire population is white

White people

White people is a term which usually refers to human beings characterized, at least in part, by the light pigmentation of their skin...

. While most of the population is permanent, there are a few homes which are used only as summer holiday homes, mostly owned by Swedes who have a primary home elsewhere in the country.

There is virtually no commercial land use

Land use

Land use is the human use of land. Land use involves the management and modification of natural environment or wilderness into built environment such as fields, pastures, and settlements. It has also been defined as "the arrangements, activities and inputs people undertake in a certain land cover...

in Alby as of 2006, nor is there a history of commercial land use. The village consists of single family residences, some of which are part of a farming operation. The sole exceptions to residential and agricultural uses are a bookstore/cafe

Café

A café , also spelled cafe, in most countries refers to an establishment which focuses on serving coffee, like an American coffeehouse. In the United States, it may refer to an informal restaurant, offering a range of hot meals and made-to-order sandwiches...

building and a small museum

Museum

, the latter of which is the original blacksmith

Blacksmith

A blacksmith is a person who creates objects from wrought iron or steel by forging the metal; that is, by using tools to hammer, bend, and cut...

's workshop

Workshop

A workshop is a room or building which provides both the area and tools that may be required for the manufacture or repair of manufactured goods...

Flora and fauna

The western fringe of Alby includes some grazing

Grazing

Grazing generally describes a type of feeding, in which a herbivore feeds on plants , and also on other multicellular autotrophs...

land and borders on the Stora Alvaret

Stora Alvaret

, the greatest expanse of alvar

Alvar

habitat

Habitat (ecology)

A habitat is an ecological or environmental area that is inhabited by a particular species of animal, plant or other type of organism...

in Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

. This unique geological formation is an almost level plateau

Plateau

In geology and earth science, a plateau , also called a high plain or tableland, is an area of highland, usually consisting of relatively flat terrain. A highly eroded plateau is called a dissected plateau...

. The Stora Alvaret has an extremely thin soil mantle, that creates conditions
of unusual adaptation and hence leads to a host of rare plant species

Rare species

A rare species is a group of organisms that are very uncommon or scarce. This designation may be applied to either a plant or animal taxon, and may be distinct from the term "endangered" or "threatened species" but not "extinct"....

. The first documented scientific study of the biota

Biota (ecology)

Biota are the total collection of organisms of a geographic region or a time period, from local geographic scales and instantaneous temporal scales all the way up to whole-planet and whole-timescale spatiotemporal scales. The biota of the Earth lives in the biosphere.-See...

of the eastern part of the Stora Alvaret occurred in the year 1741 with the visit of Linnaeus. He wrote of this unusual ecosystem: "It is noteworthy how some plants are able to thrive on the driest and most barren places of the alvar". The alvar here also supports rare species

Rare species

of butterflies

Butterfly

A butterfly is a mainly day-flying insect of the order Lepidoptera, which includes the butterflies and moths. Like other holometabolous insects, the butterfly's life cycle consists of four parts: egg, larva, pupa and adult. Most species are diurnal. Butterflies have large, often brightly coloured...

, moth

Moth

A moth is an insect closely related to the butterfly, both being of the order Lepidoptera. Moths form the majority of this order; there are thought to be 150,000 to 250,000 different species of moth , with thousands of species yet to be described...

s and other insect

Insect

Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...

s.

Some relict

Relict

A relict is a surviving remnant of a natural phenomenon.* In biology a relict is an organism that at an earlier time was abundant in a large area but now occurs at only one or a few small areas....

species from the glacial age are among the flora

Flora

Flora is the plant life occurring in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring or indigenous—native plant life. The corresponding term for animals is fauna.-Etymology:...

palette of the Stora Alvaret. A wide variety of wildflower

Wildflower

A wildflower is a flower that grows wild, meaning it was not intentionally seeded or planted. Yet "wildflower" meadows of a few mixed species are sold in seed packets. The term "wildflower" has been made vague by commercial seedsmen who are interested in selling more flowers or seeds more...

s and other plants are found on the limestone pavement ecosystem. Some of the species found include stonecrop, dropwort

Dropwort

Dropwort , also known as Fern-leaf Dropwort, is a perennial herb of the family Rosaceae closely related to Meadowsweet...

, Artemisia
Artemisia (plant)
Artemisia is a large, diverse genus of plants with between 200 to 400 species belonging to the daisy family Asteraceae. It comprises hardy herbs and shrubs known for their volatile oils. They grow in temperate climates of the Northern Hemisphere and Southern Hemisphere, usually in dry or semi-dry...

Öelandica (endemic to Öland), and kidney vetch. At the northwest of Alby is a seasonal wetland having vernal pool

Vernal pool

Vernal pools, also called vernal ponds or ephemeral pools, are temporary pools of water. They are usually devoid of fish, and thus allow the safe development of natal amphibian and insect species...

s and corresponding diversity of wetland plants.

The eastern part of Alby is a coastal plain leading to sand and shingle beach

Shingle beach

A shingle beach is a beach which is armoured with pebbles or small- to medium-sized cobbles. Typically, the stone composition may grade from characteristic sizes ranging from two to 200 mm diameter....

es. This sandy coastal plain supports a variety of native grasses and beach wildflowers different from the alvar species on Alby's west side. Avafauna on the beach side include the black tern

Black Tern

The Black Tern, Chlidonias niger, is a small tern generally found in or near inland water in Europe and North America. As its name suggests, it has predominantly dark plumage.- Description :...

and curlew

Curlew

The curlews , genus Numenius, are a group of eight species of birds, characterised by long, slender, downcurved bills and mottled brown plumage. They are one of the most ancient lineages of scolopacid waders, together with the godwits which look similar but have straight bills...

, both of which also frequent the vernal ponds to the north. Marine birds found here include cormorant

Cormorant

The bird family Phalacrocoracidae is represented by some 40 species of cormorants and shags. Several different classifications of the family have been proposed recently, and the number of genera is disputed.- Names :...

s and mute swan

Mute Swan

The Mute Swan is a species of swan, and thus a member of the duck, goose and swan family Anatidae. It is native to much of Europe and Asia, and the far north of Africa. It is also an introduced species in North America, Australasia and southern Africa. The name 'mute' derives from it being less...

s; marine mammals such as harbour seal and harbour porpoise

Harbour Porpoise

The harbour porpoise is one of six species of porpoise. It is one of the smallest marine mammals. As its name implies, it stays close to coastal areas or river estuaries, and as such, is the most familiar porpoise to whale watchers. This porpoise often ventures up rivers, and has been seen...

are also seen.

Geography

Geology

Earliest history

Bronze Age to Viking era

Middle Ages through late seventeenth century

1680s to 1870s

Demography and current aspect

Flora and fauna

See also