Borovichev E.A. Botanical excursion on the Northern Soroya. Hammerfest, 2014.

Seashore vege ta tion Sea coasts are one of the most colourful and attractive Norwegian landscapes. There are rocky shores and cliffs facing the vast ocean and beautiful beaches with shiny white sand or darkly glistening round pebbles. The prevailing coastal forms on Soroya are fjords and true cliffs with narrow stony surf terraces. Broad pebbly and sand coastal terraces and sandy coastal dunes developed in wide shallow bays as a result o f marine abrasion and land elevation during the past Holocene epoch. Their present appearance results from the downward movement of the coastline after glacier retreat and isostatic uplift o f the land. Wind and wave action have shaped accumulations o f sand and other sediments. Steep cliffs usually have limited amount o f vegetation, but flat sheltered areas in fjord bottoms and calm bays, often associated with glacial valleys and stream outlets, are important sites for plants. As a rule, sandy beaches are continually changing. This is due to storms, permanent winds and organic material (seaweed, animal remnants) deposition along the edge of the extreme storm tideline. The coastal landscape supports specific flora and vegetation. The plants are affected by specific marine ecological factors as seasonal and diurnal temperature equalizing, unhindered effect o f the wind, stronger irradiation and haline effect o f the sea water. Intensive sheep grazing and trampling also affect the presence and abundance o f some coastal vascular plants. Coastal landscape is characterized by obvious zonation of the vegetation: the further away from the shore, the clearer this transition from marine to inland conditions is. Physical conditions associated with the transition include decreased flooding, salt leaching and cover by drifting sand, increasing humification o f soil, etc. The vegetation-free part o f a sandy beach washed by waves is called ‘the foreshore’. ‘The backshore’ extends from the line o f extreme high Sandy beaches in the bays ofthe Norwegian Sea present the most scenic landscapes ofthe island 60