Vegetation data
Here we combined 1) historical vegetation data (1903, 1913, and 1983)
from along the Rallarvägen with 2) a new resurvey of the Rallarvägen in
2021 and 3) an additional survey performed in 2016 by the Mountain
Invasion Research Network (MIREN; Haider et al. 2022) along two hiking
trails leading from the Rallarvägen into the mountains: the Björkliden
and Låktatjåkka trail (Wedegärtner et al. 2022).
The vegetation surveys by Sylvén in 1903 and 1913 focused on the
establishment of ruderal species after the railroad construction
(Sylvén, 1904 and 1915-17). During its construction, the surrounding
vegetation was destroyed, leaving bare soil whereupon construction
materials were transported and assembled. Near the end of railroad
construction in 1903, Sylvén’s observation of an influx of ruderal
species along the Rallarvägen, most notably near the settlements of
Abisko, Björkliden, and Vassijaure where construction efforts led to
various dump piles of horse manure and rubbish, compelled him to survey
the vegetation (Sylvén, 1904). Upon his return to the Abisko region in
1913, Sylvén observed remarkable changes in human influences on
vegetation composition. Houses had greatly expanded in numbers and size,
often with lawns and gardens, around the Abisko Tourist Station and the
train stations. In Riksgränsen, where no outstanding developments in the
vegetation had been observed in 1903, large areas now had to be
considered ruderal-dominated vegetation. Only in Vassijaure, the
vegetation structure had remained in the same state as in 1903. These
new observations led him to perform a follow-up survey, this time
including Riksgränsen (Sylvén 1915-17). Both publications did not
specify their survey methods.
Expecting possible changes in the vegetation composition due to the
building of the E10 in 1982, Lewejohann and Lorenzen (1983) re-surveyed
the trail following an earlier publication from the 1950s (Asplund,
1950). They documented all vascular plant species in 20 areas of
unspecified size in the broader Abisko region, using Flora Europaea vol.
I (Tutin et al. 1980). We include the following surveyed areas
intersecting the Rallarvägen: Björkliden, Kopparåsen, Låktatjåkka,
Vassijaure, and Riksgränsen. From this publication, the Abisko area,
although including the Abisko settlement and train station, was not
included in our investigation as the covered survey area lay outside our
area of interest: from Abiskojåkka to Tjuonavaggejåkka – about 25 km
distance from the Rallarvägen – which includes other hiking trails and
encompasses the Abisko National Park.