Gaute Eiterjord
drpetala.bsky.social
Gaute Eiterjord
@drpetala.bsky.social
PhD Candidate in forest ecology at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences. Spent my youth in
@naturogungdom.bsky.social and used to fool around on Twitter.
Kvar gong ein programleiar i NRK seier at nå skal dei nå ut til dei unge
September 5, 2025 at 6:24 PM
Hipp hurra! Dette skulle Torgeir og Gaute ha visst då dei sat og fraus oppå der
August 12, 2025 at 7:31 PM
One of the highlights of summer is seeing small alpine plants that right now lie deep beneath the snow. Micranthes tenuis (NO Grannsildre) grows on late-melting snowbeds and develops small nodding capsules. From Finse.
January 27, 2025 at 2:58 PM
Hookeria lucens (NO Dronningmose EN Shining Hookeria). Big (for a moss), flat, shoots that did not resemble any other I had seen. I almost fell face-first into it on a wet and slippery oak forest in Lyngdal last fall. In Norway, it grows in humid coastal forests, along creeks and in crevices.
January 24, 2025 at 8:56 AM
These little fellows are the lichen Calicium tigillare (NO Gjerdesotbeger). They can be found on old, dead pine branches, but will happily grow on old (non-treated) fence-posts as well. Touching the black disks (apothecia) will soot your fingers with spores.
January 23, 2025 at 4:31 PM
One of the nicest bryophytes I know: Bazzania trilobata (NO Storstylte EN Greater whipwort). In humid forests with characteristic Y-shaped shoots. From Tjuåsen, Ås
January 22, 2025 at 2:42 PM
Corticoid fungi of the day: Phlebia centrifuga (NO Rynkeskinn). Wrinkly and pinkish, decomposing a nice, old log in Marifjell nature reserve in Hurdal/Nannestad.
January 21, 2025 at 2:00 PM
Parasitic plant of the day: Monotropa hypopitys (NO Vaniljerot, EN Dutchman's pipe, pinesap and a bunch of other names). Lacking chlorophyll, it instead feeds on fungi connected to the roots of trees (such as the pines here). Near threatened on the Norwegian Red List due to loss of old forests.
January 20, 2025 at 11:33 AM
Old linden trees really are weird.
January 17, 2025 at 1:37 PM
Saproxylic fungi of the day: Holwaya mucida covering an old linden log in Lyngdal, SW Norway. Both the bowls and clubs are reproductive structure, although the latter produce spores asexually.
January 17, 2025 at 1:37 PM
Weird fungi of the day: Hypocreopsis riccioidea (NO Seljepute EN Hazel gloves). It grew on a willow in a swamp forest north in the Nordre Øyeren wetland system. The swedish name is descriptive: Trollhand!
January 16, 2025 at 3:33 PM
Lichen of the day: Alectoria sarmentosa (NO Gubbeskjegg, EN Witch's hair lichen). Most often found on spruce, and used as an indicator of forest naturalness. Here from Marifjell, Nannestad
January 15, 2025 at 1:03 PM
22 år med TFO
Kva med SVO?
January 14, 2025 at 1:22 PM
Bryophyte of the day: Splachnum sphaericum (NO Blankmøkkmose). In the US, it is called pinkstink dung moss, in UK round-fruited collar-moss. It grows on dung, and the sporophytes smell like decaying flesh, attracting flies that disperse the bryophyte's spores. I stumbled across this one at Finse.
January 14, 2025 at 8:21 AM
Continuing the theme of nice species to unexpectedly show up in your plots:

Last summer Clavaria zollingeri (NO Fiolett greinkøllesopp, EN Violet coral) appeared when we did a vegetation survey on an old hay meadow in Voss. Grassland fungi like these are rare and threatened in modern agriculture
January 13, 2025 at 9:44 AM
My buddy Martin posing next to Silene walberghella, an alpine plant that is self-pollinating and with a flower that never opens. The Norwegian name: Blindurt (blind herb). We were very excited to have it show up in a study plot! From Sanddalsnuten, Finse.
January 10, 2025 at 8:46 AM
Lichen of the day: Glypholecia scabra (NO Kalkskjold). Found a few places in the driest parts of central Norway on calcareous rocks. Picture from Vågå.
January 9, 2025 at 2:26 PM
Bryophyte of the day: Buxbaumia viridis (NO Grønsko, EN Green shield-moss. Often on large spruce logs in old forests. Half a centimeter tall, with no visible ordinary leaves, just the (in bryophyte terms) big sporophyte shaped like a long, green shoe. Always a very satisfying find! From Tjuåsen, Ås
January 8, 2025 at 8:26 AM
A lichen that makes me happy: Letharia vulpina (EN Wolf lichen, NO ulvelav). Most often found on old, grey pine trees (kelo). Is poisonous and was allegedly used to kill wolves back in the day. Picture beneath is from Billingen, Skjåk
January 7, 2025 at 8:52 AM
2024 was an intense year of data collection. We hope to present some exciting results (and update this so far very sparse website) soon! www.nmbu.no/en/forskning...
January 6, 2025 at 1:50 PM
As part of this project, we will connect biodiversity data measured on the ground with remotely sensed data on forest structure and dead wood.

On a forest property of nearly 300 km2 we have performed a large-scale sampling of insect and fungi diversity + vegetation and dead wood surveys.
January 6, 2025 at 1:50 PM
I am currently doing a PhD in the BioDivAbove project (Biodiversity mapping of forests from above). Half of the threatened species in Norway reside in the forest. We sorely need more information on where the important forest patches with high naturalness are
January 6, 2025 at 1:50 PM
As my master thesis, I studyed the long-term effect of higher temperatures on alpine vegetation. I think it turned out pretty well (the thesis, not the future prospects of lichens and bryophytes...) Feel free to check it out: nmbu.brage.unit.no/nmbu-xmlui/h...
January 6, 2025 at 1:50 PM
I have since then written a book with resources for young climate activists (aschehoug.no/klimaopproret), and studied ecology at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences. It turned out to be a rabbit hole into the study - and appreciation of - small things.
January 6, 2025 at 1:50 PM
January 6, 2025 at 1:02 PM