Winter condition variability decreases the economic sustainability of reindeer husbandry.

ABSTRACT: Wild and semidomesticated reindeer are one of the key species in Arctic and subarctic areas, and their population dynamics are closely tied to winter conditions. Difficult snow conditions have been found to decrease the calving success and survivability of reindeer, but the economic effects of variation in winter conditions on reindeer husbandry have not been studied. In this study, we combine state-of-the-art economic-ecological modeling with the analysis of annual reindeer management reports from Finland. These contain local knowledge of herding communities. We quantify the occurrence probabilities of different types of winters from annual management reports and analyze the effects of this variation in winter conditions on reindeer husbandry using an age- and sex-structured bioeconomic r

SUBMITTER: Pekkarinen AJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10078097 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature