Dataset Information

The decreasing availability of reindeer forage in boreal forests during snow cover periods: A Sami pastoral landscape perspective in Sweden.

ABSTRACT: This paper argues that Sámi reindeer pastoralism in Sweden is highly stressed during the critical snow cover periods due to large-scale human interventions, especially forestry, and that these have over time significantly worsened the ecological conditions for natural grazing-based responses to changing snow conditions caused by climate change. Informed by a literature review, the paper conceptualises two, overlapping ecological dynamics that shape the availability of lichen as key forage resources within a Sámi pastoral landscape perspective: the grazing dynamics of reindeer during snow cover periods as determined by climatic stochasticity, and the more predictable vegetation dynamics of lichen habitat formation, growth and sustenance based on structured forestry practices. This could help articulate an intervention ecology that pursues sustainable ecological conditions for natural grazing-based Sámi reindeer pastoralism, along with other goals. As such alternatives are likely to face political resistance, the article discusses the implications of its findings within a science-politics interface.

SUBMITTER: Harnesk D

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9583999 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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The decreasing availability of reindeer forage in boreal forests during snow cover periods: A Sámi pastoral landscape perspective in Sweden.

Harnesk David D

Ambio 20220621 12

This paper argues that Sámi reindeer pastoralism in Sweden is highly stressed during the critical snow cover periods due to large-scale human interventions, especially forestry, and that these have over time significantly worsened the ecological conditions for natural grazing-based responses to changing snow conditions caused by climate change. Informed by a literature review, the paper conceptualises two, overlapping ecological dynamics that shape the availability of lichen as key forage resour ...[more]

PMID: 35727486

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Project description:INTRODUCTION:Geometrid moths and semi-domesticated reindeer are both herbivores which feed on birch leaves in the subarctic mountain birch forests in northern Fennoscandia. The caterpillars of autumnal and winter moths have episodic outbreaks, which can occasionally lead to extensive defoliation of birch forests. Earlier studies have shown that reindeer have a negative effect on the regeneration of defoliated birches by grazing and browsing their seedlings and sprouts. CASE DESCRIPTION:We interviewed 15 reindeer herders in the Kaldoaivi and Paistunturi herding co-operative in northernmost Finland in order to analyse their past, present and future views on the behaviour of moths and the growth of mountain birches. We investigate the behaviour of the two herbivores by combining the indigenous knowledge (IK) of Sámi herders with the results of relevant studies in biology and anthropology, applying niche construction theory (NCT) in doing so. DISCUSSION AND EVALUATION:In the first stage, the niche constructors (moths, reindeer, herders, mountain birch and other organisms) are looked upon as "equal constructors" of a shared niche. As changes unfold in their niche, their role changes from that of constructor to key constructor. The role and importance of niche constructors were different when nomadic pasture rotation was used than they are today under the herding co-operative system. Niche construction faced its most radical and permanent negative changes during the border closures that took place over the latter half of the 19(th) century. The large-scale nomadic life among the Sámi herders, who migrated between Finland and Norway, came to an end. This phase was followed by stationary herding, which diminished the possibilities of reindeer to look for various environmental affordances. Difficult snow conditions or birch defoliation caused by moth outbreaks made the situation worse than before. Eventually reindeer became key constructors, together with moth larvae, leading to negative ecological inheritance that forced herders to use new, adaptive herding practices. CONCLUSIONS:Both the scientific data and the IK of herders highlight the roles of reindeer and herders as continuous key constructors of the focal niche, one which stands to be modified in more heterogenic ways than earlier due to global warming and hence will result in new ecological inheritance.

Project description:Taking advantage of the improved radiometric resolution of Landsat-8 OLI which, unlike previous Landsat sensors, does not saturate over snow, the progress of fire recovery progress at the landscape scale (< 100m) is examined. High quality Landsat-8 albedo retrievals can now capture the true reflective and layered character of snow cover over a full range of land surface conditions and vegetation densities. This new capability particularly improves the assessment of post-fire vegetation dynamics across low- to high- burn severity gradients in Arctic and boreal regions in the early spring, when the albedos during recovery show the greatest variation. We use 30 m resolution Landsat-8 surface reflectances with concurrent coarser resolution (500m) MODIS high quality full inversion surface Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Functions (BRDF) products to produce higher resolution values of surface albedo. The high resolution full expression shortwave blue sky albedo product performs well with an overall RMSE of 0.0267 between tower and satellite measures under both snow-free and snow-covered conditions. While the importance of post-fire albedo recovery can be discerned from the MODIS albedo product at regional and global scales, our study addresses the particular importance of early spring post-fire albedo recovery at the landscape scale by considering the significant spatial heterogeneity of burn severity, and the impact of snow on the early spring albedo of various vegetation recovery types. We found that variations in early spring albedo within a single MODIS gridded pixel can be larger than 0.6. Since the frequency and severity of wildfires in Arctic and boreal systems is expected to increase in the coming decades, the dynamics of albedo in response to these rapid surface changes will increasingly impact the energy balance and contribute to other climate processes and physical feedback mechanisms. Surface radiation products derived from Landsat-8 data will thus play an important role in characterizing the carbon cycle and ecosystem processes of high latitude systems.

Project description:Forage supply has been stressed due to the rapid increase in China's livestock consumption. However, the long-term dynamics of the relationships between forage demand and multi-sourced supply are not understood. Here, we examine the annual forage demand, or practical carrying capacity (PCC), and supply, or theoretical carrying capacity (TCC) from 2000 to 2019 in China. We construct a forage supply-demand index (FSDI) to represent the forage supply pressure using MODIS-derived net primary productivity products and provincial statistical datasets, and we consider two scenarios. First, natural grasslands are the sole source of forage. Second, natural grassland forage supply is supplemented with straw crops. We find an increase in PCC in northwestern China's major pastoral and agropastoral provincial regions, including Inner Mongolia, Gansu, Ningxia and Qinghai, at rate of 0.24-3.59 million sheep units (SU) a year. As the primary source of forage, the theoretical carrying capacity of natural grasslands (TCCgrass) expanded at a rate of 3 million SU/yr nationally. Crop straws fed 126.58 million SU nationally in 2019, which accounted for 11.3% of the total practical carrying capacity and alleviated the forage supply pressure by reducing FSDI by 26.56%. During 2000-2019, the theoretical carrying capacity of straw crops (TCCcrop) increased rapidly from 76.5 million SU to 126.6 million SU, which accounted for 10%-15% of the total forage supply at the national scale. We also discovered large carrying capacity gaps (TCCgap) in the northwestern pastoral provincial regions of Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang, Gansu, and some agricultural provinces such as Shandong and Henan, when we considered forage supply from both natural grasslands and straw crops. Our findings showed a large forage gap in the traditional pastoral regions, and we also discussed green fodder as a potential solution for balancing the supply of and demand for forage, which may shed light on crop and forage planning.

Dataset Information

The decreasing availability of reindeer forage in boreal forests during snow cover periods: A Sami pastoral landscape perspective in Sweden.

Publications

The decreasing availability of reindeer forage in boreal forests during snow cover periods: A Sámi pastoral landscape perspective in Sweden.

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