'At this point, the lichens in the trees are their only means of survival':A History of Tree Cutting for Winter Reindeer Fodder by Sami People in Northern Sweden
Abstract The importance of land use history and its impact on ecological systems has recently been recognised, primarily because most 'natural areas' have been found to have experienced greater human interference than previously assumed. The extent of forest exploitation in pre-industrial...
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Liverpool University Press
2011
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.3197/096734011x12997574043044 https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/whp/eh/2011/00000017/00000002/art00005 |
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crliverpoolup:10.3197/096734011x12997574043044 2024-01-07T09:45:32+01:00 'At this point, the lichens in the trees are their only means of survival':A History of Tree Cutting for Winter Reindeer Fodder by Sami People in Northern Sweden Berg, Anna Gunnarsson, Bjorn Ostlund, Lars 2011 http://dx.doi.org/10.3197/096734011x12997574043044 https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/whp/eh/2011/00000017/00000002/art00005 en eng Liverpool University Press Environment and History volume 17, issue 2, page 265-289 ISSN 0967-3407 1752-7023 Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous) Environmental Science (miscellaneous) History Geography, Planning and Development journal-article 2011 crliverpoolup https://doi.org/10.3197/096734011x12997574043044 2023-12-08T14:50:45Z Abstract The importance of land use history and its impact on ecological systems has recently been recognised, primarily because most 'natural areas' have been found to have experienced greater human interference than previously assumed. The extent of forest exploitation in pre-industrial times, especially by native people, has been consistently underestimated. In northern Sweden all the reindeer are herded by the native Sami people. During the winter, reindeer usually feed on ground lichens, which they dig for under the snow. Traditionally, trees with arboreal lichens were cut to provide supplementary food when adverse snow conditions prevented grazing. The stumps from such cuttings are commonly known as 'lichen-stumps' and they can be found in the few remaining unmanaged forest areas. In this study we examine the history, ecology and extent of this specific aspect of forest use by using an integrated approach involving both historical records and field studies. We found that the cutting of trees for lichens was a widespread practice during harsh winters, that significant numbers of trees were cut and that it ceased at the end of the nineteenth century, coinciding with large-scale changes in the land use of northern Scandinavia. Article in Journal/Newspaper Northern Sweden sami Liverpool University Press (via Crossref) Environment and History 17 2 265 289 |
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Open Polar |
collection |
Liverpool University Press (via Crossref) |
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crliverpoolup |
language |
English |
topic |
Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous) Environmental Science (miscellaneous) History Geography, Planning and Development |
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Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous) Environmental Science (miscellaneous) History Geography, Planning and Development Berg, Anna Gunnarsson, Bjorn Ostlund, Lars 'At this point, the lichens in the trees are their only means of survival':A History of Tree Cutting for Winter Reindeer Fodder by Sami People in Northern Sweden |
topic_facet |
Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous) Environmental Science (miscellaneous) History Geography, Planning and Development |
description |
Abstract The importance of land use history and its impact on ecological systems has recently been recognised, primarily because most 'natural areas' have been found to have experienced greater human interference than previously assumed. The extent of forest exploitation in pre-industrial times, especially by native people, has been consistently underestimated. In northern Sweden all the reindeer are herded by the native Sami people. During the winter, reindeer usually feed on ground lichens, which they dig for under the snow. Traditionally, trees with arboreal lichens were cut to provide supplementary food when adverse snow conditions prevented grazing. The stumps from such cuttings are commonly known as 'lichen-stumps' and they can be found in the few remaining unmanaged forest areas. In this study we examine the history, ecology and extent of this specific aspect of forest use by using an integrated approach involving both historical records and field studies. We found that the cutting of trees for lichens was a widespread practice during harsh winters, that significant numbers of trees were cut and that it ceased at the end of the nineteenth century, coinciding with large-scale changes in the land use of northern Scandinavia. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Berg, Anna Gunnarsson, Bjorn Ostlund, Lars |
author_facet |
Berg, Anna Gunnarsson, Bjorn Ostlund, Lars |
author_sort |
Berg, Anna |
title |
'At this point, the lichens in the trees are their only means of survival':A History of Tree Cutting for Winter Reindeer Fodder by Sami People in Northern Sweden |
title_short |
'At this point, the lichens in the trees are their only means of survival':A History of Tree Cutting for Winter Reindeer Fodder by Sami People in Northern Sweden |
title_full |
'At this point, the lichens in the trees are their only means of survival':A History of Tree Cutting for Winter Reindeer Fodder by Sami People in Northern Sweden |
title_fullStr |
'At this point, the lichens in the trees are their only means of survival':A History of Tree Cutting for Winter Reindeer Fodder by Sami People in Northern Sweden |
title_full_unstemmed |
'At this point, the lichens in the trees are their only means of survival':A History of Tree Cutting for Winter Reindeer Fodder by Sami People in Northern Sweden |
title_sort |
'at this point, the lichens in the trees are their only means of survival':a history of tree cutting for winter reindeer fodder by sami people in northern sweden |
publisher |
Liverpool University Press |
publishDate |
2011 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.3197/096734011x12997574043044 https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/whp/eh/2011/00000017/00000002/art00005 |
genre |
Northern Sweden sami |
genre_facet |
Northern Sweden sami |
op_source |
Environment and History volume 17, issue 2, page 265-289 ISSN 0967-3407 1752-7023 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3197/096734011x12997574043044 |
container_title |
Environment and History |
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17 |
container_issue |
2 |
container_start_page |
265 |
op_container_end_page |
289 |
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1787427086764343296 |