Abundance and accessibility of forage for reindeer in forests of Northern Sweden: Impacts of landscape and winter climate regime
Abstract The survival of reindeer during winter, their period of greatest food stress, depends largely on the abundance and accessibility of forage in their pastures. In Northern Sweden, realized availability of forage is notably affected by snow conditions and the impacts of forestry. While these f...
Published in: | Ecology and Evolution |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , |
Other Authors: | |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Wiley
2022
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ece3.8820 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/ece3.8820 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1002/ece3.8820 |
id |
crwiley:10.1002/ece3.8820 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
crwiley:10.1002/ece3.8820 2024-06-23T07:55:36+00:00 Abundance and accessibility of forage for reindeer in forests of Northern Sweden: Impacts of landscape and winter climate regime Kater, Ilona Baxter, Robert Leverhulme Trust 2022 http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ece3.8820 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/ece3.8820 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1002/ece3.8820 en eng Wiley http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Ecology and Evolution volume 12, issue 4 ISSN 2045-7758 2045-7758 journal-article 2022 crwiley https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.8820 2024-06-11T04:47:50Z Abstract The survival of reindeer during winter, their period of greatest food stress, depends largely on the abundance and accessibility of forage in their pastures. In Northern Sweden, realized availability of forage is notably affected by snow conditions and the impacts of forestry. While these factors have been examined in isolation, their combined effect has, to the best of our knowledge to date, not been researched. In this study, vegetation surveys and analysis of snow conditions were undertaken in forest stands at various stages of recovery from clear‐cutting. The variation in abundance and growth of understory species edible by reindeer, such as lichen, was noted as forests matured. The barrier effect of ice lenses in the snow was also measured in these stands. Lichen biomass was significantly affected by a combination of stand maturity, understory vegetation height, and lichen height. Soil disturbance from the processes of felling and competition in the vegetation communities recovering from this disturbance were identified as key drivers of change in lichen biomass. Overall, clear‐cut forests had some of the greatest prevalence of ice lenses in the snow column, and forage availability at these sites was up to 61% less than in mature stands over 58 years in age. It is suggested that alternative silviculture methods are investigated for use in this reindeer herding region, as frequent clear‐cutting and consequent reduction in the average forest stand age and maturity class may be detrimental to reindeer grazing, reducing both abundance of forage, and access to it during winter. Article in Journal/Newspaper Northern Sweden Wiley Online Library Ecology and Evolution 12 4 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Wiley Online Library |
op_collection_id |
crwiley |
language |
English |
description |
Abstract The survival of reindeer during winter, their period of greatest food stress, depends largely on the abundance and accessibility of forage in their pastures. In Northern Sweden, realized availability of forage is notably affected by snow conditions and the impacts of forestry. While these factors have been examined in isolation, their combined effect has, to the best of our knowledge to date, not been researched. In this study, vegetation surveys and analysis of snow conditions were undertaken in forest stands at various stages of recovery from clear‐cutting. The variation in abundance and growth of understory species edible by reindeer, such as lichen, was noted as forests matured. The barrier effect of ice lenses in the snow was also measured in these stands. Lichen biomass was significantly affected by a combination of stand maturity, understory vegetation height, and lichen height. Soil disturbance from the processes of felling and competition in the vegetation communities recovering from this disturbance were identified as key drivers of change in lichen biomass. Overall, clear‐cut forests had some of the greatest prevalence of ice lenses in the snow column, and forage availability at these sites was up to 61% less than in mature stands over 58 years in age. It is suggested that alternative silviculture methods are investigated for use in this reindeer herding region, as frequent clear‐cutting and consequent reduction in the average forest stand age and maturity class may be detrimental to reindeer grazing, reducing both abundance of forage, and access to it during winter. |
author2 |
Leverhulme Trust |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Kater, Ilona Baxter, Robert |
spellingShingle |
Kater, Ilona Baxter, Robert Abundance and accessibility of forage for reindeer in forests of Northern Sweden: Impacts of landscape and winter climate regime |
author_facet |
Kater, Ilona Baxter, Robert |
author_sort |
Kater, Ilona |
title |
Abundance and accessibility of forage for reindeer in forests of Northern Sweden: Impacts of landscape and winter climate regime |
title_short |
Abundance and accessibility of forage for reindeer in forests of Northern Sweden: Impacts of landscape and winter climate regime |
title_full |
Abundance and accessibility of forage for reindeer in forests of Northern Sweden: Impacts of landscape and winter climate regime |
title_fullStr |
Abundance and accessibility of forage for reindeer in forests of Northern Sweden: Impacts of landscape and winter climate regime |
title_full_unstemmed |
Abundance and accessibility of forage for reindeer in forests of Northern Sweden: Impacts of landscape and winter climate regime |
title_sort |
abundance and accessibility of forage for reindeer in forests of northern sweden: impacts of landscape and winter climate regime |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ece3.8820 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/ece3.8820 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1002/ece3.8820 |
genre |
Northern Sweden |
genre_facet |
Northern Sweden |
op_source |
Ecology and Evolution volume 12, issue 4 ISSN 2045-7758 2045-7758 |
op_rights |
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.8820 |
container_title |
Ecology and Evolution |
container_volume |
12 |
container_issue |
4 |
_version_ |
1802648257803845632 |