Land use and land cover change in Arctic Russia:Ecological and social implications of industrial development
Sizable areas in northwestern arctic Russia have undergone fundamental change in recent decades as the exploration of vast hydrocarbon deposits has intensified. We undertook two case studies on the influence of oil and gas activities within neighbouring federal districts in the tundra zone. Employin...
Published in: | Global Environmental Change |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , , , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
2011
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://research.ulapland.fi/fi/publications/571053ce-6ae9-48f9-8439-4150851ac335 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2010.12.010 |
id |
ftulaplandcdispu:oai:lacris.ulapland.fi:publications/571053ce-6ae9-48f9-8439-4150851ac335 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftulaplandcdispu:oai:lacris.ulapland.fi:publications/571053ce-6ae9-48f9-8439-4150851ac335 2024-06-23T07:48:36+00:00 Land use and land cover change in Arctic Russia:Ecological and social implications of industrial development Kumpula, Timo Pajunen, Anu Kaarlejarvi, Elina Forbes, Bruce C. Stammler, Florian 2011-05 https://research.ulapland.fi/fi/publications/571053ce-6ae9-48f9-8439-4150851ac335 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2010.12.010 eng eng https://research.ulapland.fi/fi/publications/571053ce-6ae9-48f9-8439-4150851ac335 info:eu-repo/semantics/closedAccess Kumpula , T , Pajunen , A , Kaarlejarvi , E , Forbes , B C & Stammler , F 2011 , ' Land use and land cover change in Arctic Russia : Ecological and social implications of industrial development ' , Global Environmental Change : Human and Policy Dimensions , vol. 21 , no. 2 , pp. 550-562 . https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2010.12.010 Oil & gas activities Remote sensing Human impact Salix Off-road traffic Reindeer Nenets nomadism TUNDRA DISTURBANCE EUROPEAN RUSSIA KOLA-PENINSULA POWER-LINES VEGETATION RESPONSES SIBERIA CARIBOU NORTH /dk/atira/pure/person/fieldofscience2010/1/17/2 name=Environmental sciences article 2011 ftulaplandcdispu https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2010.12.010 2024-06-03T23:40:39Z Sizable areas in northwestern arctic Russia have undergone fundamental change in recent decades as the exploration of vast hydrocarbon deposits has intensified. We undertook two case studies on the influence of oil and gas activities within neighbouring federal districts in the tundra zone. Employing a strongly interdisciplinary approach, we studied the ecological, spatial and social dimensions of the visible and perceived changes in land use and land cover. Our data are derived from field sampling, remote sensing and intensive participant observation with indigenous Nenets reindeer herders and non-indigenous workers. Important trends include the rapid expansion of infrastructure, a large influx of workers who compete for freshwater fish, and extensive transformation from shrub- to grass- and sedge-dominated tundra. The latter represents an alternative ecosystem state that is likely to persist indefinitely. On terrain disturbed by off-road vehicle traffic, reindeer pastures' vegetation regenerates with fewer species among which grasses and sedges dominate, thus reducing biodiversity. To have maximum forage value such pastures must be accessible and free of trash, petro-chemicals and feral dogs. We found that a wide range of direct and indirect impacts, both ecological and social, accumulate in space and time such that the combined influence is effectively regional rather than local, depending in part on the placement of facilities. While incoming workers commonly commit poaching, they also serve as exchange partners, making barter for goods possible in remote locations. In general, the same positive and negative impacts of the presence of industry were mentioned in each study region. Even using very high-resolution remote sensing data (Quickbird-2) it is not possible to determine fully the amount of degraded territory in modern oil and gas fields. With regard to policy, both biophysical and social impacts could be substantially reduced if information flow between herders and workers were to be optimized. (C) ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Arctic kola peninsula nenets Tundra Siberia LaCRIS - University of Lapland Current Research System Arctic Kola Peninsula Global Environmental Change 21 2 550 562 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
LaCRIS - University of Lapland Current Research System |
op_collection_id |
ftulaplandcdispu |
language |
English |
topic |
Oil & gas activities Remote sensing Human impact Salix Off-road traffic Reindeer Nenets nomadism TUNDRA DISTURBANCE EUROPEAN RUSSIA KOLA-PENINSULA POWER-LINES VEGETATION RESPONSES SIBERIA CARIBOU NORTH /dk/atira/pure/person/fieldofscience2010/1/17/2 name=Environmental sciences |
spellingShingle |
Oil & gas activities Remote sensing Human impact Salix Off-road traffic Reindeer Nenets nomadism TUNDRA DISTURBANCE EUROPEAN RUSSIA KOLA-PENINSULA POWER-LINES VEGETATION RESPONSES SIBERIA CARIBOU NORTH /dk/atira/pure/person/fieldofscience2010/1/17/2 name=Environmental sciences Kumpula, Timo Pajunen, Anu Kaarlejarvi, Elina Forbes, Bruce C. Stammler, Florian Land use and land cover change in Arctic Russia:Ecological and social implications of industrial development |
topic_facet |
Oil & gas activities Remote sensing Human impact Salix Off-road traffic Reindeer Nenets nomadism TUNDRA DISTURBANCE EUROPEAN RUSSIA KOLA-PENINSULA POWER-LINES VEGETATION RESPONSES SIBERIA CARIBOU NORTH /dk/atira/pure/person/fieldofscience2010/1/17/2 name=Environmental sciences |
description |
Sizable areas in northwestern arctic Russia have undergone fundamental change in recent decades as the exploration of vast hydrocarbon deposits has intensified. We undertook two case studies on the influence of oil and gas activities within neighbouring federal districts in the tundra zone. Employing a strongly interdisciplinary approach, we studied the ecological, spatial and social dimensions of the visible and perceived changes in land use and land cover. Our data are derived from field sampling, remote sensing and intensive participant observation with indigenous Nenets reindeer herders and non-indigenous workers. Important trends include the rapid expansion of infrastructure, a large influx of workers who compete for freshwater fish, and extensive transformation from shrub- to grass- and sedge-dominated tundra. The latter represents an alternative ecosystem state that is likely to persist indefinitely. On terrain disturbed by off-road vehicle traffic, reindeer pastures' vegetation regenerates with fewer species among which grasses and sedges dominate, thus reducing biodiversity. To have maximum forage value such pastures must be accessible and free of trash, petro-chemicals and feral dogs. We found that a wide range of direct and indirect impacts, both ecological and social, accumulate in space and time such that the combined influence is effectively regional rather than local, depending in part on the placement of facilities. While incoming workers commonly commit poaching, they also serve as exchange partners, making barter for goods possible in remote locations. In general, the same positive and negative impacts of the presence of industry were mentioned in each study region. Even using very high-resolution remote sensing data (Quickbird-2) it is not possible to determine fully the amount of degraded territory in modern oil and gas fields. With regard to policy, both biophysical and social impacts could be substantially reduced if information flow between herders and workers were to be optimized. (C) ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Kumpula, Timo Pajunen, Anu Kaarlejarvi, Elina Forbes, Bruce C. Stammler, Florian |
author_facet |
Kumpula, Timo Pajunen, Anu Kaarlejarvi, Elina Forbes, Bruce C. Stammler, Florian |
author_sort |
Kumpula, Timo |
title |
Land use and land cover change in Arctic Russia:Ecological and social implications of industrial development |
title_short |
Land use and land cover change in Arctic Russia:Ecological and social implications of industrial development |
title_full |
Land use and land cover change in Arctic Russia:Ecological and social implications of industrial development |
title_fullStr |
Land use and land cover change in Arctic Russia:Ecological and social implications of industrial development |
title_full_unstemmed |
Land use and land cover change in Arctic Russia:Ecological and social implications of industrial development |
title_sort |
land use and land cover change in arctic russia:ecological and social implications of industrial development |
publishDate |
2011 |
url |
https://research.ulapland.fi/fi/publications/571053ce-6ae9-48f9-8439-4150851ac335 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2010.12.010 |
geographic |
Arctic Kola Peninsula |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Kola Peninsula |
genre |
Arctic Arctic kola peninsula nenets Tundra Siberia |
genre_facet |
Arctic Arctic kola peninsula nenets Tundra Siberia |
op_source |
Kumpula , T , Pajunen , A , Kaarlejarvi , E , Forbes , B C & Stammler , F 2011 , ' Land use and land cover change in Arctic Russia : Ecological and social implications of industrial development ' , Global Environmental Change : Human and Policy Dimensions , vol. 21 , no. 2 , pp. 550-562 . https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2010.12.010 |
op_relation |
https://research.ulapland.fi/fi/publications/571053ce-6ae9-48f9-8439-4150851ac335 |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/closedAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2010.12.010 |
container_title |
Global Environmental Change |
container_volume |
21 |
container_issue |
2 |
container_start_page |
550 |
op_container_end_page |
562 |
_version_ |
1802638961477156864 |