Sirpa Rasmus

• Doctor of Philosophy, Docent in geophysics
• Researcher at University of Lapland

We studied commercial fishers’ observations and experience-based knowledge in combination with long-term monitoring data in order to gain a holistic view of the adaptation of fishers to climate change and other drivers on Lake Inari. Fishers’ main sustainability concerns included degradation of the environment, overfishing, and lack of decision-mak...

This report is based on the book "Reindeer Husbandry and Global Environmental Change - pastoralism in Fennoscandia". The book, which was published in 2022, brings together previous and new research compiled within a Nordic collaboration project, ReiGN (Reindeer husbandry in a Globalizing North), funded by NordForsk during the years 2016 – 2021. Gra...

When thick wet snow covers unfrozen ground at the beginning of winter, herders fear the development of a hard, icy bottom snow layer and the appearance of noxious moulds (microfungi) in semi-domesticated reindeer pastures. Such winter onsets were experienced in 2019 and 2021 in the reindeer herding area of Finland, after which significant reindeer...

This report is based on the results from a Nordic network project funded by The Nordic Joint Committee for Agricultural and Food Research (NKJ) during the years 2021-2022. This network was created to encourage further cross-border discussions about the prospects of winter feeding of reindeer. In reindeer husbandry winter feeding has increased durin...

The Arctic poses many challenges for Earth system and snow physics models, which are commonly unable to simulate crucial Arctic snowpack processes,such as vapour gradients and rain-on-snow-induced ice layers. These limitations raise concerns about the current understanding of Arctic warming and its impact on biodiversity, livelihoods, permafrost, a...

Snow is a crucial part in the lives of Sámi reindeer herders, and changes in snow conditions can affect their well-being in multiple ways. However, meanings and emotions associated with snow are rarely considered in research on reindeer herding and climate change. Based on thematic interviews with reindeer herders in two reindeer herding co-operati...

This report is based on the results from a Nordic network project funded by The Nordic Joint Committee for Agricultural and Food Research (NKJ) during the years 2021-2022. This network was created to encourage further cross-border discussions about the prospects of winter feeding of reindeer. In reindeer husbandry winter feeding has increased durin...

Against the backcloth of particularly fast environmental change in the Arctic, this study juxtaposes local perceptions of environmental change in two communities in the boreal zone of Northern Europe with scientific data. The local knowledge was gathered through an online participatory mapping survey among the two communities and scientific evidenc...

This report is based on the results from a Nordic network project funded by The Nordic Joint Committee for Agricultural and Food Research (NKJ) during the years 2021-2022. This network was created to encourage further cross-border discussions about the prospects of winter feeding of reindeer. In reindeer husbandry winter feeding has increased durin...

This report is based on the results from a Nordic network project funded by The Nordic Joint Committee for Agricultural and Food Research (NKJ) during the years 2021-2022. This network was created to encourage further cross-border discussions about the prospects of winter feeding of reindeer. In reindeer husbandry winter feeding has increased durin...

The operational environment of commercial fishing in the North is changing due to climate change and other environmental and socio-economic drivers. In this study, we combine the practitioner knowledge of commercial fishers operating on the subarctic Lake Inari in northern Finland with long-term meteorological and hydrological observations from the...

Arctic regions are warming significantly faster than other parts of the globe, leading to changes in snow, ice and weather conditions, ecosystems and local cultures. These changes have brought worry and concern and triggered feelings of loss among Arctic Indigenous Peoples and local communities. Recently, research has started to address emotional a...

The Arctic poses many challenges to Earth System and snow physics models, which are unable to simulate crucial Arctic snowpack processes, such as vapour gradients and rain-on-snow-induced ice layers. These limitations raise concerns about the current understanding of Arctic warming and its impact on biodiversity, livelihoods, permafrost and the glo...

Inarijärven talvikalastuksen tulevaisuus on epävarma, sillä jääpeitekausi lyhenee ja heikot jääolosuhteet ovat yleisempiä kuin aiemmin. Kalastajat hankkivat lisätuloja tekemällä kalastuksen ulkopuolisia töitä. Osa kalastajista hyödyntää joustavasti saalislajien, kalastusmenetelmien, vuodenaikojen ja kalastuspaikkojen moninaisuutta.

Scenarios are a powerful way in which the scientific community can inform future policies for transformative change. Forthcoming scenario work holds promise for the Nature Futures Framework, which through the concept of relational values, seeks to recognize a multiplicity of value positions on human-environment relations, including those of Indigen...

The wood- and peatland dominated Finnish Lapland is part of the northern boreal vegetation zone, except for patches of alpine tundra in the altitudinally highest lying areas close to the Norwegian and Swedish borders in the north, and the south-western corner of the area that belongs to the middle boreal vegetation zone (Elmhagen et al. 2015: Fig....

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 ha...

Background: Northern Finland, like the rest of the Arctic, has experienced increases in mean annual temperature, the number of winter rains, the number of thaw-freeze days, the number of extremely warm weather events, and a shortened snow season. These changes have produced numerous problems for reindeer herders whose livelihoods rely on a healthy...

Tulevaisuus on huomisen tosiasia, porotaloudessakin. Siihen kannattaa varautua. Ihmiset myös muokkaavat tulevaisuutta toiminnallaan. Tulevalta odotetaan hyvinvointia, niin ettei uusien sukupolvien mahdollisuuksia kuitenkaan kuluteta loppuun.

This chapter examines the complexities and challenges in state governance of the maximum permitted number of reindeer in Finland, Norway and Sweden. The common findings regarding the three countries are that (1) maximum permitted numbers of reindeer set by the nation states primarily seem to promote objectives other than those of herders; (2) vario...

When rain falls on an existing cover of snow, followed by low temperatures, or falls as freezing rain, it can leave a hard crust. These Arctic rain on snow (ROS) events can profoundly influence the environment and in turn, human livelihoods. Impacts can be immediate (e.g. on human travel, herding, or harvesting) or evolve or accumulate, leading to...

Drivers of change in the reindeer management system are rather well-known. But when developing the governance to support the traditional livelihoods, it is crucial to understand also practitioner perceptions. Systematic research on these is lacking. We analyzed the land-use and climate related drivers within the reindeer management area (RMA) in Fi...

Reindeer management (RM) in northern Fennoscandia is an example of social-ecological systems (SESs) providing social, cultural, ecological, and economic values. Changing climate and pasture conditions and societal changes continue to transform the operational environment of RM. These key drivers, and resulting transformations including alternative...

Fennoscandian reindeer husbandry represents ecological, social-economical and institutional gradients reflected in different adaptations and management regimes. This provides for an interdisciplinary comparative research approach, between and within countries. By integrating perspectives from natural and social sciences, ReiGN engages in (1) identi...

The recovery and expansion of large carnivores have increased livestock damage in Europe, one example being the reindeer husbandry in northern Fennoscandia. Mostly free-ranging reindeer herds have been exposed to increased predation. We studied connections between the contemporary predator management approach and the consequences of predation in re...

https://jukuri.luke.fi/handle/10024/545810

Artikkelissa tarkastellaan metsätalouden ja porotalouden keskinäisiä vaikutuksia sekä näiden elinkeinojen välisten suhteiden muutoksia erityisesti ekologisten vaikutusten näkökulmasta. Metsätalouden ja porotalouden päällekkäinen maankäyttö on aiheuttanut kiistoja elinkeinojen välille Pohjois-Suomessa jo yli sadan vuoden ajan. Monet voimaperäiset me...

Matching knowledge Demand, research Funding and knowledge Supply (DFS) is important in order to enhance societally and policy relevant research, target funding appropriately and enhance the connectivity between science, policy and society. The DFS field around reindeer management in Finland offers a fertile case study to examine interconnected and...

Mountain birch forests in the northern areas of Sápmi, the Saami homeland, serve as pastures for semi-domesticated reindeer. Recent reindeer management of the area has, to date, proceeded with little involvement of reindeer herders or their knowledge. To get more in-depth understanding of recent changes, we present together herders’ knowledge and s...

We studied interannual variability and changes over time in selected climate indices in the reindeer management area (RMA) in northern Finland. We present together the knowledge possessed by reindeer herders with information from meteorological measurements over three decades. The practitioner knowledge was gathered via a survey questionnaire addre...

The overlapping land use of reindeer husbandry and forestry – both important livelihoods in the boreal forest zone in northern Finland – has led to disputes between the two land use forms for over a hundred years. For the purposes of this study, we conducted a literature review on the impacts of forestry on reindeer husbandry and the impacts of rei...

The aim of this work is (i) to review the recent studies on weather and climate change in Finnish Sápmi and to present the literature review findings alongside our survey on the observations made by local reindeer herders on the same phenomena, and, further, (ii) to review the impacts of climate change on the ecosystem services (ES) in Finnish Sápm...

Texts: The reindeer management area in Finland; Data collection and uncertainty analysis; Collecting raw data for the study; Reconstructing final data for the study; Uncertainties related to the data and analyses. Tables: Occurrences of basal ice reported by herding districts in Finland during winters 1948/1949 – 2015/2016; Occurrences of mold repo...

Basal ice formation in the terrestrial snow cover is a common phenomenon in northern circumpolar areas, one having significant impacts on ecosystems, vegetation, animals and human activities. There is limited knowledge on the spatial and temporal occurrence of basal ice formation because of the sparse observation network and challenges involved in...

Poronhoito, metsät porolaitumina, poron vaikutus metsänuudistumiseen, metsätalouden vaikutukset poronhoitoon, metsätalouden haittavaikutusten vähentäminen, metsä- ja porotalouden yhteensovittaminen

We studied the consequences of World War II (WWII, 1939 – 45) for reindeer herding in northern Finland, evaluated the significance of the livelihood for the population during and after the war, and identified the factors that made successful reconstruction of the livelihood possible. The study is based on qualitative content analysis of articles pu...

The purpose of this article is to present the development of multifaceted research on snow cover conducted by Polish researchers in various parts of the world since the end of the 19 th century up to the modern times. The paper describes Polish studies on physical and chemical properties of snow cover, its long-term changes, relationships between s...

Poronhoidon ja petojen suojelun yhteensovittaminen on tiheiden petokantojen alueella haastavaa. Poronhoidon sopeutumiskeinot petoihin ovat muuttuneet petojen aktiivisesta hävittämisestä ja tapporahoista porojen suojelun ja porovahinkojen todentamisen tehostamiseen. Kansallinen riistahallinto, kansainväliset sopimukset ja EU-lainsäädäntö ovat vaikut...

Poronhoitajilla on lapsesta asti kertynyttä kokemusta paliskuntansa luonnonoloista eri vuodenaikoina. Heille osoitetun kyselyn tavoitteena oli kerätä paikallista tietoa sääolosuhteista ja ilmastosta sekä niiden vaikutuksista luontoon ja poronhoitoon

We studied climate trends and the occurrence of rare and extreme temperature and precipitation events in northern Fennoscandia in 1914–2013. Weather data were derived from nine observation stations located in Finland, Norway, Sweden and Russia. The results showed that spring and autumn temperatures and to a lesser extent summer temperatures increas...

Tarkastelemme toisen maailmansodan (1939–1945) vaikutuksia Suomen poronhoitoon ja arvioimme poronhoidon merkitystä maallemme sekä kriisien että jälleenrakennuksen aikana. Tutkimuksemme perustuu vuosina 1931–1967 ilmestyneiden Poromies-lehtien artikkeleihin ja poronhoitoyhdistysten toimintakertomuksiin. Sodissa menetettiin tärkeitä poronhoitoalueita...

Winter is a critical season for reindeer herding, with the amount and quality of snow being among the most important factors determining the condition of reindeer and the annual success of the livelihood. Our first aim was to model the future (2035-2064) snow conditions in northern Finland, especially the quantities related to ground ice and/or ice...

Weather station measurements were used to force the SNOWPACK snow model and combined with reindeer herders' experiences to study the local and regional variations in snow conditions in a Finnish reindeer herding area for the 1981-2010 period. Winter conditions varied significantly between the four selected herding districts and between open and for...

This chapter compiles and assesses information on recent and current change within the terrestrial cryosphere of the Baltic Sea drainage basin. Findings are based on long-term observations. Snow cover extent (SCE), duration and amount have shown a widespread decrease although there is large interannual and regional variation. Few data are available...

Variation of canopy properties between different forest types is seldom taken into account in hydrological and climate models, and consideration of variation inside a forest is normally omitted. In this work, three data sets on near surface energy balance terms (incoming shortwave and longwave radiation; air and snow-soil interface temperatures) we...

Snow is known to have a major impact on vegetation in arctic ecosystems, but little is known about how snow affects plants in boreal forests, where the snowpack is uneven due to canopy impact. The responses of two dwarf shrubs, the evergreen Vaccinium vitis-idaea and the deciduous V. myrtillus, to snow conditions were studied in a snow manipulation...

We studied trends and variability in snow and climate characteristics in 1978-2012 in the Värriötunturit fell area, northern Finland. Cold season changes were examined using long-term observational data on snow depths, meteorological data, large-scale climate indices, and reindeer herders' experiences with difficult snow conditions. Snow depths dec...

Snow affects foraging conditions of reindeer e.g. by increasing the energy expenditures for moving and digging work or, in contrast, by making access of arboreal lichen easier. Still the studies concentrating on the role of the snow pack structure on reindeer population dynamics and reindeer management are few. We aim to find out which of the snow...

The spatial and temporal variability of snow bulk density and seasonal snow densification behavior in Finland was studied using comprehensive set of snow survey data. Mapping of the monthly snow bulk densities showed small differences, mainly indicating slightly denser snow covers in the open areas compared to the dense forest conditions. Open area...

Soil forms an important source for volatile organic compounds (VOCs), but in boreal forests these fluxes and their seasonal variations have not been characterized in detail, especially wintertime fluxes, which are almost completely unstudied. In this study, we measured the VOC concentrations inside a snowpack in a boreal Scots pine (Pinus sylvestri...

Leaf area index (LAI) and canopy coverage are important parameters when modelling snow process in coniferous forests, controlling interception and transmitting radiation. Estimates of LAI and sky view factor show large variability depending on the estimation method used, and it is not clear how this is reflected in the calculated snow processes ben...

Soil provides an important source of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) to atmosphere, but in boreal forests these fluxes and their seasonal variations have not been characterized in detail. Especially wintertime fluxes are almost completely unstudied. In this study, we measured the VOC concentrations inside the snowpack in a boreal Scots pine ( Pin...

Background: Snow is known to have a major impact on the distribution of plants in arctic and alpine ecosystems; however, its impact on understorey vegetation in boreal forests is little reported.Aims: To study the effects of trees on the distribution of snow and examine the small-scale spatial relation between snow distribution and ground vegetatio...

Three data sets on near surface energy balance terms were collected in the southern boreal coniferous zone in Finland during three winters. Incoming shortwave radiation, incoming longwave radiation and air and ground temperatures were observed with a detailed temporal resolution between October and April. The first data set compares open field and...

Leaf area index (LAI) and sky view fraction have an important role in controlling snow interception capacity, throughfall fraction, and canopy radiation transfer in snow energy balance models developed for forest conditions. In most models winter LAI and sky view fraction are provided by the user a priori as model parameters. Because stems, branche...

The performance of a snow pack structure model SNOWPACK was studied in five locations around Finland during two winters. Reasonable agreement between modelled and observed snow depth and snow pack structure evolution was found in all other locations except in coastal Santala. Agreement grew when going towards the north; better agree-ments were obta...

Estimation of snow moisture (total liquid water content) and the fraction of snow covered area (SCA) is investigated by applying multi-year ERS-2 SAR and Envisat ASAR data sets. Additionally, the feasibility of Envisat MERIS for the operative monitoring of SCA in boreal forests is discussed and analysed. An inversion approach for the moisture retri...

Estimation of snow moisture (total liquid water content) and the fraction of snow covered area (SCA) are investigated by applying multi-year ERS-2 SAR and Envisat ASAR data sets. An inversion approach for the moisture retrieval is introduced. The results suggest that C-band radar is operationally feasible for both applications

An assessment of possible snow changes in a changing climate for Finland is presented. The snowpack structure model SNOWPACK (developed at the Swiss Federal Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research) was used for calculating snow conditions at six different locations in Finland for the decades 1980-89 and 2080-89. Regional climate model (RCAO) data...

During the spring of 1998, measurements of total albedos, spectral albedos and ice transparency were made on coastal fast ice in the Gulf of Finland, Baltic Sea, to produce values for models, to compare instruments and to test a new method for measuring under ice irradiance. The broadband albedos between 400 and 700 nm varied between 0.19 and 0.76,...