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ISBN
Nro 172
TURKU 2008
(Eds.)
TURUN YLIOPISTON MAANTIETEEN JA GEOLOGIAN LAITOKSEN JULKAISUJA
PUBLICATIONS FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF GEOGRAPHY AND GEOLOGY, UNIVERSITY OF TURKU
MAANTIETEEN JA GEOLOGIAN LAITOS
DEPARTMENT OF GEOGRAPHY AND GEOLOGY
TURKU 2017
ISBN 978-951-29-6702-5 (PRINT) ISSN 2489-2319 (PRINT)
ISBN 978-951-29-6703-2 (ONLINE) ISSN 2324-0369 (ONLINE)
Reindeer husbandry under global change in the tundra region of Northern Fennoscandia Editors: Jukka Käyhkö & Tim Horstkotte
No. 1
REINDEER HUSBANDRY UNDER
GLOBAL CHANGE IN THE TUNDRA REGION
OF NORTHERN FENNOSCANDIA
Editors:
Jukka Käyhkö & Tim Horstkotte
TURUN YLIOPISTON MAANTIETEEN JA GEOLOGIAN LAITOKSEN JULKAISUJA
PUBLICATIONS FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF GEOGRAPHY AND GEOLOGY, UNIVERSITY OF TURKU
No. 1. Jukka Käyhkö and Tim Horstkotte (Eds.): Reindeer husbandry under global change in the tundra region of
Northern Fennoscandia. 2017.
No. 2. Jukka Käyhkö och Tim Horstkotte (Red.): Den globala förändringens inverkan på rennäringen på norra
Fennoskandiens tundra. 2017.
No. 3. Jukka Käyhkö ja Tim Horstkotte (doaimm.): Boazodoallu globála rievdadusaid siste Davvi-Fennoskandia
duottarguovlluin. 2017.
No. 4. Jukka Käyhkö ja Tim Horstkotte (Toim.): Globaalimuutoksen vaikutus porotalouteen Pohjois-Fennoskandian
tundra-alueilla. 2017.
No. 5. Jussi S. Jauhiainen (Toim.):
Turvapaikka suomesta? Vuoden 2015 turvapaikanhakijat ja turvapaikkaprosessit
Suomessa. 2017.
1
Reindeer husbandry under global
change in the tundra region of
Northern Fennoscandia
Editors: Jukka Käyhkö & Tim Horstkotte
Turku 2017
University of Turku
Department of Geography and Geology
Division of Geography
The TUNDRA author team:
Antti Aikio
Sámi Parliament in Finland, Rovaniemi, Finland
Bruce Forbes
Arctic Centre, University of Lapland, Rovaniemi, Finland
Tim Horstkotte
Department of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Umeå University, Sweden
Jane Uhd Jepsen
Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, Tromsø, Norway
Bernt Johansen
NORUT-Tromsø, Norway
Sonja Kivinen
Department of Geographical and Historical Studies, University of Eastern Finland, Joensuu,
Finland
Jukka Käyhkö
Department of Geography and Geology, University of Turku, Finland
Lauri Oksanen
Department of Arctic and Marine Biology, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Alta, Norway
Johan Olofsson
Department of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Umeå University, Sweden
Tove Aagnes Utsi
Department of Arctic and Marine Biology, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Alta, Norway
Jarmo Vehmas
Finland Futures Research Centre, University of Turku, Finland
Chapter contributions:
Chapter 1: Jukka Käyhkö
Chapter 2: Tim Horstkotte & Antti Aikio
Chapter 3: Sonja Kivinen, Bernt Johansen & Jukka Käyhkö
Chapter 4: Lauri Oksanen, Tim Horstkotte, Johan Olofsson & Jane Jepsen
Chapter 5: Tim Horstkotte, Bruce Forbes, Tove Aagnes Utsi, Sonja Kivinen & Jukka
Käyhkö
Chapter 6: Jukka Käyhkö, Jarmo Vehmas, Tim Horstkotte & Lauri Oksanen
Cover illustration:
Tim Horstkotte
Numbered photographs:
Dagmar Egelkraut Fig. 19b
Lauri Oksanen Figs. 16b; 19a; 23a
Moritz Klinghardt Fig. 16d
Tim Horstkotte Figs. 9; 16a,c; 20; 23b; 24
Non-numbered photographs:
Anne Riiser pp. 55, 56, 61
Jukka Käyhkö pp. 8, 12, 32, 36, 51, 58, 72
Tim Horstkotte pp. 4, 18, 26
Tove Aagnes Utsi p. 6
ISBN 978-951-29-6702-5 (PRINT)
ISBN 978-951-29-6703-2 (ONLINE)
ISSN 2489-2319 (PRINT)
ISSN 2324-0369 (ONLINE)
Painosalama Oy – Turku, Finland 2017
Executive summary
The Nordic Centre of Excellence (NCoE) TUNDRA (“How to preserve the tundra in
a changing climate”) has been a 5-year project (2011–15) within the Top-Level Re-
search Initiative (TRI) by NordForsk. This report combines the key results and a
synthesis of the NCoE TUNDRA with earlier research to provide a comprehen-
sive picture of the interplay between the tundra ecosystem, climate change and
reindeer husbandry to relevant stakeholders.
Most recent climate projections suggest that by the 2070s, temperature con-
ditions that are warm enough for tree growth (> 10 °C average temperature du-
ring summer months) will cover almost all of northern Fennoscandia, exclu-
ding only the highest-altitude areas of the Scandinavian mountains. A warming
climate will promote growth of shrubs and trees, a process that decreases the
area of the tundra biome remarkably. The projected increase in spring tempe-
ratures will enhance snow melting. Together with the expansion and densifica-
tion of shrub vegetation, this can significantly decrease surface reflectance (al-
bedo), and have an amplifying feedback on global climate warming. Therefore,
hindering shrub expansion and preserving the circumpolar high albedo tundra
biome would serve as climate change mitigation.
Herbivores (animals feeding on plants) have a strong impact on vegetation
communities. The most important herbivores in Northern Fennoscandia in-
clude large mammals (reindeer), small mammals (rodents), and insects (ge-
ometrid moths). Their exact effect, however, varies between the animal groups
and their population dynamics, seasons, weather conditions, and vegetation
communities, and is dependent also on the combined impact of these animal
groups. Reindeer grazing in particular has the potential to counter-impact the
climate-induced shrubification. The maximum grazing impact on woody plants
is obtained if reindeer are present in a region during early growing season in
June and early July. In addition, grazing has an impact on plant biodiversity.
By preventing the invasion of trees, tall shrubs and forbs, reindeer maintain
the openness of the tundra, which is a precondition for the survival of many
small-sized arctic plant species. Although grazing may disturb also these plant
species, the net impact of intense summer grazing can be positive at the popu-
lation level.
From a transdisciplinary perspective, tundra is not only a biome, but also
a social-ecological system (SES) incorporating humans and their activities, in-
cluding reindeer husbandry. Decision-making involves various aspects of this
complex social-ecological system and is, therefore, always a compromise and a
matter of values and opinions. Reindeer husbandry exhibits major legal and ad-
ministrative differences in local, regional, and state governance between Fin-
land, Norway and Sweden. Anticipated changes in climate and within the socie-
ties require reindeer husbandry to adapt to these transformations. Future is not
pre-determined but unveils itself as a chain of decisions and actions. Therefore,
various scenarios of the future of the social-ecological system in Northern Fen-
noscandia – including reindeer husbandry – can be foresighted depending on
the circumstances, decisions and actions.
Current tensions between stakeholders – including reindeer herders, other
land users, Sámi and non-Sámi individuals, and the governance system – stem
from different values regarding ecological, cultural, social, and economic mat-
ters. These tensions may inhibit fruitful discussion and feasible decisions, and
may lead to a future that is undesirable for many, if not all parties. At present,
there is too little interaction, and inadequate, unequal discussion between the
stakeholders. From the herders’ perspective, unclear legislation and lack of
self-determination are considered as threats for the livelihood. To improve the
quality of decision making, planning and actions regarding future land use and
livelihoods should be co-designed by different stakeholders. To overcome the
historical apprehension between the parties, a neutral boundary organisation
might serve as an appreciated mediator.
Preface
In the autumn of 2008, the Nordic countries established a large joint research
and innovation scheme, the Top-level Research Initiative (TRI), involving various
Nordic organizations and national institutions. The five-year initiative con-
sisted of six sub-programmes, one of them being Effect Studies and Adaptation to
Climate Change (ADAPT). The overarching objectives of the ADAPT programme
were to improve awareness about:
the effects of climate change,
the adaptation capacities of society,
the risks and opportunities that the effects of climate change may
bring to the Nordic region.
Three Nordic Centres of Excellence (NCoE) within the ADAPT sub-programme
were funded for a five-year period in 2011–2015 with a total of 100 million NOK
(ca. 11 million €). The NCoE TUNDRA “How to preserve the tundra in a warming
climate” was one of them. In this report, the key results and a synthesis of the
NCoE TUNDRA have been merged with earlier research to provide a compre-
hensive picture of the interplay between the tundra ecosystem and reindeer
husbandry to relevant stakeholders. To keep the report concise and easy to ac-
cess, we have left out many details, which, however, can be accessed through
the selected list of scientific literature at the end of the report.
Although the key focus of the ADAPT sub-programme has been climate
change, we have adopted a broader approach to change, including also other
types of transformations such as societal and governance changes, which may
impose even stronger impact on people’s lives than climate alone.
In combination, these transformations form potential future development
paths, scenarios. How the future unveils itself depends on the decisions to be
made by stakeholders. We wish that the science-based knowledge and under-
standing would serve as a tool for stakeholders when considering the preferred
course of development.
Acknowledgements
We are grateful to NordForsk and the TRI ADAPT programme for funding this
research. The advice and support by Senior Advisors Harry Zilliacus and Jos-
tein Sundet of NordForsk during the programme is highly acknowledged. The
Scientific Advisory Board and the Programme Committee greatly improved
the work through the annual evaluations and suggestions. Our sister project
NCoE Nord-Star and the separately funded joint sub-project APRES have re-
inforced and improved many sectors of our research. National institutions in
Finland, Norway and Sweden have funded and/or facilitated individual work
packages or researchers throughout the project period. These include the host
institutions University of Turku (coordinator), University of Lapland, Univer-
sity of Oulu, Umeå University, UiT the Arctic University of Norway, Finnmark
University College, Finnish Meteorological Institute, and NORUT-Tromsø The
funding institutions include the Academy of Finland, Fram Centre, FORMAS,
Naturvårdsverket, Norwegian Research Council, Turku University Foundation,
as well as the Reindeer administration authorities and many private founda-
tions. Also the EU and the European Space Agency have financed the research.
A special thanks to the staff at Kevo Subarctic Research Station at Utsjoki for
maintenance of field equipment and logistical help: Esa Karpov, Otso Suomi-
nen, Ilkka Syvänperä, Elina Vainio.
We highly acknowledge the time and effort spent by reindeer herders and other
stakeholders from Finland, Norway and Sweden participating in our workshops,
sharing their knowledge and offering us valuable insights into their livelihood:
Anders M. Lango, Aslak M. Utsi, Berit Karen Utsi, Birger Thelin, Brita Mar-
ja Nutti, Carina Nutti Sikku, Ellen Inga Kristine Hætta, Ellen Merete Utsi, Elli
Mari Nutti, Erkki Magga, Esko Hirvasvuopio, Hannu Magga, Hannu Ranta, Iisaki
Magga, Inger Marie Nilut, Iver M.Utsi, Jari Pulska, Johan Blind, Johannes Matti,
John Andreas Utsi, Jouni Näkkäläjärvi, Juha Magga, Karen E.M. Utsi, Kristoffer
Parfa, Lemet-Ante Näkkäläjärvi, Mauri Magga, Niilo Hirvasvuopio, Nils Gustav
Blind, Nils Petter Labba, Nils-Heikki Magga, Nils-Ola Sikku, Osmo Hirvasvuo-
pio, Osmo Pokuri, Pekka Aikio, Per Åke Labba, Per Johnny Skum, Per Jonas Parfa,
Per-Anders Påve, Svein Pulk Sven-Ingvar Blind, Veikko Magga.
We also thank the participants in the Rovaniemi stakeholder workshop for
productive discussions: Jaako Raunio, Jukka Salmela, Päivi Lundvall, Pentti
Lähteenoja, Tarja Pasma, and Tuomi-Tuulia Ervasti.
Interpreters: Kaija Anttonen, Silja Somby, John Erling Utsi, Mariela Utsi, and
Joonas Vola.
8 Reindeer husbandry under global change in the tundra region of Northern Fennoscandia
NCoE TUNDRA
http://ncoetundra.utu.fi
Managing team and administration:
Scientific leader: Lauri Oksanen
Project leader: Jukka Käyhkö
Project Manager: Pekka Niemelä 2011–14, Hans Våg 2014–16
Project Coordinator: Elina Koivisto 2011–14, Mika Orjala 2014–15
Work Package leaders:
Annamari Markkola, Bernt Johansen, Bruce Forbes, Cecile Menard, Erkki
Korpimäki, Jane Jepsen, Johan Olofsson, Jouni Pulliainen, Jukka Käyhkö,
Lars Ericson, Lauri Oksanen, Tarja Oksanen, Tove Aagnes Utsi
Senior Researchers:
Annu Ruotsalainen, Jarmo Vehmas, Juha Tuomi, Philip Burgess, Risto
Virtanen, Rolf Anker Ims, Sami Aikio , Susanna Pirnes
PostDocs:
Anu Eskelinen, Elina Kaarlejärvi, Elina Koivisto, Judith Sitters, Karita
Saravesi, Katrine Hoset, Lise Ruffino, Mariska Te Beest, Martin Biuw,
Mysore Tejesvi, Ole Petter L. Vindstad, Patrick Saccone, Piippa Wäli, Sonja
Kivinen, Tim Horstkotte
PhD candidates:
Antti Aikio, Dagmar Egelkraut, Hélène Barthelemy, Henni Ylänne, Juval
Cohen, Karoliina Huusko, Liisa Huttunen, Maarit Kaukonen, Malin Ek,
Maria Tuomi, Miia Kauppinen, Nirmalee Hengodage, Pauliina Wäli, Saija
Ahonen, Tuija Pyykkönen, Åsa Larsson Blind
Table of Contents
Executive summary .....................................................................................3
Preface ........................................................................................................5
Acknowledgements ..................................................................................... 7
NCoE TUNDRA ............................................................................................9
Background .............................................................................................. 13
Structure of the report .............................................................................. 13
1 Reindeer husbandry as a social-ecological system ................................. 15
2 Sápmi and reindeer husbandry ............................................................ 19
From hunting to husbandry ............................................................. 19
Borders and barriers ........................................................................ 19
Industrial development in Sápmi and modernization of
reindeer husbandry .........................................................................20
Reindeer husbandry at the rift between culture and production ..... 21
Reindeer husbandry in the Nordic countries today .......................... 21
Finland .............................................................................................23
Norway .............................................................................................25
Sweden ............................................................................................. 25
The dynamics of reindeer populations ............................................. 27
Reindeer husbandry and other land uses ......................................... 27
3 Climate and vegetation in northern Fennoscandia ............................... 29
Current climatic conditions ....................................................................... 29
Vegetation zones ...............................................................................30
Vegetation types of northern Fennoscandia .....................................30
Climate and tundra vegetation in the future .............................................. 32
Climate projections .......................................................................... 32
Shrub expansion and surface albedo changes ..................................33
4 The impact of herbivory on the tree line and the tundra .......................36
Keystone species and their impact on arctic-alpine vegetation dynamics ..36
The impact of rodents on the tundra ......................................................... 37
Rodents’ impact on woody plants at the tree line .............................39
Reindeer and their impact on tundra plant communities ................39
Geometrid moths and their impact on the tree line .........................40
Reindeer and their impact on arctic plant biodiversity ..............................43
5 Human actors in the social-ecological system ...................................... 45
Reindeer herders’ perceptions of changes in the social-ecological system 45
Environment and Resources ............................................................45
Actors and Governance .................................................................... 47
Action situation: the final stakeholder workshop ......................................48
Reindeer husbandry today ...............................................................48
Reindeer husbandry in the future ....................................................49
Reindeer husbandry as a conservation tool ......................................50
6 Exploring potential futures .................................................................. 52
The scenario approach .............................................................................. 52
Scenario narratives ....................................................................................54
Traditional migratory herding ..........................................................54
Variable herding practices with other land uses (business-as-
usual, ‘BAU’) .....................................................................................55
Reindeer ranching ............................................................................ 55
Reindeer farming .............................................................................56
Concluding remarks .................................................................................59
Summary of the main findings ..................................................................60
References ................................................................................................62
Appendix 1 ................................................................................................66
Appendix 2 ................................................................................................68
Glossary .................................................................................................... 70
12 Reindeer husbandry under global change in the tundra region of Northern Fennoscandia Reindeer husbandry under global change in the tundra region of Northern Fennoscandia 13
Background
Northern Fennoscandia evokes a multitude of
powerful images: vast landscapes of seemingly
pristine character, a biodiversity increasingly
threatened by climate change, the homeland
of the Sámi and their iconic livelihood revolv-
ing around reindeer, or an area of accelerating
economic activity and resource extraction. In
reality, none of these exist in isolation. Rather,
they are firmly interwoven by significant feed-
backs between each other. These feedbacks
couple the dynamic natural system to the social
environment with its diversity of values, prior-
ities and practices. Such a unity of people and
their environment is referred to as social-eco-
logical system (SES).
Social diversity brings about different per-
ceptions of the environment, and the way for
what and how the landscape, its resources and
the relationship between different interests
and stakeholders should be governed and man-
aged. Nature conservation, resource extraction
and the indigenous Sámi livelihood with its
particular rights are among the most promi-
nent forms of resource management acting in
Northern Fennoscandia. They all have conse-
quences on each other – a challenge for foster-
ing and navigating their co-existence. Further,
climate change contributes to a transformation
of northern social-ecological systems, and af-
fects different components in a multitude of
ways.
The academic community aims to improve
our understanding of these environmental and
social transformations and their consequenc-
es. Furthermore, scientists aim to support the
search for optimal solutions for proactively
managing these dynamics and thus, to increase
the adaptive capacity of northern social-eco-
logical systems.
Reindeer husbandry is a particularly illus-
trative example of a social-ecological system:
in relying on natural grazing conditions, the
livelihood needs to respond to weather vari-
ations and the pronounced seasonality of the
High North, while the consequences of climate
change are becoming a local reality. Due to the
vast area that reindeer husbandry covers in its
practice, it shares the landscape with a multi-
tude of other forms of land use. These over-
lapping interests call for strategies to enable a
shared and sustainable future for the people
and the ecosystems in the North.
Structure of the report
Our emphasis lies on the changes that the Fen-
noscandian tundra ecosystem experiences cur-
rently, as well as on reindeer husbandry – one
of the dominant, but not the sole land user
in the region. The report starts by illustrating
reindeer husbandry within a social-ecologi-
cal framework, SES (Chapter 1). Despite being
a simplification of the reality, the SES aims at
clarifying the complexity of the livelihood in
the context of decision making process, and in-
teraction with other forms of land use, among
others. Due to the different seasonal grazing
grounds used by reindeer through the year,
the framework considers also areas outside the
tundra biome.
The report unveils more details of the so-
cial-ecological system by outlining the history
of reindeer husbandry in northern Fennoscan-
dia, and comparing its current governance in
12 Reindeer husbandry under global change in the tundra region of Northern Fennoscandia
14 Reindeer husbandry under global change in the tundra region of Northern Fennoscandia Reindeer husbandry under global change in the tundra region of Northern Fennoscandia 15
the three countries (Chapter 2). Next, the abi-
otic and biotic environmental processes are re-
viewed (Chapters 3 and 4), with an emphasis on
the interactions between climate, vegetation
and the ecology of keystone herbivories that af-
fect tundra ecosystem functioning.
The human actors in the SES, including rein-
deer herders and other stakeholders, round off
the social-ecological analysis (Chapter 5). We il-
lustrate herders’ observations of changes in the
tundra biome, as well as attitudes and percep-
tions of present and future challenges by herd-
ers and other stakeholders.
These chapters will merge as a scenar-
io analysis, which illustrates hypothetical
futures of reindeer husbandry, depending
on policy choices with consequences on the
livelihood (Chapter 6). These scenarios are
meant as illustrative tools to focus attention
on vital processes and decision points that
may become decisive for the future of rein-
deer husbandry.
Scenario analysis
(Chapter 6)
Reindeer husbandry as a social-ecological system (Chapter 1)
Governance
(Chapter 2)
History of
reindeer
husbandry
Governance of
reindeer
husbandry
today
Environment & Resources
(Chapters 3 & 4)
Climate
change Vegetation &
Herbivory
Actors
(Chapter 5)
Herder’s
observations
Stakeholder
workshop
(Action
situation)
Figure 1. The structure of the report illustrating the concept of social-ecological systems.
1
Reindeer husbandry
as a social-ecological system
Political economist and Nobel Memorial Prize
winner in Economic Sciences in 2009, Pro-
fessor Elinor Ostrom, tackled the challenge of
how common-pool natural resources, such as
forests or fishing waters, should be governed in
a sustainable yet profitable way. She designed
a framework (Ostrom 2009; McGinnis & Os-
trom 2014) for a social-ecological system (SES)
that has later been formalised by Hinkel et al.
(2014). We utilise the refined Ostrom SES in or-
der to understand reindeer husbandry as a so-
cial-ecological system.
The SES has four universal key concepts,
namely Environment, Resources, Actors, and
Governance (Fig. 2). These concepts have a
number of case specific attributed variables
that are connected with case-specific attribu-
tion relationships.
The exact configuration of a social-ecological
system depends on the case at hand, and more
specifically, the research question to be tack-
led. Consequently, there is not just one but nu-
merous potential arrangements for a tundra
SES (cf. Forbes 2013). For instance, from the
perspective of ecological conservation goals
regarding the tundra, the assumption is that a
carefully planned and generated seasonal graz-
ing pressure by reindeer may inhibit tree inva-
sion driven by a prolonged growing season (see
Chapters 3 & 4). Simultaneously, from a social
perspective, careful collaborative planning of
grazing management between reindeer herd-
ers, management authorities and research-
ers will support the adaptation capacity of
the reindeer herding livelihood in a changing
world (Chapter 5). One should also appreciate
the fact that the arrangement of reindeer hus-
bandry may not be ideal even today and there-
fore, re-thinking the livelihood is worthwhile
in any case.
By formalisation and understanding of what
a social-ecological system consists of and how it
operates, one is better qualified to make justi-
fiable management decisions. We have conse-
quently built a SES with the presumption that
conscious choices by humans as individuals or
as members of collaborative groups can po-
tentially make a significant difference in fu-
ture outcomes both ecologically and socially.
In simple terms, we assume that the outcome
(whether or not the tundra will be sustained)
will be determined by attributes of both the
ecological system (for example climate, vege-
tation, pasture conditions) and the social sys-
tem (for example herder’s preferences, Sámi
culture transformation, regulations related to
husbandry). Let us first consider the four key
concepts of the system in more detail.
‘Environment’ refers to factors that are ex-
ternal in the sense that they are not intimately
influenced by the variables of the SES, although
they form a broader background for the SES in
question. In real life, this distinction is a grey
area, as eventually everything is inter-con-
nected. But in order to consider what is ex-
ternal and internal, one has to appreciate the
16 Reindeer husbandry under global change in the tundra region of Northern Fennoscandia Reindeer husbandry under global change in the tundra region of Northern Fennoscandia 17
timeframes in question. Often in SES studies,
climate is considered as external and affect-
ing the system without much feedback. In our
given spatial extent of Northern Fennoscandia
and the timespan of decades, climate can be
considered external in that it affects the tun-
dra, but is affected through complex global
interactions and not directly by the tundra, or
reindeer husbandry. However, we assume that
the changes that transform the vast circumpo-
lar tundra area will have a long-term impact on
the climate at least on hemispheric, if not glob-
al scale. Also, broader political, economic and
juridical systems are not directly affected by the
social-ecological system of reindeer husbandry
and are considered external. Typically, chang-
es in nature are gradual while societal chang-
es such as administrative decisions can take
place overnight. This discrepancy between the
spatiotemporal scales between ecological and
socio-administrative influences on a SES (Kes-
kitalo et al. 2016) often complicates the founda-
tion of SES building.
‘Resource System’ refers to the livelihood’s
resource base as a whole. It consists of the pas-
ture land and its characteristics such as size,
location, boundaries, productivity, predicta-
bility and human-constructed facilities. Some
of these are rather straightforward proper-
ties, such as the physical size of the potential
pasture, while some are convoluted and diffi-
cult to be solved – for example productivity or
quality of the pasture. The reindeer husbandry
Resource System can be considered on various
hierarchical levels: the whole reindeer herding
area of Northern Fennoscandia; the national
reindeer herding areas of Finland, Norway and
Sweden, respectively; the herding districts and
their (potential) sub-units, such as seasonal
pastures, and siidas. From a practical manage-
ment perspective, it is the herding district level
which is typically of the highest importance in
the system. Individual reindeer owners typi-
cally have limited power to act on the resource
system level.
The Resource System is constructed of ‘Re-
source Units’, namely the reindeer. Important
attributes of reindeer include their number,
reproduction rate, interactions, economic val-
ue, mobility and spatio-temporal distribution,
plus other distinctive characteristics such as sex
ratio, age distribution, nutritional condition,
parasites, diseases, predation, traffic deaths
and poaching. This is the SES scale where indi-
vidual reindeer owners’ decisions are of impor-
tance, although they are also governed from
above.
‘Actor’ forms the third concept of the so-
cial-ecological system. Actors are various
groups and individuals who are the stakehold-
ers of the SES, such as reindeer herders of a dis-
trict or land-owners of a municipality, etc. The
exact definition of who is or isn’t a stakeholder
is, again, case-specific. Actors vary in terms of
their number, their socioeconomic attributes
(age, education, income, properties, etc.), his-
tory, location, knowledge, status (leadership,
entrepreneurship), technology, and depend-
ence on the system.
The fourth component of the system is
‘Governance’, or the rules of the system. It is
quite natural to consider public-sector, i.e.
governmental organisations such as minis-
tries or regional authorities, as forming the
uppermost level of governance. Non-govern-
mental organisations (for example WWF), pri-
vate organisations (for example forestry and
mining companies) and organisations within
the communities (for example herding dis-
tricts) form other important rule-making or-
ganisations. The rules themselves span from
constitutional to local norms and strategies.
Herders’
operations
Reindeer
district rules
Background
-Nature conservation
-Cultural heritage, etc.
-Reindeer
-Forest
-Trade & Industry
-Agriculture
-Conservation
-Culture -Forest industry
-Tourism
-Mining industry
-Electricity transmission
-Mobile network
Reindeer herders Land management
National
legislations
on reindeer
husbandry
Reindeer Social-Ecological System (R-SES)
Pasture characteristics
Climate and weather
At high level:
-politics
-economy
-legislature
-culture
-Size
-Location
-Shape, connectivity
-Vegetation
-Productivity
-Equilibrium status
-Predictability
-Infrastructure
-Land use planning
-Land ownership
-Land-use rights
-Number
-Sex ratio, age structure
-Reproduction rate
-Interactions, dynamics
-Economic value
-Mobility
-Distribution
-Nutritional condition
-Parasites
-Diseases
-Predation
-Traffic deaths
-Genetic pool
Reindeer population
Individual animals
-Behaviour
-Growth
-Economic value
-Nutritional condition
-Mobility
-Parasites
-Diseases
-Genetic pool
-Age
-Education
-Income
-Property
-History
-Location
-Knowledge
-Value base
-Status
-Technology available
-Dependence of the system
Districts
-Number of members
-Size
-Location
-Pasture quality
-Leadership
-Interactions
-Demography
-History
-Value base
-Norms and social capital
-Available technology
Businesses
Government org.
Rules in use
-Private lands
-Common lands
-Everyman’s rights
-Sámi rights
-Mining claims
ENVIRONMENT RESOURCES ACTORS GOVERNANCE
NGOs
Figure 2. The social-ecological system (SES) framework in the context of tundra ecosystem and reindeer
husbandry.
18 Reindeer husbandry under global change in the tundra region of Northern Fennoscandia Reindeer husbandry under global change in the tundra region of Northern Fennoscandia 19
The variable spatial scale of the rules and pol-
icies, such as population, matters, too. Some
rules can be European-wide, some national,
while some are local. A specific framework of
governance is related to the indigenous peo-
ples’ rights recognised in international trea-
ties (United Nations ILO-169 agreement) and
to national Sámi issues. ‘Actors’ can also form
rule-forming ‘units’ and thereby these two en-
tities of the SES often overlap.
Given these key concepts as a background,
we go into detail of the most important fac-
tors that influence reindeer husbandry to-
day, in particular governance structures and
interactions with the biophysical environ-
ment.
2
Sápmi and reindeer husbandry
Sápmi refers to the area in Sweden, Norway
Finland and the Kola Peninsula where the Sámi
culture is still alive (Fig. 4). The chapter briefly
illustrates the historical development of the live-
lihood to the present day and highlights major
legal and administrative differences in state gov-
ernance that exist between the three countries.
From hunting to husbandry
In Sápmi, wild reindeer have been a vital re-
source ever since the Pleistocene period. Start-
ing from the Middle Ages, the nation states of
Norway, Sweden (then including Finland) and
Russia claimed territory in northern Fennos-
candia. The Sámi paid taxes by fishing, hunt-
ing fur animals and wild reindeer, as well as by
transportation services with reindeer sledges.
Taxes were a way for the Sámi to secure their
hunting rights against settlers from the South,
as well as for the respective state to claim the
taxed land as their territory (Cramér & Ryd
2012). Hunting and herding of reindeer existed
in parallel, as semi-domesticated reindeer con-
tributed to household needs, for example, as
draft animals or decoys for hunting wild rein-
deer (Björklund 2013).
Today’s reindeer husbandry has probably
developed through a gradual transition from
hunting to herding driven by diverse forces, in-
cluding economic, social, and ecosystem pro-
cesses (Bergman et al. 2013). Gradually, herds
of semi-domestic reindeer grew in size, and
nomadic reindeer husbandry became fully de-
veloped in Sápmi by the second half of the 17th
century (Lundmark 1982).
In 1751, the borders between the then ex-
isting kingdoms Norway-Denmark and Swe-
den-Finland were settled. The unrestricted
crossing of these borders by reindeer herd-
ers during their seasonal migrations between
summer grazing at the coastal areas and winter
grazing in the forest inland was warranted in
the Treaty of Strömstad, in an appendix known
as the Lapp Codicil (Lappkodicillen). Though the
crossing of these borders is no longer practiced
to the same extent today, this document still
has significance in the governance of reindeer
husbandry regulations between Sweden and
Norway (Regeringen 2009)
Borders and barriers
It was not until the major geo-political con-
flicts at the end of the 19th century, including
the loss of Finland from Sweden to Russia,
when borders between the different nation
states strongly affected the Sámi in practic-
ing their pastoral livelihood. Eventually, these
events created legislative barriers to reindeer
husbandry and border crossings became im-
possible.
The closure of the border between Rus-
sia-Finland and Norway in 1852 was disastrous
to reindeer herders. They saw themselves con-
fronted with the choice between becoming
‘Norwegians’ and loosing important winter
grazing grounds in the inland of Finland-Rus-
sia, while ‘Finnish’ herders lost vital grazing
and fishing grounds in Norway (Cramér & Ryd
2012). Though migration between Norway and
Finland via Sweden was still an option for some
18 Reindeer husbandry under global change in the tundra region of Northern Fennoscandia
20 Reindeer husbandry under global change in the tundra region of Northern Fennoscandia Reindeer husbandry under global change in the tundra region of Northern Fennoscandia 21
herders, a second border closure between Rus-
sia-Finland and Sweden in 1889 caused the loss
of winter grazing areas in Russia-Finland also to
‘Swedish’ Sámi. The consequence was a short-
age of grazing resources in Northern Norway
and Sweden. Ultimately, the national borders
had dissected the formerly fluid movements
caused primarily by ecological factors and split
the traditional cultural unity. Eventually, the
solution enforced to reduce the overcrowding
in the northern parts of Sápmi was the reloca-
tion of Northern Sámi to southern parts along
the Scandic mountain chain – partly forced,
partly voluntarily (Fig. 3).
Industrial development in Sápmi and
modernization of reindeer husbandry
The more recent history, especially after World
War II, is characterized by an increased seden-
tarization of reindeer herders and an adapta-
tion to the meat market and its economy (Paine
1994). This rationalization includes the intro-
duction of technical devices for the support
of herding practices, such as the “snow mo-
bile revolution” in the 1960’s (Helle & Jaakkola
2008), and more recently the use of GPS collars
to document the landscape use by reindeer (Löf
2013). Cumulative landscape transformation
due to resource extraction by forestry, mining
and water power production have increasingly
encroached on reindeer grazing grounds (Ki-
vinen at al. 2010, Herrmann et al. 2014). These
changes in land use require constant adaption
of reindeer husbandry, often requiring high
expenses in terms of finances and workload
(Löf 2013).
Newly introduced practices include calf
slaughter to increase productivity, veterinary
treatments and supplementary feeding. The
latter practice varies strongly in Sápmi, being
more prevalent in Finland compared to Swe-
den or Norway, where it is mainly used during
winters with difficult grazing conditions, for
example, due to impenetrable snow cover pre-
venting reindeer from reaching the grazing re-
sources underneath.
Reindeer husbandry at the rift between
culture and production
As the history and transformations experi-
enced by reindeer husbandry in Sápmi have
demonstrated, the livelihood has so far prov-
en adaptable to political, economic, social and
ecological change (Forbes et al. 2006; Tyler et al.
2007, Moen & Keskitalo 2010). Often, herding
strategies have been changed and adjusted and
have allowed the identity of reindeer husband-
ry to remain intact as a cultural cornerstone to
this day. Thus, reindeer husbandry remains a
unifying characteristic in Sámi culture and in
the expression of Sámi values and relation to
their environment (for example, SSR 2012). In
particular, the importance of reindeer hus-
bandry lies in its cultural heritage as a bearer
of traditional knowledge and as a connection to
the land. For these reasons, it is inappropriate
to compare this form of livelihood with agri-
cultural production that is focused on maxi-
mized production and profitability (Reinert et
al. 2015). Other forms of traditional practices
that are combined with reindeer husbandry in-
clude hunting, fishing, and traditional handi-
craft (duodij) and, more recently, also tourism.
Reindeer husbandry is today often confront-
ed by a divide of being a traditional livelihood
and the need to be economically efficient. Rein-
deer husbandry thus needs to unify the pillars
of ecologic, economic and cultural sustainabil-
ity. However, differences exist between their
definition from a state perspective and a Sámi
perspective (Benjaminsen et al. 2016). From a
national perspective, the economic income gen-
erated by reindeer husbandry in the three coun-
tries is low in comparison to other forms of land
use, such as salmon farming or forestry.
Reindeer husbandry in the Nordic
countries today
Today, the reindeer husbandry area in Finland,
Sweden and Norway covers approximately 40 %
of the area in each country (Fig. 4). This area is
divided into several herding districts or com-
munities (Fig 5). The area used for reindeer
husbandry is shared with other forms of land
use such as forestry, mining, agriculture, hydro
power production (reservoirs), wind power,
peat extraction, and tourism.
From a legal perspective, the Sámi reindeer
husbandry in the three Nordic countries
shares a common history. Due to the histor-
ical development of the governmental and
administrative aspects, the state of reindeer
husbandry in the three countries is somewhat
different today, with the greatest distinctions
to be found between Finland and Norway/
Sweden.
Each of the three Nordic countries has
enacted a parliamentary law on reindeer
husbandry (Reindeer Husbandry Act; RHA):
Figure 3. Dislocation of Northern Sámi families after the border closures 1889. Adapted from Aarseth 1989.
22 Reindeer husbandry under global change in the tundra region of Northern Fennoscandia Reindeer husbandry under global change in the tundra region of Northern Fennoscandia 23
Poronhoitolaki in Finland, Lov om reindrift in
Norway and Rennäringslagen in Sweden. The
most remarkable difference between Finn-
ish and Norwegian/Swedish RHA’s is that the
Finnish statute omits all references to the
Sámi people. The Norwegian and Swedish
RHA’s start with the protection of the Sámi
culture or declaring the rights of the Sámi as
legal fundamentals. For instance, the first sec-
tion of the Swedish RHA declares that the “right
to reindeer husbandry belongs to the Sámi people
and is based on the undisturbed possession since
time immemorial”. The first section of the Nor-
wegian RHA states that “the reindeer husbandry
shall be maintained as an important basis for the
Sámi culture and society”.
In Finland, reindeer husbandry is not an
exclusive right to the Sámi. The Finnish RHA
does not acknowledge the Sámi at all. Instead
of protecting the original Sámi privilege, the
Finnish legislation grants the reindeer herd-
ing right to every citizen of the European Eco-
nomic Area as long as they reside in the Finn-
ish Reindeer Husbandry Area. Uniquely, in
Figure 5. The reindeer herding districts of Northern Fennoscandia. For key to numbers, see Appendix 1.
Finland reindeer husbandry is practiced also
by non-Sámi people in addition to Sámi herd-
ers. Furthermore, non-Sámi herders form a
clear majority of all herders in Finland. The
number of people connected with reindeer
husbandry (in the form of possessing an own
earmark) in the three countries totals at ca.
14000 today, with quite distinctive decrease in
Finland (Fig. 6).
Finland
There are 56 herding districts (paliskunta, pl. pa-
liskunnat) in Finland (see Fig. 5). All districts are
members of the Reindeer Herders’ Association
(Paliskuntain yhdistys), belonging to the Ministry
of Agriculture and Forestry. Being responsible
for the development of reindeer husbandry
and the interests of the districts’ members, the
Figure 4. Reindeer grazing grounds and the areal extent of Sápmi.
24 Reindeer husbandry under global change in the tundra region of Northern Fennoscandia Reindeer husbandry under global change in the tundra region of Northern Fennoscandia 25
Association has a double role in implement-
ing government decisions and protecting the
rights of reindeer owners (Ulvevadet & Klokov
2004). Although there is broad variation in the
environmental conditions and cultural practic-
es across the Finnish reindeer husbandry area,
governmental decisions apply to all herding
districts.
However, the northernmost districts in
Finland are considered as “Sámi homeland”
(see Figs. 4 & 5) where traditional Sámi rein-
deer husbandry is a basic right to the Sámi
population and is secured against e.g, other
forms of land use. Sámi homeland compris-
es the municipalities of Utsjoki, Inari and
Enontekiö, plus the Lappi herding district in
Sodankylä community (cf. Fig. 3). Compared
to the seasonal migrations between summer
and winter grazing grounds in Norway and
Sweden, the seasonal rotations in the Finnish
herding districts are much less pronounced,
as the district borders roughly follow the ad-
ministrative borders of communities. How-
ever, in some of the northernmost districts,
fences separate the districts into summer-
and winter pastures. In Finland, the number
of reindeer owners was approx. 4530 for the
year 2013, whereof 1260 (28%) reside in the
Sámi homeland, owning 42% of the Finnish
semi-domesticated reindeer population (sta-
tistics from Paliskuntain yhdistys). However, not
all reindeer owners are occupied full-time by
the husbandry. The number of both reindeer
owners and full-time herders has been declin-
ing during the last decades, while the number
of reindeer has been close to the maximum al-
lowed limit of 203700 animals (for 2010–2020)
(Fig. 7). The Finnish legislation forbids any
form of cross-border migration of reindeer
between the Nordic countries.
Figure 7. Number of reindeer owners and full-time herders (left axis) and living reindeer (right axis) in Finland
1991–2013. By 2015, the number of full-time herders had fallen to 941. Data from Paliskuntain yhdistys, and
MELA 2016.
Norway
The Norwegian Sámi population has the right
of immemorial usage (“alders tids bruk”) to prac-
tice reindeer husbandry. The Norwegian Sámi
reindeer husbandry area is divided into ap-
proximately 71 districts, but their number may
vary, as some districts may became merged or
divided (Ulvevadet 2008). Most herding dis-
tricts in Finnmark have their particular sum-
mer grazing area close to the Atlantic coast,
while their winter pastures are in the inland
at the Finnish border. Non-Sámi reindeer hus-
bandry occurs in the southern parts of Norway,
in a Concession Area, where reindeer hus-
bandry is practiced with a special permission.
By the Norwegian Reindeer Husbandry Act of
2007, reindeer herding districts are divided
into operational groups, the siidas, composed
of one or more reindeer herding families, who
herd their reindeer in a common herd. These
siidas are subdivided into several groups (sii-
da-andeler). The organization of these siidas may
change during years and seasons (Reindrifts-
forvaltningen, 2013). Today, there are 99 sum-
mer siidas and 150 winter siidas. The number of
siida-andeler in 2015 was 534 and the number
of people connected to these siida-andeler was
3150. (Landbruksdirektoratet, 2016). Finnmark
in northern Norway is home to approximately
75 % of the Norwegian reindeer population.
Sweden
The Reindeer Husbandry Act (1971) gives the
Sámi the right to “use the land and water for
maintenance for themselves and their rein-
deer”, based on immemorial prescription
(“urminnes hävd”), i.e. the livelihood has been
practiced for such a long time that it became
a right (Allard 2011). Two forms of reindeer
husbandry exist in Sweden: migratory hus-
bandry between summer grazing grounds
in the mountains (Info box 1), and stationary
husbandry in the boreal forest. Of the 51 rein-
deer herding districts (samebyar) in Sweden,
0
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
6000
7000
8000
1995 2000 2005 2010
Fi nland Norway S wede n
Figure 6. Number of persons connected to reindeer husbandry. In practice this refers to individuals holding
an earmark, but does not necessarily indicate practical involvement in everyday herding (cf. Fig. 7). Data from
Landbruksdirektoratet (NOR), Paliskuntain yhdistys (FIN) and Sametinget (SWE).
26 Reindeer husbandry under global change in the tundra region of Northern Fennoscandia Reindeer husbandry under global change in the tundra region of Northern Fennoscandia 27
migratory husbandry is practiced by 33 dis-
tricts, and stationary husbandry in 10 districts.
The remaining 8 districts are concession dis-
tricts, where reindeer husbandry is practiced
with special conditions: reindeer owners may
be non-Sámi, but their animals are herded by
Sámi. In order for a Sámi to practice reindeer
husbandry, it is necessary to be a member in a
reindeer herding district (sameby). These dis-
tricts thus act as an economic and administra-
tive unit that regulate reindeer husbandry in a
specified area.
The area of reindeer husbandry is divided
into all-year grazing grounds, and winter graz-
ing grounds mainly in the boreal forest low-
lands. According to the Reindeer Husbandry
Act, reindeer herders have the right to graze
their animals in the winter grazing area from
the 1 October until the 30 April. In 2014, there
were 4657 reindeer owners registered in Swe-
den (statistics from www.sametinget.se).
The dynamics of reindeer populations
Strong fluctuations in reindeer numbers have
been recorded in Sápmi since the last century,
depending on diverse drivers. Among the most
important drivers are large scale climate and
short term weather events, particularly during
winter (Weladij & Holand 2003, Helle & Kojo-
la 2006). Other environmental factors include
diseases before the introduction of parasite
treatments, availability of grazing resources
and losses to predators, which in some parts of
Sápmi can be substantial (Åhman et al. 2014).
Management practices, such as slaughtering
strategies and state subsidies can strongly affect
the number of reindeer (Hausner at al. 2011,
Uboni et al. 2016).
Today, upper limits for allowed reindeer
numbers are decided for herding districts ex-
ternally by state authorities based mostly on the
carrying capacity of winter grazing grounds. In
Finland, the respective authority is the Ministry
of Agriculture and Forestry (Maa- ja metsätalous-
ministeriö), in Norway, Norwegian Reindeer
Husbandry Board” Reindriftsstyre and in Swe-
den, the county administration board (Länssty-
relsen). In Norway, these relationships are based
on animal weights and biomass of lichens on
winter pastures (LMD 2008). In Finland, these
limits have approximately a 10-year timeframe,
while in Sweden the allowed number of rein-
deer goes back to the year 1946 in Norrbotten
and Västerbotten, and to the year 1973 in Jämt-
land. Today, the number of semi-domesticat-
ed reindeer in Finland, Norway and Sweden is
fairly similar, ranging between250,000 in Nor-
way and Sweden, and200,000 in Finland after
the slaughter in autumn (Fig. 8). A historical
maximum in all three countries was reached at
the beginning of the 1990’s.
Reindeer husbandry and other land uses
Extraction of natural resources, such as min-
ing for minerals and hydropower production
including dams and artificial lakes can have
pronounced impacts on the tundra landscape.
Besides their local primary environmental im-
pacts, the infrastructure related to these activ-
ities, such as roads, railroads and power lines
may affect the tundra system over wider areas.
Forestry is an important land use in the bo-
real zones of northern Fennoscandia. If climate
change increases the productivity of forests on
their expansion into hitherto treeless areas in
the long term, its impacts are likely to increase
in the future in new regions. Furthermore,
forestry strongly affects the winter grazing
grounds of reindeer in Sweden and Finland.
Therefore, changes in land use related to for-
estry are an important factor when considering
the future of reindeer husbandry (Fig. 9).
Info box 1: Seasonal migrations of reindeer
The low-productive environment and distinct seasonality of Northern Fennoscandia is reflected in the ecolog-
ical adaptations of reindeer. Accordingly, reindeer prefer different habitats with their specific resources during
different seasons to maximize their foraging efficiency in terms of nutrient acquisition in space and time. The
Sámi circle of the year is divided into eight discrete seasons, here given their Northern-Sámi terms.
• With the start of spring giđđa (from late March to early May), migration to calving grounds begins. Rein-
deer forage predominantly on lichens to sustain themselves during the energy-consuming migration.
• Spring-summer giđđageassi (from early May to end of June), when calves are born, is an important time
for replenishing nutrient deficits from the long winter and, for females, to provide their calves with milk
until weaning. Young birch and willow leaves, and freshly emerging vegetation along streams and mires
offer now maximally nutritious forage. Reindeer are sensitive to disturbances by predators or people.
• During summer geassi (from end of June to early August), reindeer graze freely on a high variety of highly
palatable herbs, forbs and grasses to maximize their growth and build up reserves for the winter. Snow
patches and wind provide relief from insects. Reindeer are temporarily gathered for calf marking during
this period.
• In autumn-summer čakčageassi (from early August to end of September), mushrooms are increasingly
included into the diet of reindeer.
• The nutritious quality and availability of green forage declines in autumn čakča (end of September to ear-
ly November). This is the time of rut, when bulls spend a large amount of their resources acquired during
summer. Migration starts to autumn- and winter grazing grounds.
• Birch forests offer wintergreen grass and heather, and mires also may still carry some green vegetation
during early autumn-winter čakčadálvi (early November to end of December). Gradually, animals have to
start digging for food through the accumulating snow.
• During winter dálvi (end of December to early February), reindeer continue to graze for as long as possi-
ble on wintergreen grass and heather in the forest. When snow becomes deep and hard reindeer move to
higher ground for thinner snow and to heaths for more abundant lichens. The terrestrial lichens (Cladonia
spp, Cetraria spp.) are rich in carbohydrates and energy, but low in proteins and minerals.
• In spring-winter (early February to late March), snow conditions may be so difficult with deep hard snow
or ice crusts that reindeer cannot access the food on the ground. Arboreal lichens (Bryoria fuscescens,
Alectoria sarmentosa) in boreal forests become an important forage resource. The availability of winter
and spring-winter grazing resources, constitutes the critical bottleneck in the herding year, because they
strongly impact winter survival and calving success of reindeer.
The degree to which reindeer migrate between the seasonal grazing grounds, the distances covered and the
means of migration or transportation vary significantly throughout Fennoscandia depending on the husband-
ry system. In general, pasture rotation in Finland is less pronounced than in Norway and Sweden (cf. Fig. 4).
26 Reindeer husbandry under global change in the tundra region of Northern Fennoscandia
28 Reindeer husbandry under global change in the tundra region of Northern Fennoscandia Reindeer husbandry under global change in the tundra region of Northern Fennoscandia 29
In addition, diverse tourism activities such
as hiking, dog sledging, mountain biking, hunt-
ing and snow mobile safaris require specific
forms of infrastructure, and can locally have
impacts on the land use options for reindeer
husbandry (see Chapter 5).
Today, the legal protection of the Sámi cul-
ture, including other traditional Sámi liveli-
hoods, is weak, especially in Finland. In regards
to land use, there are some signs of improve-
ment. In a landmark case in early 2016, a Sámi
collective prevailed against the Swedish state,
as their exclusive rights to fishing and hunt-
ing inside the area of Girjas Sámi village was
affirmed. This decision by a Swedish court
should logically – due to the common, historical
legal basis – have repercussions in Finland and
Norway, too.
Figure 10 a) Mean annual temperature, and b) precipitation in Northern Fennoscandia. Hijmans et al. 2005,
Worldclim 2015.
3
Climate and vegetation
in northern Fennoscandia
Current climatic conditions
Climatic conditions vary considerably across
Northern Fennoscandia due to the influence of
the Atlantic Ocean, the Bothnian Bay, the Scan-
dinavian mountain range and a wide latitudinal
gradient. In general, climate is characterized by
a long cold season and snow cover that lasts 6–7
months (Tuhkanen 1980; Tveito et al. 2001; Jyl-
hä et al. 2008). The mean annual temperature
ranges from less than −3°C in the northern-
most part of the region to 3‒4°C in the western
Norwegian coast characterized by oceanic cli-
mate (Fig. 10a). The lowest mean winter tem-
peratures are found in the continental parts of
northern Norway in Finnmarksvidda. Growing
season is short (Karlsen et al. 2008), and mean
summer temperature ranges between 4‒14°C
in the region. The lowest annual precipitation
(less than 450 mm) is received in northern Fin-
land, whereas the highest amounts of precipi-
tation (> 2000 mm) fall on the western side of
Scandinavian mountains (Fig. 10b).
Snow usually falls in late October or early
November and melts in late April or May (Jylhä
et al. 2008). Wind and topography have signifi-
cant impacts on the local accumulation of snow.
For example, mountain ridges and tops can be
extremely windblown with a shallow snow cov-
er that melts early in the spring, whereas val-
leys and depressions accumulate snow that can
persist until autumn. Annual snow cover has
an important role on ecosystem functions in
northern Fennoscandia, as it controls micro-
climate and plant growing conditions and pro-
vides shelter during the cold season (Walker et
al 2001).
Figure 9. Forestry is an important form of land use in the Northern Fennoscandian reindeer husbandry area
especially in Sweden and Finland. Industrialized forestry has contributed to landscape fragmentation (left) and
loss of winter grazing resources, for example by intensive cutting (right). Photos from Sweden.
300 000 Sweden
Norway
Finland
200 000
100 000
0
1880 1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000
Figure 8. Total populations of semi domesticated reindeer in Sweden, Norway and Finland following the autumn
slaughter (1880–2011). After calving in spring, herds are signicantly larger. Modied from Bernes et al. 2015.
30 Reindeer husbandry under global change in the tundra region of Northern Fennoscandia Reindeer husbandry under global change in the tundra region of Northern Fennoscandia 31
However, as the Earth’s climate is warming,
also the northern regions experience changes.
While the globally averaged temperature data
show a warming of 0.85 °C over the period from
1880 to 2012, the northern circumpolar region
has been warming approximately twice as much
(Fig. 11). In Finland, for example, the respective
warming has been 2.3 °C, and during winter
months, almost five degrees (Mikkonen et al.
2015). It is extremely likely that the dominant
cause of the observed warming since the mid-
20th century has been the human influence.
Vegetation zones
Northern Fennoscandia encompasses several
vegetation zones across latitudinal and altitu-
dinal gradients. Vegetation zones are mainly
determined by temperature conditions, but
further divisions can also be made based on
precipitation constituting substantial differ-
ences in vegetation formations along the ocean-
ic-continental gradient from west to east based
on continental-oceanic variation of climate
(Ahti et al. 1968). The northern boreal zone is
dominated by birch forests, with forests of Scots
pine (Pinus sylvestris (L.) in the continental parts
of the region. More to the south and east for-
ests of Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) becomes
more common combined with large propor-
tions of bogs and mires in the landscape. The
tree-line in northern Fennoscandia is typically
constituted by mountain birch (Betula pubescens
ssp. czerepanovii). The mountain birch region
extends from the southern Scandes through
northern Norway and Sweden to the northern-
most Finland. Areas above the altitudinal and
latitudinal treelines are characterized by arctic
and oroarctic tundra including dwarf shrubs,
grasses, mosses and lichens (Virtanen et al.
2016). The boundary between mountain birch
forests and tundra often constitutes a wide
transition zone called forest-tundra ecotone. In
addition to temperature, other abiotic factors,
such as slope gradient and sediment types, as
well as herbivory and human activities affect the
position of treeline (Holtmeier & Broll 2005).
Vegetation types of northern
Fennoscandia
Spatially and temporally consistent information
on vegetation is required in order to understand
the factors affecting the current and future dis-
tribution of different vegetation communities.
Remote sensing data and methods based on
repeated measurements of reflected radiation
from Earth’s surface are highly relevant in map-
ping vegetation over large areas. Various sat-
ellite images have been widely utilized to map
vegetation characteristics and changes from lo-
cal to global scales (Xie et al. 2008).
TUNDRA project produced a vegetation da-
tabase of Northern Fennoscandia with the aid
of selected Landsat TM and ETM+ images from
1994–2003 through six operational stages: (1)
spectral classification, (2) spectral similarity
analysis, (3) generation of classified image mo-
saics, (4) ancillary data analysis and integration,
(5) contextual correction, and (6) standardiza-
tion of the final map products. The spatial reso-
lution (the pixel size) of the product is 30 m. The
most detailed version of the developed map is
differentiated into 21 land cover classes, where-
as an aggregated version contains 14 classes (Fig.
12, Appendix 2). This vegetation information
has supported several research aspects, such as
a revised delineation of tundra areas in Scandi-
navia (Virtanen et al. 2016), the relationship be-
tween snow cover and vegetation distribution
(Cohen et al. 2013), plus various reindeer range
studies, climate impact studies, and land use as-
pects for reindeer herders.
Climate and tundra vegetation in the
future
Climate projections
Global climate models are used to examine
the current climate and to project future cli-
Figure 11. Observed global surface temperature change from 1901 to 2012 derived from temperature trends
determined by linear regression. IPCC 2013a.
Info box 2: Climate variability after the last
glacial period
Climate and the associated distribution of vegetation
zones have varied significantly after the last glacial
period. The current post-glacial epoch, the Holocene,
began circa 11700 years ago. Around 10000–9000
BP (before present), climate was cooler than today
and pioneer plants, such as dwarf shrubs and grass-
es established themselves after glacial retreat. The
relatively warm period at 8 000–5800 BP is called
hypsithermal, with annual mean temperatures on av-
erage two degrees higher than today. Pine forests
were found notably further north and at higher alti-
tude than today, and many mountain glaciers retreat-
ed or disappeared. At around 5000 BP, climate cooled
and became more variable. This caused a gradual
retreat of pine, increased development of bogs and
mires, and expansion of glaciers. The past 4000
years have been characterized by generally cooler
climate with some temperature fluctuations, such as
a warmer period called Medieval Climate Anomaly at
900–1300 AD and a cooler period called Little Ice Age
at 1500–1850 AD (Korhola et al. 2002; Lilleøren et al.
2012).
Reindeer husbandry under global change in the tundra region of Northern Fennoscandia 31
32 Reindeer husbandry under global change in the tundra region of Northern Fennoscandia Reindeer husbandry under global change in the tundra region of Northern Fennoscandia 33
Figure 13. Time series of summer (June-July-August) temperature change in 1900–2100 relative to 1986–
2005 in North Europe for four dierent Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs; see text for details).
IPCC 2013b.
matic conditions. Representative concentra-
tion pathways (RCP) are the latest scenarios
adopted by the Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change (IPCC) and utilized in cur-
rent climate research. They describe four
possible climate futures that depend on how
much greenhouse gases are emitted (IPCC
2013). Greenhouse gases contribute to radi-
ative forcing, i.e. the “imbalance” between
incoming solar radiation and outgoing in-
frared radiation, which results in increasing
global temperatures. RCPs are named after a
possible range of radiative forcing values in
the year 2100 relative to pre-industrial values
(+2.6, +4.5, +6.0, and +8.5 W/m2; van Vuuren
et al. 2011), and each pathway gives different
warming trends for Northern Europe (Fig.
13).
Even with the lowest radiative forcing val-
ues, climate conditions and associated vegeta-
tion zones are projected to change considera-
bly in northern Fennoscandia (Figs. 14 and 15).
The current treeline coincides relatively well
with the 10°C isotherm for the mean summer
temperature. Climate projections demonstrate
that in 2070, summer temperatures below 10°C
may be found only in the high-altitude areas of
the Scandinavian mountain range that today
mainly consists of glaciers.
Shrub expansion and surface albedo
changes
Incident solar radiation reaching Earth’s sur-
face is both reflected back to space and ab-
sorbed to the surface. The fraction of reflected
solar radiation is called albedo. Different sur-
faces reflect sunlight in different ways. For ex-
ample, fresh snow reflects a large proportion
of incoming sunlight and has high albedo (0.9),
whereas oceans and coniferous forests reflect
less sunlight and have low albedo (0.06–0.15).
The absorbed radiation heats the surface and,
among several other factors, affects Earth’s en-
ergy balance (Dickinson 1983).
Tundra environments in northern Fen-
noscandia are covered by snow for more than
half of the year. In shrub-tundra landscapes,
Figure 12. Land cover-land use map of northern Fennoscandia by Bernt Johansen based on Landsat data and
ancillary information. This version shows land cover in 14 classes.
34 Reindeer husbandry under global change in the tundra region of Northern Fennoscandia Reindeer husbandry under global change in the tundra region of Northern Fennoscandia 35
the albedo and energy budget is determined
by the relationship between the fractional
snow cover and the fraction of vegetation pro-
truding above the snow-pack (Menard et al.
2014b). Shrubs exposed above snow decrease
surface albedo and increase the absorption
of solar radiation and sensible heat fluxes to
the atmosphere. Springtime changes in snow
cover extent and duration have the strongest
impacts on the amount of reflected radiation
at high latitudes, as the long polar night does
not contribute much to radiation balances.
Projected increases in spring temperatures
combined with expansion and densification
of shrub vegetation can significantly decrease
surface albedo, and amplify global warming
(Menard et al. 2014a).
Snowmelt has been found to occur earlier
in pastures where reindeer are not present
during summer. In these areas, where rein-
deer do not browse the vegetation during
the growing season, more and taller shrubs
and trees protrude above the snowpack
compared to year-round grazing areas with
shorter and sparser vegetation. This results
in lower albedo in non-summer pastures
Reindeer husbandry under global change in the tundra region of Northern Fennoscandia 35
during the spring season (Cohen et al. 2013).
Reindeer grazing has a clear impact on sur-
face albedo also in moth-damaged mountain
birch forests. For example, after moth defo-
liation, the severely hampered regeneration
of mountain birch forest in year-round pas-
tures has been reported to result in a signif-
icant 5% increase in spring albedo compared
to winter grazed regions (Biuw et al. 2014). It
should be noted that variations in snow ac-
cumulation and snowmelt are also strongly
driven by regional climate and topography
in addition to vegetation. The large-scale es-
timation of the effects of shrub expansion
on the energy budget of high-latitude areas
should therefore take into consideration, for
example, wind redistribution of snow, to-
pography as well as shrub bending and emer-
gence, as they all affect the variability of snow
cover (Menard et al. 2014).
Figure 14. Current mean temperature of the warmest quarter (left) and projected temperatures in 2070
according to RCP 2.6 (middle) and RCP 8.5 (right). Hijmans et al. 2005, Worldclim 2015.
Figure 15. Current and projected mean temperatures (RCP 4.5) of the warmest quarter (Hijmans et al. 2005,
Worldclim 2015) and current vegetation types (cf. Fig 10).
36 Reindeer husbandry under global change in the tundra region of Northern Fennoscandia Reindeer husbandry under global change in the tundra region of Northern Fennoscandia 37
Table 1. Impacts of dierent herbivores on the vegetation at the tree line and the tundra
Tundra Shrubs and dwarf shrubs Forest (birches)
Reindeer high impact1 aect mainly large shrubs >
30 cm1
high impact at forest line, when
present in growing season (i.e.
year-round grazing)1
Rodents
high impact especially in
outbreak years, as no control
by predators1
aect mainly smaller shrubs
< 30 cm, irrespective of
palatability1
controlled by predators, but
high impact in outbreak years2
Moths no impact3
aect dwarf shrubs in
outbreak years in oligotrophic
heaths3
high defoliation impact in
outbreak years3
References: 1) Olofsson et al. 2009; 2) Aunapuu et al. 2008; 3) Karlsen et al. 2013
The impact of rodents on the tundra
Rodent populations are characterized by pro-
nounced oscillations with a fairly regular pe-
riodicity of five years (Fig. 17). This periodicity
is generated by voles, which primarily dwell
near the tree line. Lemmings, primarily found
at higher altitudes, have less regular outbreaks
followed by abrupt crashes. Such outbreaks
have occurred in 1978, 1988, 2007 and 2011 (Ek-
erholm et al. 2001, Olofsson et al. 2014, Ruffino
et al. 2016). Between outbreaks, the remain-
4
The impact of herbivory
on the tree line and the tundra
Keystone species and their impact on
arctic-alpine vegetation dynamics
The most important herbivores that shape the
dynamics of vegetation communities at the tree
line and above include reindeer (Rangifer taran-
dus), rodents (Arvicolinae, voles and lemmings)
and geometrid moths (autumnal moth Epirrita
autumnata; winter moth Operophtera brumata)
(Fig. 16). The impact of these herbivores differs
in its seasonality, frequency, intensity and spa-
tial distribution depending on their respective
mobility, and growth forms of preferred vege-
tation (Table 1).
Figure 16. Herbivores have a strong impact on vegetation communities at the tree line and on the tundra in
Northern Fennoscandia; a) reindeer, b) grey red-backed vole, c) lemming, d) autumnal moth caterpillar.
0
5
10
15
20
25
1977
1979
1981
1983
1985
1987
1989
1991
1993
1995
1997
1999
2001
2003
2005
2007
2009
2011
2013
2015
2017
Figure 17. Density oscillations of voles and lemmings on northern Finnmarksvidda, Norway, during 1977–2016.
Index values (captures per 100 trap nights) have been smoothed over three successive trapping sessions.
a) b)
c) d)
38 Reindeer husbandry under global change in the tundra region of Northern Fennoscandia Reindeer husbandry under global change in the tundra region of Northern Fennoscandia 39
ing lemmings are only found in snowbeds and
mires. At the tree line, predation by small mus-
telids, such as stoats (Mustela erminea) and least
weasels (Mustela nivalis), is a strong regulator
of rodents and keeps their impact low during
non-outbreak years (Turchin et al. 2000, Au-
napuu et al. 2008) and probably accounts for
the periodicity of these oscillations (Turchin et
al. 2000, Ekerholm et al. 2001).
Lemmings forage primarily on mosses,
grasses and sedges and cannot eat lichens or
woody parts of woody plants, though they
consume their leaves (Saetnan et al. 2009).
However, these plant groups, which lemmings
cannot eat, suffer maximally from their effect
(Fig. 18). In contrast, their main winter food
items, i.e. small mosses, gain from lemming
grazing (Olofsson et al. 2014, Virtanen 2000).
In winter, lemmings dig their way under the
snow to their food items, and whatever is on
their way is destroyed. Especially evergreens,
which store most of their resources in above-
ground organs, suffer heavily. Conversely,
small mosses recover from basal cells. In the
absence of lemmings, these mosses would be-
come overgrown by stronger competitors, as
would also grasses and sedges in the long run
(Saccone & Virtanen 2016). In summer, the im-
pact of rodents is rarely detectable due to rap-
id vegetation growth.
The impact of lemmings is thus important
for the maintenance of snow bed vegetation
where there is an abundance of forbs, grass-
es, sedges and palatable deciduous dwarf
shrubs.
All in all, rodents have an enormous impact
on tundra vegetation, and consequently also
on nutrient circulation and carbon balance
(Olofsson et al. 2004, Ylänne et al. 2015). These
impacts are especially strong in areas above the
tree line, where they can be seen even from
space (Olofsson et al. 2012).
Rodents’ impact on woody plants at the
tree line
Although voles can cause high damage to de-
ciduous dwarf shrubs, such as bilberry (Vaccin-
ium myrtillus), their effect on tree saplings that
are growing on the tundra is much less pro-
nounced. Saplings of Eurasian tree line species
survived in an experiment regardless of the
impact of rodents. The tree species included
mountain birch (Betula pubescens ssp. czerepano-
vii), larch (Larix larix), pine (Pinus sylvestris) and
spruce (Picea abies).
During high vole populations, spruce sap-
lings had the highest survival rate. The rodents’
impact on the growth of the surviving saplings
was small, though with significant species-spe-
cific differences. On average, pines grew best,
and mountain birches and larches worst.
In other words, the native mountain birch
seems not to be the most successful tree spe-
cies in the inland climate of northern Fennos-
candia, as it is outperformed by the three other
species. In particular, spruces have high sapling
survival rate, are influenced little by voles and
not eaten by reindeer either. Thus, they may
become a dominant species at the tree line es-
pecially if supported by planting, as has been
done in northern Norway. Invasion of ever-
green conifers at the tree line would dramat-
ically reduce ground albedo and affect snow
conditions (see Chapter 3).
Reindeer and their impact on tundra plant
communities
Most of the semi-domesticated reindeer in
Sweden and Norway migrate between coast-
al mountains and inland forests to exploit the
seasonally changing vegetation availability (cf.
Figs. 4 & 12). Sámi reindeer husbandry has fol-
lowed this natural pattern, and still does so as
much as possible given the constraints imposed
by the nation states (see Chapter 2).
In winter, reindeer forage on lichens and
vascular plants, including shrubs and grasses
(Storeheier et al. 2003). Where reindeer are
present above the tree line during winter, their
impact is concentrated on wind-swept, snow-
free ridges. Nevertheless, the main impact of
reindeer on woody and other vascular plants
occurs in summer, when reindeer gather in ar-
eas with high plant productivity. In early sum-
mer, this includes willow and mountain birch
scrublands. Willow and birch leaves are pri-
marily consumed during a short period when
leaves are young and soft, until other plants,
such as herbs, forbs and grasses become max-
imally nutritious (Fig. 19). Maximum grazing
impact on woody plants is thus obtained if
reindeer are present in June and early July. Lat-
er in the growing season, reindeer prefer moist
and nutrient-rich tundra habitats, or vegeta-
tion close to snow beds. In these habitats, the
grazing pressure, as well as indirect effects such
as trampling and nutrient input via urine and
faeces, their orders of magnitude can be higher
than on average.
Therefore, the impact of summer grazing
does not depend on timing only, but also on
spatial grazing patterns. Along fences with
high densities of reindeer, woody vegetation
is often replaced by grassland (Olofsson et al.
2001, Fig. 18). Similar effects can be obtained
without fences by keeping the reindeer in
compact herds, which was a common practice
earlier in Scandinavia (Tømmervik et al. 2010)
and is still practiced in some parts of the Arctic
(Forbes et al. 2009). Consequently, reindeer
have a strong periodic impact on all plants, but
not all the time. As grazing reaches destructive
intensity, woody plants are replaced by grass-
es and forbs. If grazing pressure is thereafter
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
o pe n without rod ent s
smal l mo s ses
seasonally green shrub s
flowe ring pla nts
grasses, sedges
large mosses
small woody evergreens
lichens
Figure 18. Biomasses (g/m2 dry weight) of dierent plant groups at open plots and in exclosures inaccessible
to rodents on heath snowbeds in 2008.
40 Reindeer husbandry under global change in the tundra region of Northern Fennoscandia Reindeer husbandry under global change in the tundra region of Northern Fennoscandia 41
reduced, the grass-forb community is resist-
ant to the invasion of woody plants and may
form a good summer pasture, if the emerging
plants are preferred forage species. Although
the influence is only local, these vegetation
shifts can remain visible for centuries, even
when active management has ceased (Tøm-
mervik et al. 2010). In contrast, constant nib-
bling with the same average intensity rather
leads to expansion of poorly palatable dwarf
shrubs, which indeed is a common situation
today (Bråthen et al. 2007). During the mos-
quito season, reindeer prefer elevated, windy
areas. In areas where reindeer have no access
to seashore or mountains, this behaviour leads
to substantial trampling of lichen rich hills, i.e.
important winter habitats of reindeer. Dur-
ing dry weather, lichens will be destroyed by
trampling, which reduces the quality of these
areas as winter grazing grounds.
Reindeer can also prevent tall herbaceous
plants from expanding their range from lower
elevations into the tundra as a response to cli-
mate change. Reindeer thus have a major role
in preventing boreal plants from outcompet-
ing the usually much smaller arctic species
(Kaarlejärvi et al. 2013). This suggests that
well-planned and targeted reindeer grazing
periods could possibly be used as a conserva-
tion tool to keep selected tundra habitats open
and to maintain tundra plant diversity in fu-
ture climate conditions (Kaarlejärvi & Olofs-
son 2014).
Geometrid moths and their impact on the
tree line
Folivorous insects rarely cause detectable
damage on the tundra. However, the moun-
tain birch forests are periodically defoliated
by moth larvae, primarily by autumnal moths
(Epirrita autumnanta, Fig. 20) in the inland,
and by winter moths (Operophtera brumata)
on the coast (Tenow 1972). Birches respond
to defoliation by producing new leaves in late
summer, after the caterpillars have pupated.
Severe and recurrent defoliation can kill both
birches and dwarf shrubs over large areas
(Jepsen et al. 2013). Another consequence is a
massive nutrient addition to the forest floor
in the form of larval faeces and dead larvae,
plus an increased penetration of light. There-
fore, forest floor can be transformed from a
dwarf shrub community to a grass dominated
Figure 20. Mountain birch forest in northern Finnish Lapland after a severe defoliation by autumnal moth.
community (Karlsen et al. 2013, Jepsen et al.
2013).
Outbreaks of geometrid moths are a natu-
ral component of the mountain birch forests
(Tenow 1972). However, in recent decades,
warming climate with less extreme winter
cold and more benign spring conditions has
increased the outbreak ranges of these moths
(Jepsen et al. 2008) into more northern and
continental areas (Fig. 21). The observed
range expansion is probably permitted by
both less extreme winter colds (Ammunet
et al. 2012) and more benign spring condi-
tions, which affect the phenological match
between birch budburst and larval hatching
(Jepsen et al. 2011). Midwinter temperatures
below −36° C kill the eggs of E. autumnata, thus
setting a belt of tolerable temperatures for
survival between cold air masses accumulat-
ing in depressions, such as river valleys and
exposed hills at higher elevation (Tenow &
Nilssen 1990, Ruohomäki et al. 2000), and ex-
clude moths from the entire Finnmarksvidda
(Tenow & Nilssen 1990, Jepsen et al. 2008). In
addition, higher spring and summer temper-
atures increase outbreak severity (Young et
al. 2014). An increase in the overlap between
outbreak ranges of the different geometrid
species leads to longer and more severe out-
breaks, as the two species do not always peak
at the same time.
On the other hand, warmer and longer
summers have made birches more resistant
to defoliation, since they have a better chance
Figure 19. a) Reindeer foraging on fresh birch leaves in late June; b) a reindeer fence separating an intensely
used summer range, dominated by grasses, from an autumn range with woody vegetation. Raisduoddar,
Norway.
42 Reindeer husbandry under global change in the tundra region of Northern Fennoscandia Reindeer husbandry under global change in the tundra region of Northern Fennoscandia 43
to compensate their defoliation losses by pro-
ducing new leaves. Mountain birches can also
recover after the death of the main trunk by
sprouting from its base. However, it is difficult
to estimate the overall impact of rising tem-
peratures on the mountain birches’ ability to
recover from moth outbreaks. For example, it
has been suggested that thermal sum accumu-
lation does not greatly promote the recovery of
mountain birches after moth outbreaks (Hut-
tunen et al. 2012, 2013). After a moth outbreak,
summer grazing by reindeer leads to increasing
birch mortality (Biuw et al. 2014). Moreover,
by eating basal recovery sprouts, reindeer can
slow down or stop the recovery of birches (Fig.
22).
In summer grazed areas, the interaction
of moths and reindeer is therefore chang-
ing closed birch forests to tundra or to savan-
nah-like vegetation – an open landscape with
scattered birches, having a clear browse line
(Biuw et al. 2014). This phenomenon has hap-
pened wherever summer grazing has been in-
tense, both along the coast of Norwegian Lap-
land and in inland areas of Finnish Lapland
(Fig. 23).
Finland
Norway
500
400
300
200
100
0
2011
Shoots per plot
2015 2011 2015
Figure 22. A short-term impact of reindeer grazing
regime on birch recovery, after the 2007–08 moth
outbreaks that killed the majority of birch stems in
the Buolbmat (Polmak, Pulmanki) area at the Finnish-
Norwegian border. The Norwegian side is a winter
range, while the Finnish side is grazed in all seasons.
The condition was analysed in 2011 and again in
2015 (3 and 7 years after the event) and quantied as
the number of basal recovery shoots per 30 x 30 m
survey plot. Source: unpublished data by Jepsen et
al.
Figure 23. “Birch savannah” landscapes created by the interaction between moths and reindeer, a) on the
island of Sievju / Seiland, Norwegian Lapland, and b) at the rim of Kevo Canyon, Finnish Lapland.
Reindeer and their impact on arctic
plant biodiversity
By preventing the invasion of trees and tall
shrubs and forbs, reindeer can maintain the
openness of the tundra, which is a precondi-
tion for the survival of many small arctic plants.
However, reindeer also have other impacts on
plants. Especially the immediate, potentially de-
structive impacts (trampling and feeding) have
obtained much attention in media and have
been a serious concern in nature protection, ex-
emplified by the ban of reindeer grazing in the
Malla Strict Preserve at Kilpisjärvi, northwest
Finnish Lapland, and a similarly motivated at-
tempt to exclude reindeer from the Jávrioaivit
Preserve in Nordreisa, Troms, Norway.
In northern Europe, arctic plant biodiver-
sity is strongly dependent on lime-rich are-
as (Dynesius and Jansson 2000, Pärtel 2002).
Such habitats form only a tiny fraction of the
Fennoscandian tundra and lie primarily at rel-
atively low altitudes. The threat to arctic biodi-
versity is thus acute in the entire Fennoscandia.
Figure 21. During the previous (2002–2010) moth outbreak cycle in Northern Fennoscandia, 1/3 of the birch
forest belt were subject to severe defoliation in one or more years (black shaded area). This is equivalent to 1
million hectares of birch forest. Birch-dominated forest with little or no defoliation is shown in light green, while
coniferous dominated forest is shown in dark green. Jepsen et al. 2009.
44 Reindeer husbandry under global change in the tundra region of Northern Fennoscandia Reindeer husbandry under global change in the tundra region of Northern Fennoscandia 45
The open question is whether reindeer grazing
can save these plants in a warming climate or
whether it aggravates the problem.
A comparison of the overall diversity and
occurrence of different plant categories be-
low dolomite rocks showed that the collec-
tive abundance of plants red-listed in Finland
increases linearly with the intensity of sum-
mer grazing by reindeer (Olofsson & Oksanen
2005). The overall diversity was not influenced
by reindeer grazing.
Some rare plants may suffer from intense
reindeer grazing, while others remain un-
affected. However, intense summer grazing
is favourable for many arctic alpine rarities,
such as the black alpine sedge (Carex atrata),
the purple saxifrage (Saxifraga oppositifolia, Fig.
24), the Siberian thrift (Armeria maritima ssp.
sibirica), and the sulphur buttercup (Ranun-
culus sulphurous). Some of these species tend
to be tolerant towards grazing, but are easily
outcompeted where no disturbance occurs.
Though grazing may damage parts of the rare
arctic plants, the net impact of intense sum-
mer grazing can be positive on the population
level.
5
Human actors in
the social-ecological system
Reindeer herders’ perceptions of
changes in the social-ecological
system
TUNDRA research included workshops with
reindeer herders in Sápmi, to gather percep-
tions of the changes that are transforming
their pastoral landscape. Items of discussion
included vegetation changes, such as increased
growth of trees and shrubs, the interaction
between reindeer and vegetation, and also
non-ecological issues such as land use chang-
es and social aspects of reindeer husbandry. In
each country, two districts were chosen (Fig.
25) for the workshops.
The discussions in the workshops produced
a wealth of material, naturally with somewhat
diverse view angles and opinions. However, it
was possible to identify the greatest common
concerns that emerged repeatedly in the six
districts. These are discussed and analysed fur-
ther below, but can be summarised under the
four SES concepts (see Chapter 1) as follows:
Environment
Extreme weather conditions (hot summers;
freeze-thaw and rain-on-snow during winter)
Resources
Land use conflicts
Actors
Lack of self-determination
Governance
Unclear, diffuse legislation on several levels
Environment and Resources
Regarding changes in the landscape, many sim-
ilar observations were reported in all of the dis-
tricts, while some processes were place-specif-
ic. In all districts, seasonality is experienced as
changing. In particular, winter weather was re-
ported to have become less predictable with large
temperature fluctuations over short time spans,
frequent freeze-thaw cycles, and rain-on-snow.
Hot summers were considered as an example of
new extreme events. These effects make it more
difficult to plan ahead herding practices.
All districts experienced encroachment of
their grazing grounds by other forms of land
use, albeit the specific forms of land use dif-
fered. However, given the differences in sea-
sonal migration systems between the coun-
tries, the seasonal grazing grounds that were
considered as most vulnerable differ. For ex-
ample, in Tuorpon (Sweden), the availability of
winter grazing resources in the boreal forest is
affected by modern forestry, while Beahcegeal-
li (Norway) faces an incision on their summer
grazing areas by the planned Balsfjord Pow-
er Line (Statnett 2015). Similarly, participants
expressed a common concern that all grazing
land was being used, offering few areas as re-
serve areas.
Workshop participants in all districts ob-
served an increase of trees and shrubs. However,
the intensity of this process varied between the
districts and countries, due to the large variation
in i) grazing systems and ii) the regional differ-
Figure 24. Purple saxifrage (Saxifraga oppositifolia). Norrbotten, Sweden.
46 Reindeer husbandry under global change in the tundra region of Northern Fennoscandia Reindeer husbandry under global change in the tundra region of Northern Fennoscandia 47
ences in biotic and abiotic factors. Consequently,
there was no consensus on impacts of reindeer
grazing on the growth of shrubs and trees at the
Fennoscandian level. However, where increased
shrub and tree growth on formerly treeless ar-
eas was observed, these processes were consid-
ered as primarily unfavourable in all districts.
The mechanisms of these adverse effects differ,
depending on the specific herding practices and
aspects of reindeer ecology that are affected. For
example, increased growth of birches affects
winter grazing grounds in the herding districts
of Fiettar, Beahcegealli (Norway) and Näkkälä
(Finland). The increased abundance of trees
leads to higher snow accumulation, making it
more difficult for reindeer to dig for plants and
lichens underneath the snow cover. Workshop
participants therefore emphasized the need of
a diverse landscape with both open and forest-
ed areas, in order to offer accessible grazing re-
sources under different winter weather condi-
tions.
Where grazing grounds during the snow free
season are being encroached upon by birch-
es and willows, reindeer leave these areas and
select grazing grounds at higher altitudes. De-
spite these negative consequences of increased
growth of trees and shrubs, these transforma-
tion were not commonly seen as a major threat
to reindeer husbandry in comparison to, for
example, negative effects of other forms of
land use on the availability of grazing grounds.
Similarly, the significance of drivers con-
tributing to increased growth of trees and
shrubs was highly diverse across the districts.
However, there was generally a high consensus
about the nature of the most important driv-
ers. Besides the grazing impact of reindeer in
particular abiotic factors, these include factors
such as water availability and thickness of the
organic soil layer, both favouring the growth of
birch and willow. The abandonment of former
land use practices was stressed in contributing
to increased abundance of trees and shrubs.
For example, cutting trees for firewood has
considerably decreased. It is worthwhile em-
phasising, however, that even though many
discussion topics revolved around challenges
and difficult situations due to climate change
and its impacts on the ecosystem, participants
in several districts emphasized the resilience of
the livelihood and its ability to adapt to chang-
ing conditions.
Actors and Governance
Participants emphasized that the options of
conducting reindeer husbandry are strongly
influenced by the institutional design in their
respective country, in combination with dis-
trict-specific characteristics. Frictions arise
from a diverse set of reasons, such as power
relations with other forms of land use, exter-
nal government decisions that do not allow to
set reindeer numbers according to the herders’
preference and own perceptions of the carry-
ing capacity of the grazing grounds, or restric-
tions on herd composition set by market econ-
omy. Policies related to the crossing of national
borders during migration were also discussed,
as well as administrative borders that are in
conflict with natural behaviour of reindeer and
thus restrict the selection of a preferred habi-
tat.
Consequently, rather than extreme weath-
er conditions or other ecological issues, it is the
resources-actors-governance sector that the
herders see most problematic. We therefore
argue that the greatest challenges in today’s
reindeer husbandry have to do with imperfect
discourse between the stakeholders. This mat-
ter can be considered theoretically with the so-
called institutional analysis and development
(IAD) framework also developed by Ostrom
(2011) (Fig. 26). In the IAD framework, the envi-
ronment, the involved human community and
the rules-in-use interact forming the outcome,
i.e. the current reality.
Following the IAD framework, our argument
of unsatisfactory discourse can be reformulat-
ed so that it denotes the imperfect action sit-
uations and subsequently, flawed interactions
between the stakeholders. There are numerous
examples of distrust between the governance
and various livelihoods in primary produc-
tion, including fisheries, agriculture as well
as reindeer husbandry. Of these, it is indeed
reindeer husbandry that poses the longest list
of challenges as it intertwines such a complex
Figure 25. Interactive workshops were conducted in six herding districts, two in each country. Sweden: 1)
Tuorpon, and 2) Saarivuoma; Norway: 3) Beahcegealli, and 4) Fiettar (showing separate summer and spring-,
autumn-, winter pasture regions); Finland: 5) Näkkälä, and 6) Lappi. The hatched areas in the Norwegian
districts denote spring-autumn and winter pastures that are shared with other districts.
48 Reindeer husbandry under global change in the tundra region of Northern Fennoscandia Reindeer husbandry under global change in the tundra region of Northern Fennoscandia 49
myriad of parameters from ancient cultural
heritage to competing land use interest, as has
been described also in, for example, Forbes et
al. (2006). There is clearly too little interaction
and inadequate, unequal discussion between
the stakeholders. From the herders’ perspec-
tive, unclear legislation and lack of self-deter-
mination are considered as threats for the live-
lihood.
To improve the quality of decision making,
more and better interaction will be needed be-
tween stakeholders. Planning and actions re-
garding future land use and livelihoods should
be co-designed by different stakeholders. To
overcome the historical apprehension between
the parties, a neutral boundary organisation
might serve as an appreciated mediator.
Action situation: the final stakeholder
workshop
TUNDRA organized a stakeholder workshop
representing an action situation according to
the IAD framework (cf. Fig. 26). Reindeer herd-
ers, representatives of various ministries and
Sámi Parliament as well as regional authorities
from all three countries were invited to partic-
ipate a small-group discussion with TUNDRA
researchers regarding the present and future
impacts on reindeer husbandry in a Co-Nordic
context. The participants were divided into na-
tional small-groups to consider the three items
of interest listed below. The outcome of the
small-group discussions was synthesised into
concise narratives.
• What are the most influential factors on
reindeer husbandry today?
• What are expected to be the most influential
internal and external factors on reindeer
husbandry in the future?
• Is it plausible to consider reindeer husband-
ry as a “conservation tool” to sustain tundra
in a warming climate?
Reindeer husbandry today
Participants formulated the most influential
factors on reindeer husbandry today as posi-
tive, negative or variable in their influence. The
origin of these factors was considered either
as a long-term (for example several decades)
or a recent phenomenon (for example, having
occurred within a few years’ time). Lastly, the
trend of the phenomena was indicated as in-
creasing, stable or decreasing.
Participants discussed factors of both an-
thropogenic and natural origin. The discussion
seemed to focus quite naturally on negative
factors, rather large regions, and long time-
spans. Many of the factors displayed an increas-
ing trend, indicating that the pressure on rein-
deer husbandry is perceived to increase in the
future.
Environmental factors that are challenging
to reindeer husbandry mainly relate to weather
conditions in every season, but with particular
emphasis on winter conditions. These include
short-lived events such as snow conditions and
freeze-thaw cycles. Predation was another im-
portant factor, considered seasonally variable
(for example, predation by bear during spring),
or increasing in long-term due to growing car-
nivore populations. Examples of positive fac-
tors are related to wind and snow conditions
that can reduce work load or assist reindeer
herders in their practical work with the ani-
mals, for example during seasonal migrations.
Stable snow conditions, however, are perceived
as becoming infrequent.
Anthropogenic factors are diverse. Neg-
ative issues cover topics of direct impact on
herding practices, such as off-road traffic and
pressure by other forms of land use, as well
as borders that hamper traditional herding
practices. Indirect effects include ambiguous
regulations and decreasing economic support
by the state that threaten to weaken the via-
bility of reindeer husbandry. This is a process
that has been ongoing over a long period of
time.
Positive factors included an increasing-
ly improving attitude towards reindeer hus-
bandry, recognizing its importance in deliver-
ing ecosystem services or as a “brand” of high
environmental quality. Some regulations that
strengthen Sámi rights (for example, Laponia in
Sweden) support the options to conduct rein-
deer husbandry regionally. Compared to the
negative factors, these positive ones are rather
recent events.
Reindeer husbandry in the future
Participants considered the next 20–50 years’
development of the livelihood by producing
a list of strengths, weaknesses, opportuni-
ties and threats – the so-called SWOT analysis.
“Strengths” are internal to the livelihood and
support its continued existence, while “Weak-
nesses” may threaten it. External supporting
factors are called “Opportunities”, while out-
side pressures are “Threats” (Fig. 27).
Strengths are related to the animals’ behav-
iour and general ecology: their adaptability to
various environmental conditions and ability to
exploit different kinds of resources. Reindeer
herders’ cultural background and indigenous
knowledge are a source of adaptive capacity in
case of disturbances or shocks, while the abili-
ty to learn and adjust to new herding practic-
es may help reindeer herders in responding to
future pressures. The Sámi culture is regarded
as alive and passed down through generations,
thus conferring resilience to the livelihood.
Weaknesses include fading traditions, po-
tentially eroding the knowledge base of rein-
deer herding practices. This was attributed
to a lack of self-determination that could
curtail reindeer herders’ options to practice
their livelihood as preferred. Potential neg-
ative consequences include dilemmas at the
local level, for example in the seasonal rota-
tion of grazing grounds, and in the sharing of
the grazing areas between different herding
groups.
Increased appreciation by the public was
recognized as one of the opportunities for a
Pasture properties
Herders’ attributes
Rules in use
Action situations Interactions
Evaluative criteria
Outcomes
Contextual factors
Figure 26. Institutional analysis and development IAD framework (after Ostrom 2011) in reindeer husbandry.
50 Reindeer husbandry under global change in the tundra region of Northern Fennoscandia Reindeer husbandry under global change in the tundra region of Northern Fennoscandia 51
viable future of reindeer husbandry. The posi-
tive image of the livelihood in producing high
quality products with low environmental im-
pact may increase the economic strength, as
well as foster the culture. National legislation,
which increasingly takes indigenous claims
into account, could strengthen the livelihood
further. In particular, legislation needs to be
responsive to decision-making at the local lev-
el, minimising trade-offs with other forms of
land use.
Future threats to viable reindeer hus-
bandry include diffuse legislation that exac-
erbates rather than resolves conflicts. Such
development could materialise if decision
makers lacked knowledge of reindeer hus-
bandry and its requirements. In such a case
the complex feedbacks and consequences
resulting from legislation would fail to be-
come realized. This would be detrimental in
reducing the adaptive capacity of reindeer
husbandry
Reindeer husbandry as a conservation tool
The idea of using reindeer grazing as a conser-
vation tool for preserving the tundra was new
to the participants. At first, the participants
perceived it difficult to consider implementing
reindeer for conservation purposes as it would
require substantial changes in grazing prac-
tices. Such adjustments would be perceived as
emerging from external decisions.
As a second thought, these practices might
be able to establish grazing practices in agree-
ment with the self-determination: they could
bring about practices that where in place ear-
lier, such as crossing the Swedish-Norwegian
border seasonally for suitable pastures. The
potential to employ reindeer as a conservation
tool would take benefit from the natural be-
haviour of reindeer to migrate between grazing
areas.
The participants disfavoured the idea of
conservation tool if it would increase the ex-
Reindeer husbandry under global change in the tundra region of Northern Fennoscandia 51
penses. Economic provision would be neces-
sary to support the herds’ and herders’ mobility
to fulfil the conservation goals. Targeted graz-
ing would also involve a potential risk of dam-
aging fragile lichens by trampling and thereby
affecting negatively the essential winter grazing
resources. This is the case for example in inner
Finnmark, where the tree line overlaps with li-
chen-rich winter grazing grounds. This exam-
ple clearly illustrates the difficult trade-offs in-
volved in ecosystem management and calls for
novel solutions in environmental governance
for socially desirable and ecologically reasona-
ble management.
WS
OT
HELPFUL
INTERNAL
HARMFUL
EXTERNAL
STRENGTHS
•Reindeer ecology and behaviour
•Sámi culture & knowledge: alive and passed
down through generations
WEAKNESSES
•Fading traditions
•Lack of self-determination
•Problematic regulations at the local level
OPPORTUNITIES
•Appreciation by the public
•National legislation influences local level
decisions
THREATS
•Ignorance at local and national level
•Unclear, diffuse legislation at several levels
•Direct land use conflicts
•Insufficient understanding of the livelihood
by decision makers
Figure 27. Summary of the key variables considered to be aecting the future of reindeer husbandry, as
formulated in the SWOT analyses in small-group discussion of the stakeholder workshop.
52 Reindeer husbandry under global change in the tundra region of Northern Fennoscandia Reindeer husbandry under global change in the tundra region of Northern Fennoscandia 53
6
Exploring
potential futures
The stakeholder workshop demonstrated the
importance of decision-making and polices in
influencing the future of reindeer husbandry.
Decision-making is a societal process that often
involves difficult choices and trade-offs between
different goals and ambitions, depending on the
stakeholders involved in the process. To facilitate
decision making and arriving at solutions, sev-
eral essential requirements need to be fulfilled.
These include not only the knowledge base on
which to build decisions on, but also the under-
standing of the challenges and need for action, as
well as the willingness to act and change.
The scenario approach
Scenario approach has proved to be a useful tool
to encourage debate and create fruitful precon-
ditions for decision-making. Scenarios are not
projections, predictions, or forecasts – they are
rather stories about the future with a logical
plot and a narrative governing the manner in
which events unfold (Schwartz 1991). A scenario
can be described as a description of potentially
far-reaching deviations from what we observe
today, based on developments and path depend-
encies that lead to new potential circumstances
(Gallopin 2002). It is thus possible to identify
branching points, at which different trajectories
may result in different futures. Scenarios may
help stakeholders – and decision makers in par-
ticular – to ‘see the forest for the trees’, and help
in keeping the right track towards the preferred
future as a chain of small everyday decisions.
Developing the lessons learned from the
stakeholder workshop, we have built qualita-
tive scenario narratives for potential future tra-
jectories of reindeer husbandry related to the
tundra regions of Fennoscandia. The scenarios
include a component of Sámi traditions and
are therefore not directly applicable to south-
ern parts of the Finnish reindeer herding area.
There is a potential to unfold quite different
forms of reindeer husbandry in the future de-
pending on the actions and choices taken. We
have built four scenarios based on two major pa-
rameters related to reindeer husbandry (Fig. 28):
● the degree of land use competition between
reindeer husbandry and other activities
● the measure of industrial component in the
livelihood
The parameters were selected for their high
policy relevance, in other words they represent
developments that can be affected by policy de-
cisions in particular during medium and long
time perspectives for some decades to come.
In the scenarios, we differentiate reindeer
husbandry between two extreme end mem-
bers along the parameter axes. The livelihood
axis stretches between an industrially oriented
meat production (‘factory herding’), and a di-
versified livelihood including and appreciating
traditional (Sámi) cultural values supported by
the ecosystem services offered by the tundra
(‘natural source of livelihood’).
Vital reindeer husbandry with
cultural integrity
’Traditional migratory herding’
Reindeer husbandry competing
for space with other land uses
’Business-as-usual’
Meat production industry in
spatially large units
’Ranching’
Meat production industry in
confined spaces and
supplementary feeding
’Farming’
NATURAL SOURCE OF LIVELIHOOD
FACTORY HERDING
LAND USE PRIVILEGES
LAND USE CONSTRAINTS
Figure 28. Four scenarios of the potentially unfolding future of reindeer husbandry in Northern Fennoscandia.
For further details, see the text and Table 2.
In the industrial form, reindeer husbandry
resembles a form of ranching, where people
and animals have a more separate existence,
and herds are controlled mainly by technolog-
ical means with decreased seasonal rotation of
grazing grounds and stronger reliance on ar-
tificial feeding to reduce the dependency on
large grazing grounds (Ingold 1980, LaRocque
2014). In comparison, the diversified livelihood
involves traditional migratory husbandry and
considers animals and people as a more co-
hesive social unit with grazing control domi-
nated by human presence and labour (Ingold
1980, LaRocque 2014). Mobile reindeer herds
would potentially serve as a conservation tool
discussed above, supporting climate change
mitigation and Fennoscandian biodiversity.
Our focus is on those reindeer herding systems
that use tundra and near-treeline habitats as
summer pastures, as these systems have always
been migratory. However, we acknowledge the
fact that some Sámi cultures employ station-
ary herding practices, too. This is especially the
case among the Forest Sámi, where summer
habitats (open mires) and winter habitats (dry,
lichen rich pine forests and spruce forests with
arboreal lichens) occur as patches in the same
landscape.
54 Reindeer husbandry under global change in the tundra region of Northern Fennoscandia Reindeer husbandry under global change in the tundra region of Northern Fennoscandia 55
The second axis stretches between the end
members regarding land use allocation. Pas-
tures and their various attributes (cf. Fig. 2)
form the most important resource for reindeer
herding. Land allocation is reflected particu-
larly in the size, fragmentation and quality of
the grazing grounds, and is often the prima-
ry trigger for conflicts between stakeholders.
Land allocation results from political decisions
and governance actions stemming from the in-
formation level and value base of the decision
makers. It is, therefore, justifiable to consider
land allocation policies between different land
uses; to what extent is a landscape reserved
for herding practices, as opposed to other ac-
tivities, such as forestry, mineral extraction,
tourism, energy production (reservoirs, wind
farms), logistics (power lines, roads, rail roads),
settlements, or conservation. The end mem-
bers of the axis stretch from sustained land
use allocation for reindeer livelihood (‘land
use privileges’) to restricted land use allocation
for herding (‘land use constraints’). Changes in
land allocation will often be reflected in herd-
ing practices, for example in the degree of sea-
sonal migration and the need for supplemen-
tary feeding. In a similar manner, however,
also herding practices and their impact on the
landscape (for example overgrazing) and other
stakeholders (for example crop damages) may
generate pressure to alter the land allocation.
Scenario narratives
It is useful to remember that scenarios do not
involve any probability component; any of the
four scenarios, or their mixture – or something
completely different – will gradually unfold,
depending on the decisions to be made. Which
particular scenario, if any, is preferred by an
individual, is a subjective judgement depend-
ing on the information and value base of the
person. Scenarios themselves do not manifest
any value judgments; they are hypothetical,
logical examples of a large variety of possible
alternatives. However, choices and actions that
lead to a future are based on normative values.
This discussion is, however, beyond the scope
of our scientific analysis.
Traditional migratory herding
Traditional migratory herding scenario in-
volves only little competition by other forms
of land use. Low competition in land use im-
plies that no further land fragmentation or
other forms of degradation of grazing grounds
hampers the migratory movements of ani-
mals. Consequently, the circumstances for
pasture rotation within and between seasons
are maintained, or improved. However, many
current challenges faced by reindeer herders
– such as the uncertainty of meat price and
predation losses/subsidiary system – would
remain also in the future (Table 2). There will
be no external pressure on significant chang-
es in the number of reindeer and reindeer
herders. An important element is the coop-
eration between reindeer herders and repre-
sentatives of other forms of land use, such as
mining or forestry companies, and adminis-
tration at regional, national and international
levels. Should the societies want to safeguard
traditional, migratory Sámi reindeer herding,
it would be necessary to consider the North
Calotte as a commonly governed pasture area,
as different countries have different shortages
and surpluses of pastures optimal for differ-
ent seasons. This would also value the cultur-
al traditions predating the border closures of
the mid-1800’s (see Chapter 2). This would call
for close international collaboration for gov-
erning reindeer husbandry in Fennoscandia
(Table 2).
Variable herding practices with other land
uses (business-as-usual, ‘BAU’)
The business-as-usual scenario illustrates
a future of variable reindeer husbandry – in-
cluding traditional migratory herding and sta-
tionary herding – competing with other forms
of land use. This scenario can be considered
as a business-as-usual one. High competition
in land use may result in shrinking and frag-
mented pastures. However, other co-existing
activities and livelihoods such as tourism may
offer opportunities to innovations and cooper-
ation, and may result to luxury meat products
and other new reindeer-related products. In
this scenario, a smaller proportion of reindeer
herders practice the livelihood as a full-time
profession and consequently, additional sourc-
es of income are needed. As a result, the num-
ber of full time herders will decrease some-
what, while the number of part-time herders
will increase.
Reindeer ranching
Ranching scenario illustrates a situation where
industrial-type reindeer husbandry coincides
with low competition in land use. In this sce-
nario, traditional migratory reindeer herding
survives alongside intensive ranching, as it
may offer luxury ‘traditional’ meat products as
an alternative to the more standard products
of the industrial production. Such a situation
brings about two “schools of thought”, tradi-
tional and industrial husbandry, and conse-
quently, problems may emerge regarding for
example, policy support.
Due to the different conditions and poli-
cies today in different countries and partially
in different parts of the reindeer husbandry
56 Reindeer husbandry under global change in the tundra region of Northern Fennoscandia Reindeer husbandry under global change in the tundra region of Northern Fennoscandia 57
area, the developments may vary. In Sweden,
for example, most herding units utilizing the
tundra in the summer spend the remaining
seasons in forested landscapes, influenced by
heavy-handed industrial forestry and mas-
sive hydroelectric projects. In contrast, in
northernmost Norway, winter pastures are
not influenced by either large scale forestry
or large hydroelectric projects, as mountain
birch forests are economically worthless and
the central watercourses are legally protect-
ed.
Reindeer farming
Farming scenario illustrates a combination
of industrial-type reindeer husbandry and
high competition in land use. An increase in
the demand of reindeer meat, for example,
would allow reindeer husbandry to develop
towards a meat-producing ranching industry,
which would lower reindeer meat price closer
to “everyday” meat products. Due to the hard
competition in land use and in the market,
traditional migratory reindeer herding in its
present form will decline or disappear, and be
replaced by controlled transport of the animals
(for example with trucks) between summer
and winter pastures and other technological
means to produce reindeer meat, such as an in-
creased practice or artificial feeding, or veteri-
nary treatments. Some reindeer herders grow
their business while some others are employed
by this newly forming “reindeer industry”, or
by other livelihoods, perhaps in the south. The
number of full-time reindeer herders decreas-
es significantly and, consequently, the average
herd size increases remarkably. Also the total
number of reindeer may increase.
Table 2. An overview of the variables within the four scenarios of the future of reindeer husbandry in northern
Fennoscandia.
VARIABLES
SCENARIOS
Traditional
Vital reindeer hus-
bandry with cultural
integrity
Business-as-usual
Variable reindeer
husbandry compet-
ing for space with
other land uses
Ranching
Meat production
industry in spatially
large units
Farming
Meat production
industry with sup-
plementary feeding
in conned units
Economy of reindeer
husbandry (income
perspective)
Driven by reindeer
products. Additional
sources of income
common.
Economic coop-
eration with other
livelihoods, such as
tourism.
Intensive ranching:
truck transports and
supplemental feeding.
Traditional migratory
herding a minority.
Industrial reindeer
herding dominates.
Traditional migratory
reindeer herding not
competitive.
Policy support to
migratory reindeer
herders
Policy support
depends on the
frequency of losses
caused by predation,
trac accidents, etc.
Need for policy sup-
port increased due to
competing land uses.
Dilemma of policy
support between mi-
gratory and ranching
herders.
Traditional migratory
herding partially
replaced by truck
transports between
seasonal pastures
Sámi rights and
self-determination,
survival of the Sámi
culture.
Vital Sámi culture,
secure rights to land,
and inuence in re-
source management
decisions.
Traditional migratory
herding adapted to
land use competition.
Traditional Sámi herd-
ing culture is at stake.
Traditional Sámi
herding culture is
struggling due to
increasingly industrial
practices.
Traditional Sámi
herding culture is
seriously threatened
due to industrialised
herding.
Succession planning
and continuation of
reindeer husbandry
Culture and traditions
attract young gener-
ation to continue the
livelihood.
Young generation
often chooses other
livelihoods than rein-
deer herding.
Economic motives
dominate over tra-
ditions. Traditional
migratory reindeer
herding vanishes.
Culture and tradi-
tions are replaced by
economic motives in
potential succession.
Number of full-time
reindeer herders
No signicant change Slight decrease Slight decrease Signicant decrease
Reindeer number,
herd sizes
No signicant
change; annual/sea-
sonal variation
Slight decrease Potential increase;
herd sizes vary be-
tween migratory and
ranch owners.
Potential increase;
large herds owned by
a few large owners.
Herd composition
(age & sex ratio)
Based on Sámi cultur-
al preferences: larger
proportion of bulls
and castrates than
today and in the other
scenarios.
Diversity of the herds
reects the diversity
in land use competi-
tion and situation in
the meat market.
Diversity of herds
reects diversity be-
tween migratory and
ranching preferences.
Aimed at maximized
productivity adapt-
ed from agricultural
practices: large pro-
portion of females
and calves.
Stakeholder co-
operation
New forms of internal
and external cooper-
ation allows exibility
in herd movements.
Cooperation with
other stakeholders /
land users.
Increasing cooper-
ation between Sámi
and other stakehold-
ers.
Cooperation with
stakeholders outside
traditional Sámi rein-
deer herding.
Adaptive capacity to
ecosystem and land
use changes
High. Migratory herd-
ing takes advantage
of the availability of a
large land area.
Low. Migratory herd-
ing suers from frag-
mented landscape.
Intermediate. Ranch-
ing has higher adap-
tive capacity than
migratory herding.
High. Fragmented
landscape does not
seriously inuence
farming.
Technology and use
of innovative strat-
egies
New technological
innovations inltrate
gradually into tradi-
tional practices.
New technological
innovations are used
as available.
New technological
innovations are used
and developed when
possible.
New technological
innovations are de-
veloped within the
industrial reindeer
husbandry.
Role of reindeer
meat on the market
Luxury product mar-
keted as dierent an-
imal classes (adults,
calves) and diverse
animal parts.
Products adjusted
to the needs of meat
industry.
Diversity of products:
diverse animal parts
and dierent qualities
are sold at dierent
prices
Standard product
sold at prices compa-
rable to other meat.
No label of “organic/
environmental pro-
duction”.
58 Reindeer husbandry under global change in the tundra region of Northern Fennoscandia Reindeer husbandry under global change in the tundra region of Northern Fennoscandia 59
Concluding remarks
Our scenarios have illustrated a broad spec-
trum of potential future developments in the
character of reindeer husbandry in the tundra
region of Northern Fennoscandia. Power re-
lations in governing the rights and use of the
landscape seem to be crucial in determining
the future of reindeer husbandry (Chapter 6).
This aspect was highlighted by reindeer herd-
ers in the workshops, as they emphasized the
increasing environmental and anthropogenic
challenges that affect the ecological, socio-eco-
nomic, political and cultural-historic dimen-
sion of their livelihood at large spatial and tem-
poral scales (Chapter 5).
Today, reindeer husbandry competes for
space with several other forms of land use.
Shrinking and fragmenting grazing grounds
pushes herders to use all available land for graz-
ing (Chapter 5). Therefore, the future of rein-
deer husbandry in a changing tundra (Chap-
ters 3 & 4) is affected to a substantial degree by
policy decisions that influence what elements
in the social-ecological system are either pri-
oritized or weakened, for example reinforcing
ecosystem keystones that keep the system resil-
ient.
The potential strategy to employ reindeer
grazing as a “conservation tool” is based on
reindeer ecology: selective feeding on pre-
ferred plant species in different seasons at
different habitats, as well as the reaction of
these plants to grazing pressure (Chapter 4).
However, top-down impacts on plants by her-
bivores are not the only driver that influenc-
es where and when plants can establish in the
tundra, because the patterns of various abiotic
processes (for example, soil conditions, vege-
tation period) shape bottom-up constraints
and options for seedling establishment (Chap-
ter 5). Consequently, there are strong interac-
tion impacts of grazing and abiotic effects on
plant community transition during environ-
mental change. It is this interaction that can
potentially be shaped and modulated by rein-
deer management to fulfil its “conservation
potential”. Important variables that human
decision making can affect include the num-
ber and density of reindeer present at specific
places in specific times. In reality, these deci-
sions will often involve a trade-off.
To increase the capacity to find satisfying
compromises for all involved stakeholders,
the integration of different knowledge types to
shape collective action seems vital for fostering
sustainable governance of reindeer social-eco-
logical systems in Northern Fennoscandia.
These processes may create new steward-
ship decisions and science-policy interface in-
stitutions that are capable of building trust in
political decisions and increase mutual under-
standing between involved parties in a wide so-
cial context (Chapter 5).
58 Reindeer husbandry under global change in the tundra region of Northern Fennoscandia
60 Reindeer husbandry under global change in the tundra region of Northern Fennoscandia Reindeer husbandry under global change in the tundra region of Northern Fennoscandia 61
Summary of the main findings
Most recent climate projections suggest
that by the 2070’s, temperature conditions
that are warm enough for tree growth (> 10
°C average temperature during summer)
will cover almost all of northern Fenno-
scandia. A warming climate will encourage
shrubification and tree growth and there-
fore decrease the area of tundra biome re-
markably.
The projected increase in spring tempera-
tures will enhance snow melting. Togeth-
er with the expansion and densification
of shrub vegetation, this can significantly
decrease surface reflectance (albedo), and
have a positive feedback on global climate
change. Therefore, preventing shrubifica-
tion of the tundra and preserving the cir-
cumpolar high albedo tundra biome would
serve as climate mitigation.
Herbivores (animals feeding on plants)
have a strong impact on both tundra and
mountain birch forest vegetation. The
most important herbivores include large
mammals (reindeer), small mammals (ro-
dents), and insects (geometrid moths).
Their exact effect, however, varies between
the animal groups and their population dy-
namics, seasons, weather conditions, and
vegetation communities, and is dependent
also on the combined impact of different
animals.
Reindeer grazing has the potential to coun-
ter-impact the climate-induced shrubifi-
cation. The maximum grazing impact on
woody plants is obtained if reindeer are
present in a region in June and early July.
Grazing has an impact on plant biodiversity.
By preventing the invasion of trees, tall shrubs
and forbs, reindeer maintain the openness of
the tundra, which is a precondition for the
survival of many arctic plants. Grazing may
also cause damage on these plants, but the
net impact of intense summer grazing can be
positive at the population level.
From a transdisciplinary perspective, tundra
is not only a biome, but also a social-ecological
system (SES) incorporating humans and their
activities, including reindeer husbandry.
Decision making involves various aspects of
this complex social-ecological system and is,
therefore, always a compromise and a mat-
ter of values and opinions.
Reindeer husbandry exhibits major legal
and administrative differences in local,
regional, and state governance between
Finland, Norway and Sweden. Anticipated
changes in climate and within the societies
create a demand requiring reindeer hus-
bandry to adapt to the transformations.
Future is not pre-determined but unveils
itself as a chain of decisions and actions.
Therefore, various scenarios of the future
of the social-ecological system including
reindeer husbandry can be foresighted de-
pending on the circumstances, decisions
and actions. The scenarios in this work were
built around two parameters: land use, and
the nature of the livelihood. Four scenarios
were formed of future reindeer husbandry:
‘traditional’, ‘business-as-usual’, ‘ranching’
and ‘farming’.
Current tensions between stakeholders – in-
cluding reindeer herders, other land users,
Sámi and non-Sámi persons, and the gov-
ernance – stem from challenges in valuing
simultaneously manifold ecological, cultural,
social, and economic matters. The tension
may inhibit fruitful discussion and feasible
decisions, and may lead to a future that is un-
desirable for many, if not all parties. There
is too little interaction and inadequate, un-
equal discussion between the stakeholders.
From the herders’ perspective, unclear leg-
islation and lack of self-determination are
considered as threats for the livelihood.
To improve the quality of decision making,
more and better interaction will be needed
between stakeholders. Planning and actions
regarding future land use and livelihoods
should be co-designed by different stake-
holders. To overcome the historical ap-
prehension between the parties, a neutral
boundary organisation might serve as an
appreciated mediator.
Reindeer husbandry under global change in the tundra region of Northern Fennoscandia 61
62 Reindeer husbandry under global change in the tundra region of Northern Fennoscandia Reindeer husbandry under global change in the tundra region of Northern Fennoscandia 63
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66 Reindeer husbandry under global change in the tundra region of Northern Fennoscandia Reindeer husbandry under global change in the tundra region of Northern Fennoscandia 67
Appendix 1
LIST OF REINDEER DISTRICTS (cf. Fig. 5)
Norway Sweden Finland
1Østre Sør-Varanger Könkämä Kaldoaivi
2Pasvik Lainiovuoma Paistunturi
3Vestre Sør-Varanger Saarivuoma Näätämö
4Várjjantnjárga Talma Vätsäri
5Rákkonjárga Gabna Muddusjärvi
6Olggut Corga/Oarje-Deatnu Laevas Käsivarsi
7Lágesduottar Girjas Muotkatunturi
8 Karasjoka nuartebealli Baste cearru Paatsjoki
9 Spierttanjárga Unna Tjerusj Hammastunturi
10 Spierttagáisá Sirges Ivalo
11 Kárájoga Oarjjabealli Jåhkågaska tjiellde Näkkälä
12 Nuorttabealli Tuorpon Sallivaara
13 Guovdajohtolat Luokta-Mávas Lappi
14 Gearretnjárga Semisjaur-Njarg Kuivasalmi
15 Fiettar Svaipa Kyrö
16 Beaskádas Gran Muonio
17 Seainnus/ Návggastat Ran Kemin_Sompio
18 Oarjjabealli Ubmeje tjeälddie Sattasniemi
19 Fálá/ Kvaløy Vapsten Oraniemi
20 Nuorta-Sievju Vilhelmina norra Alakylä
21 Oarjea-Sievju Vilhelmina södra Pohjois-Salla
22 Lakkonjárga Voernese Syväjärvi
23 Orda Ohredahke Kolari
24 Spalca Raedtievaerie Salla
25 Stierdná Jijnjevaerie Pyhä-Kallio
26 Ábborra Jovnevaerie Hirvasniemi
27 Joahkonjárga Njaarke Jääskö
28 Beahcegealli Kall Poikajärvi
29 Sállan Handölsdalen Orajärvi
30 Cuokcavuotna Tåssåsen Palojärvi
31 Fávrrosorda Mittådalen Vanttaus
32 Cohkolat Ruvhten sijte Lohijärvi
33 Silvvetnjárga Idre Narkaus
34 Seakkesnjárga ja Silda Vittangi Tolva
35 Skárfvággi Gällivare Alakitka
36 Bassevuovdi Serri Timisjärvi
37 Uløy Udtja Niemelä
38 Árdni / Gávvir Ståkke Posion_Livo
39 Rosta Maskaure Oivanki
Norway Sweden Finland
40 Dividalen Västra Kikkejaure Akanlahti
41 Rendalen Östra Kikkejaure Isosydänmaa
42 Ivguláhku/Lakselvdalen/Lyngdalen Mausjaure Mäntyjärvi
43 Altevatn Malå Kuukas
44 Vannøy Muonio Kallioluoma
45 Reinøya Sattajärvi Pudasjärven_Livo
46 Tromsdalen Tärendö Taivalkoski
47 Mauken Korju Hossa-Irni
48 Ringvassøy Pirttijärvi Oijärvi
49 Rebbenesøy Ängeså Ikonen
50 Fagerfjell Kalix Jokijärvi
51 Kvaløy Liehittäjä Pintamo
52 Gielas Pudasjärvi
53 Hjerttind Kollaja
54 Skjomen Näljänkä
55 Nord-Senja Kiiminki
56 Grovfjord Halla
57 Sør-Senja
58 Frostisen
59 Tjeldøy
60 Balvatn
61 Kongsvikdalen
62 Stajggo / Hábmer
63 Duokta
64 Kanstadfjord / Vester Hinnøy
65 Saltfjellet
66 Ildgruben
67 Byrkie
68 Hestmannen/Strandtindene
69 Låarte
70 Røssåga / Toven
71 Tjåehkere sijte
72 Jillen-Njaarke
73 Voengelh-Njaarke
74 Svahke
75 Skæhkere
76 Åarjel-Njaarke
77 Femund
78 Gasken-Laante
79 Riast / Hylling
80 Essand
81 Fovsen-Njaarke
66 Reindeer husbandry under global change in the tundra region of Northern Fennoscandia Reindeer husbandry under global change in the tundra region of Northern Fennoscandia 67
68 Reindeer husbandry under global change in the tundra region of Northern Fennoscandia Reindeer husbandry under global change in the tundra region of Northern Fennoscandia 69
Appendix 2
VEGETATION CLASS DESCRIPTIONS (cf. Fig. 9)
1. Coniferous forests. High productive forest types with a dense canopy layer of Norway spruce and Scots
pine. Spruce forests are developed on fresh subsoil, while pine forests are common on dry, moraine sub-
soil. In Scandinavia coniferous forests are highly affected by forest logging.
2. Bilberry/meadow birch forests. Species-rich forests characterized by grasses, herbs and bilberry in the
field layer. In northern Scandinavia the tree layer is dominated by birch, often in co-occurrence with grey
alder, rowen and tall willows. For meadow forests the ground layer is poorly developed, while mosses are
common in bilberry forests.
3. Mountain birch forests. Birch forests developed on nutrient-poor subsoil. Two different forest formations
constitute the core elements of the unit: one characterized by heather species , dwarf shrubs and mosses,
while the second one is often dominated by lichens. The lichen stands are important as reindeer fodder
during winter. The main distribution is in continental northern Scandinavia.
4. Bogs and mires. Bogs and fens are characterized by a peat layer and by a high level of water table through-
out the growing season. Structural differences give rise to a further differentiation into hummock bogs,
lawn and carpet fens, and sedge marshes. Mud-bottom fens constitute the wettest parts of mire complex-
es. Bogs and mires are most common in eastern parts of Northern Fennoscandia.
5. Rocks, bare soil and boulder fields. The unit integrates different types of non- to sparsely vegetated are-
as, mainly located to the high mountain region. The unit further integrate bare rocks and exposed ridges in
the the mid- and low-alpine belt. In the lowland the unit comprises slopes of naked rocks along the coast
and different types of exploited areas.
6. Heather ridges. Ridge vegetation is located to the low- and mid-alpine belt in the mountain region. Differ-
ent types of Dryas octopetala communities are characteristic for the calcareous ridges, while species of
ericaceous (Empetrum) plants are characteristic on base-poor subsoil.
7. Lichen heaths. Lichen heaths are found in the continental parts of Northern Fennoscandia. Ericaceous
species characterize the field layer, while dense carpets of lichens dominate and characterize the ground
layer. Over large areas in Northern Fennoscandia severe degradation of the lichen heaths is experienced
during the past decades due to high grazing pressure from reindeer.
8. Betula nana heaths. This map unit is characterized by a bush thicket of Betula nana and gray willows. The
ground layer is often characterized by lichens. The main distribution is in continental parts of the Scandi-
navian mountain range. To some extent the coastal heaths of western Norway are included in the unit.
9. Mountain meadows. The unit comprises species rich communities in the mountain region most often lo-
cated to areas of calcareous subsoil. The snow cover during winter is moderate. The main distinction is
between low and tall herb stands and grass-rich communities.
10. Snowbed vegetation. These communities are found in depressions with heavy snow during winter. Snow
patch plants have to compete an abbreviated growing season and have to pass through growth, flower-
ing and seeding in just few weeks. The main distribution in in western mountains in areas with heavy and
long-lasting snow cover. Several community types can be differentiated depending on the duration of
snow and nutrient status of the subsoil.
11. Glaciers, snow patches. The map unit comprises glaciers and areas with long-lasting snow cover. This
map unit is mainly located to the high-mountain region.
12. Agriculture. This map unit consists of different types of agricultural areas containing meadows, pastures,
annual and permanent crop fields. The spectral content of this map unit is extremely heterogeneous and
the separation is made mainly based on ancillary data.
13. Built-up areas. The map unit comprises different types of built-up areas.
14. Water. The map unit comprises oceans, inland water and broad rivers.
68 Reindeer husbandry under global change in the tundra region of Northern Fennoscandia Reindeer husbandry under global change in the tundra region of Northern Fennoscandia 69
70 Reindeer husbandry under global change in the tundra region of Northern Fennoscandia Reindeer husbandry under global change in the tundra region of Northern Fennoscandia 71
Glossary
Adaptation Actions and decisions as reaction to change.
Albedo Fraction of solar radiation reected by an object. Dark objects have a low albedo
and absorb a high level of energy, and increase the energy balance of their sur-
roundings. Light objects have a high albedo and reect lots of energy.
Arvecolinae A subfamily of rodents that includes voles, lemmings, and muskrats.
Boreal zone The vegetation zone between the tundra to the North and the temperate vege-
tation zone in the South. Mainly dominated by coniferous trees. Also known as
taiga.
Dwarf shrub See shrub
Forb Flowering plants without woody stems other than grasses
Geometridae A large family of moths, represented in Fennoscandia by the autumnal moth (Epir-
rita autumnata) and the winter moth (Operophtera brumata).
Growing season The part of the year that allow plants to grow, depending on temperature and
precipitation. The growing season shortens with increasing altitude and latitude.
Herding Herding in our report covers all practical activities and interaction between rein-
deer and herders, such as calf marking, migration, slaughter or guarding the herd.
Holocene The geological epoch that began ca. 11,700 years before the year 2000 AD until
the present. See also Pleistocene.
Husbandry Husbandry covers the wider livelihood of reindeer herders, including the cultural
dimension attached to it.
Landsat TM / ETM+ images Landsat images are taken from space by earth-observing satellites. TM (The-
matic mapper) sensors record seven bands of image data (three at visible wave-
lengths, four at infrared) at 30 m resolution. The more recent Enhanced Thematic
Mapper Plus (ETM+) has a spatial resolution of 15 m and records 8 wavelengths.
Both are used in studies on climate change and albedo.
Lapp Codicil
(Lappkodicillen)
An agreement in 1751 between the kingdoms of Denmark-Norway and Sweden
that asserted the crossing of the borders by reindeer herders during their sea-
sonal migrations between summer and winter grazing grounds.
Lichens A symbiotic organism between a fungus and algae, able to grow in nutrient-poor
environments. In its growth and reproduction mainly dependent on rainfall. Im-
portant winter resources for reindeer.
Lime Areas rich in lime contain lots of calcium and thus often are associated with a
particular plant diversity.
Mustelid Small predators of the weasel family.
Oro-arctic Arctic vegetation that is found at high altitudes outside of the actual Arctic.
Pleistocene The geological epoch that began ca. 2.6 million years ago and lasted until 11,700
years ago. During the Pleistocene, the world experienced several glaciations. The
following epoch is the Holocene.
Representative
concentration pathways
(RCP)
These pathways describe four possible futures for the development of world cli-
mate, depending greenhouse gas concentrations. The scenarios describe the
“radiative forcing”, which is the dierence between absorbed solar energy and
reected energy by the Earth. The four values for radiative forcing (in Watts per
m2) until the year 2100 include RCP 2.6, RCP4.5, RCP6, and RCP8.5.
Sápmi The area in Sweden, Norway Finland and the Kola Peninsula where Sámi culture
is still alive.
Scrubland A vegetation dominated by shrubs, in Fennoscandia including willows and birch-
es.
Sedge A group of grass-like plants often growing in moist soils or close to water. Valu-
able reindeer forage from late autumn to early spring, when other plants are not
available.
Sensible heat uxes Sensible heat uxes transfer heat energy from the Earth’s surface to the atmo-
sphere.
Shrub Woody plants which normally grow taller than 0.5 m but not over 2 m. Woody
plants lower than 0.5 m are dwarf shrubs.
Siida A small, family or kinship-based unit of traditional organization in reindeer hus-
bandry. The administrative role of siida systems varies between the Nordic coun-
tries: while siida systems are recognized as a legal unit in Norway, they are infor-
mal parts of reindeer husbandry in Sweden and Finland.
Snow bed Plant communities that depend on local topography, such as depressions, fa-
vouring a long duration of the snow cover and higher snow cover than in the sur-
roundings.
Social-ecological system The interconnectedness between people and their environment.
Supplementary feeding Articial feeding, such as hay or pellets that is given to reindeer. More commonly
applied in Finland than in Sweden and Norway, where it is mainly used during dif-
cult winters.
Tree line The edge beyond which trees cannot grow for geomorphological, climatic or
other environmental reasons. Forests become replaced by low vegetation, often
grasses, shrubs and dwarf shrubs (see tundra).
Tundra Treeless vegetation north to the boreal zone beyond the tree line, often associat-
ed with permafrost.
Vascular plants Plants without a vascular system that transports water, metabolites and nutrients
between leaves and the root system.
70 Reindeer husbandry under global change in the tundra region of Northern Fennoscandia Reindeer husbandry under global change in the tundra region of Northern Fennoscandia 71
72 Reindeer husbandry under global change in the tundra region of Northern Fennoscandia72 Reindeer husbandry under global change in the tundra region of Northern Fennoscandia
ISBN
Nro 172
TURKU 2008
(Eds.)
TURUN YLIOPISTON MAANTIETEEN JA GEOLOGIAN LAITOKSEN JULKAISUJA
PUBLICATIONS FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF GEOGRAPHY AND GEOLOGY, UNIVERSITY OF TURKU
MAANTIETEEN JA GEOLOGIAN LAITOS
DEPARTMENT OF GEOGRAPHY AND GEOLOGY
TURKU 2017
ISBN 978-951-29-6702-5 (PRINT) ISSN 2489-2319 (PRINT)
ISBN 978-951-29-6703-2 (ONLINE) ISSN 2324-0369 (ONLINE)
Reindeer husbandry under global change in the tundra region of Northern Fennoscandia Editors: Jukka Käyhkö & Tim Horstkotte
No. 1
REINDEER HUSBANDRY UNDER
GLOBAL CHANGE IN THE TUNDRA REGION
OF NORTHERN FENNOSCANDIA
Editors:
Jukka Käyhkö & Tim Horstkotte
TURUN YLIOPISTON MAANTIETEEN JA GEOLOGIAN LAITOKSEN JULKAISUJA
PUBLICATIONS FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF GEOGRAPHY AND GEOLOGY, UNIVERSITY OF TURKU
No. 1. Jukka Käyhkö and Tim Horstkotte (eds.): Reindeer husbandry under global change in the tundra region of
Northern Fennoscandia. 2017.
No. 2. Jukka Käyhkö och Tim Horstkotte (red.): Den globala förändringens inverkan på rennäringen på norra
Fennoskandiens tundra. 2017.
No. 3. Jukka Käyhkö ja Tim Horstkotte (doaimm.): Boazodoallu globála rievdadusaid siste Davvi-Fennoskandia
duottarguovlluin. 2017.
No. 4. Jukka Käyhkö ja Tim Horstkotte (toim.): Globaalimuutoksen vaikutus porotalouteen Pohjois-Fennoskandian
tundra-alueilla. 2017.
No. 5. Jussi S. Jauhiainen (toim.):
Turvapaikka suomesta? Vuoden 2015 turvapaikanhakijat ja turvapaikkaprosessit
Suomessa. 2017.
1
