Suchergebnisse

Today, climate change and competing land use practices are threatening rangelands around the world and the pastoral societies that rely on them. Reindeer husbandry practised by the indigenous Sami people is an example. In Sweden, approximately 70% of the most productive lichen pastures (important in winter) has been lost, either completely or because of a reduction in forage quality, as a result of competing land use (primarily commercial forestry). The remaining pastures are small and fragmented. Yet, the number of reindeer in Sweden shows no general decline. We investigated the strategies that have allowed reindeer herders to sustain their traditional livelihood despite a substantial loss of pastures and thus natural winter forage for their reindeer. Changes in harvest strategy and herd structure may partially explain the observed dynamics, and have increased herd productivity and income, but were not primarily adopted to counteract forage loss. The introduction of supplementary feeding, modern machinery, and equipment has assisted the herders to a certain extent. However, supplementary feeding and technology are expensive. In spite of governmental support and optimized herd productivity and income, increasing costs provide low economic return. We suggest that the increased economical and psychosocial costs caused by forage and pasture losses may have strong effects on the long-term sustainability of reindeer husbandry in Sweden.

Today, climate change and competing land use practices are threatening rangelands around the world and the pastoral societies that rely on them. Reindeer husbandry practised by the indigenous Sami people is an example. In Sweden, approximately 70% of the most productive lichen pastures (important in winter) has been lost, either completely or because of a reduction in forage quality, as a result of competing land use (primarily commercial forestry). The remaining pastures are small and fragmented. Yet, the number of reindeer in Sweden shows no general decline. We investigated the strategies that have allowed reindeer herders to sustain their traditional livelihood despite a substantial loss of pastures and thus natural winter forage for their reindeer. Changes in harvest strategy and herd structure may partially explain the observed dynamics, and have increased herd productivity and income, but were not primarily adopted to counteract forage loss. The introduction of supplementary feeding, modern machinery, and equipment has assisted the herders to a certain extent. However, supplementary feeding and technology are expensive. In spite of governmental support and optimized herd productivity and income, increasing costs provide low economic return. We suggest that the increased economical and psychosocial costs caused by forage and pasture losses may have strong effects on the long-term sustainability of reindeer husbandry in Sweden.

Anthropogenic and biotic disturbances have the potential to interact, generating cumulative impacts on animal movement or, alternatively, counterbalancing or masking each other. Despite their importance, those interactions have not been investigated thoroughly. Our study aimed to fill this knowledge gap by assessing the combined effects of a human activity—that is, military exercises—and a biotic disturbance—that is, insect harassment—on movement rates of free-ranging semidomesticated reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus). From 2010 to 2012, we analyzed location data from fifty-one Global Positioning System (GPS)-collared female reindeer in the largest European military test range, situated in northern Sweden. In the presence of both military exercises and mosquito harassment, reindeer reacted by increasing their movement rates but not as much as when mosquito harassment occurred alone. Conversely, reindeer reduced their movement rates during military exercises performed with aircraft. Moreover, the effect of military exercises performed with vehicles was evident only when combined with mosquito harassment. These results stress the value of evaluating the effects of the interaction between biotic disturbances and human activities, especially in northern ecosystems, because of the predicted climate warming and the growing interest toward natural resource extraction and other forms of land use.