Male reindeer strolling on a national road in Jämtland, Sweden. Credit: Marianne Stoessel/Stockholm University
Reindeer herding has a long history in northern Norway, Sweden, and Finland. It has formed the Fennoscandian mountain landscape and is likewise viewed as methods to mitigate environment change effects on greenery. A brand-new study exposes that the majority of this grazing land is exposed to cumulative pressures, threatened by the expansion of human activities towards the north.
The grazing land in northern Fennoscandia is progressively disturbed by cumulative land-use pressures. A recently published research study has mapped and approximated the general degree of these cumulative pressures, together with other stressors, particularly predator presence and environment modification.
Female reindeer and her calf in their summer grazing grounds in Vindelfjällen, Lapland, Sweden. Credit: Marianne Stoessel/Stockholm University
The brand-new study will be published today (September 30, 2022) in the journal Scientific Reports.
A new study exposes that the bulk of this grazing land is exposed to cumulative pressures, threatened by the expansion of human activities towards the north.
The grazing land in northern Fennoscandia is significantly disrupted by cumulative land-use pressures. A recently published study has actually mapped and approximated the general level of these cumulative pressures, together with other stress factors, namely predator presence and environment change.
Their results suggest that about 60 percent of the area is subjected to several pressures, and that 85 percent is exposed to at least one pressure. She is the very first author of a phd and the research study student at Stockholm University.
PhD trainee Marianne Stoessel taking a look at traces of herbivory in the Swedish mountains. Credit: Rozália Kapás/ Stockholm University
Previous studies have actually mostly focused at local scales. Their results suggest that about 60 percent of the region is subjected to numerous pressures, and that 85 percent is exposed to at least one pressure.
” In northern Fennoscandia, we are fortunate to still have one the oldest herding systems in Europe, where reindeer can roam easily over 40 percent of Norway, Sweden, and Finland. She is the very first author of a phd and the research study student at Stockholm University.
The truth that numerous pressures are at play in this region is not new. The reindeer herders, the policymakers, however likewise the clinical community studying reindeer ecology are aware of these issues.
Marianne Stoessel. Credit: Malcolm Parsons
” What is brand-new is the fact that we lastly handled to get an introduction of these pressures over the entire area. This was not easy, as the various land-uses act at various scales and can be very vibrant, so can be the predators, and the results of climate modification on grazing,” Marianne Stoessel states.
” Grazing is an essential process for preserving plant biodiversity, even in the mountains. It was essential for us to study the extent of these cumulative pressures with having the summertime pastures in mind, where grazing takes place,” states Professor Regina Lindborg of Stockholm University She is a co-author of the study and the coordinator of the research project.
Due to the high degree of cumulative pressures over the region and due to the fact that of environment modification, this study recommends a high threat of plants and landscape modification in the future, resulting in a concentration of grazing in less disturbed locations and encroachment of trees and shrubs in disturbed ones.
Regina Lindborg. Credit: Niklas Björling/ Stockholm University.
Reference: “Mapping cumulative pressures on the grazing lands of northern Fennoscandia” 30 September 2022, Scientific Reports.DOI: 10.1038/ s41598-022-20095-w.
The study is a part of the research study task: “The interacting impacts of land-use and worldwide warming on the grazing lands of northern Fennoscandia”.