Abstract
AbstractMountain birch forests in the northern areas of Sápmi, the Saami homeland, serve as pastures for semi-domesticated reindeer. Recent reindeer management of the area has, to date, proceeded with little involvement of reindeer herders or their knowledge. To get more in-depth understanding of recent changes, we present together herders’ knowledge and scientific knowledge concerning the impacts of herbivory and climate change on mountain birch forests in three Saami communities in Norway and in Finland. Most of the herders interviewed reported changes in weather during the preceding decades. Herders agreed that the canopy and understorey of mountain birch forests have changed. The observed transformations in the quality of pastures have increased the financial costs of reindeer husbandry. Our study demonstrates that herders have practical knowledge of the present state and recent changes of birch forests, and of the responses of reindeer caused by these. This knowledge generally coincides with scientific knowledge. We call for better integration of knowledge systems and a better protocol for co-production of knowledge as it relates to more adaptive future reindeer management regimes. Such integration will facilitate understanding of cultural adaptation within rapidly changing social-ecological systems in which sustainable reindeer husbandry continues to be an important livelihood.
Highlights
Mountain birch (Betula pubescens spp. czerepanovii) is the predominant tree within the sub-arctic forest zone of northern Fennoscandia, which is situated between treeless upland fells and the coniferous forest zone at lower elevations (Fig. 1)
Even though we do not aim at validation of either of the two “ways of knowing” presented here, such general comparisons enrich our understanding of recent changes and clarifies the useful features of the respective knowledge systems
The knowledge of herders concerning Nordic mountain birch forest dynamics in large part coincides with the existing scientific knowledge base
Summary
Mountain birch (Betula pubescens spp. czerepanovii) is the predominant tree within the sub-arctic forest zone of northern Fennoscandia, which is situated between treeless upland fells and the coniferous forest zone at lower elevations (Fig. 1). The mountain birch forest ecosystems are the most important source of primary production in the northern areas of Sápmi, the Saami homeland that encompasses much of northern Fennoscandia, including parts of Kola Peninsula (Lehtola, 2002; Wielgolaski, 2002). Mountain birch forests are cultural landscapes; intensity and spatial distribution of land uses, reindeer grazing, has been shaped by cultural activities and socio-political processes for centuries (Bernes, Bråthen, Forbes, Speed, & Moen, 2015; Uboni et al, 2016). Mountain birch is an important source of summer forage for reindeer; during winter reindeer feed mainly on the terricolous lichens, as well as dwarf shrubs, that grow on the forest floor. When the snow cover is deep or icy, reindeer look for the arboreal lichens that grow on the upper trunks and branches of birch (Sonesson, 2001)
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