The effect and extent of heavy grazing by reindeer in oligotrophic pine heaths in northeastern Fennoscandia

Väre, Henry; Ohtonen, Rauni; Mikkola, Kari

doi:10.1111/j.1600-0587.1996.tb00233.x

Cited by 87 publications

(109 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…As a consequence of increased tall herb abundance, dwarf shrubs were found to be the losers in the subalpine exclosure. These findings contrast with results reported from arctic environments, where reindeer grazing mainly reduced the abundance of dwarf shrubs (Väre et al 1996). The contrasting results can be attributed to the differences in grazers, plant communities and climate.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 56%

Ongoing changes at the long-term monitoring sites of Gurgler Kamm Biosphere Reserve, Tyrol, Austria

Mayer¹,

Erschbamer²

2014

ecomont

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Grazing exclusion led to decreases in species numbers. Significant positive grazing effects were detected for dwarf shrubs and legumes in the subalpine zone and for herbs in the upper alpine zone. Within the untreated sites, species numbers and frequencies changed significantly with time, involving almost all functional groups. The lichen heath was the most stable community. Here, only graminoids showed an increasing trend. All in all, the intermediate disturbance hypothesis was found to be valid also for high altitudes. A continuation of the traditional grazing regime is therefore suggested for the entire Gurgler Kamm Biosphere Reserve.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 56%

Ongoing changes at the long-term monitoring sites of Gurgler Kamm Biosphere Reserve, Tyrol, Austria

Mayer¹,

Erschbamer²

2014

ecomont

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“…The differences between individual studies may be due to different experiment and study designs and spatial scales. As far as we know, our estimate of the difference between the lichen biomass in the ungrazed and grazed sites is the largest observed among different studies to date (Väre et al 1996;Susiluoto et al 2008;Olofsson et al 2010;Köster et al 2013). The second highest difference was observed by Väre et al (1996) who reported that the lichen biomass in the ungrazed sites was nine-fold compared with the estimate in the grazed sites.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 63%

Effects of reindeer grazing and forestry on ground lichens in Finnish Lapland

Akujärvi¹,

Hallikainen²,

Hyppönen³

et al. 2014

Silva Fenn.

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Akujärvi A., Hallikainen V., Hyppönen M., Mattila E., Mikkola K., Rautio P. (2014). Effects of reindeer grazing and forestry on ground lichens in Finnish Lapland. Silva Fennica vol. 48 no. 3 article id 1153. 18 p. Highlights• Both reindeer grazing and forestry affect the cover and biomass of reindeer lichens.• Reindeer grazing has bigger impact than forestry.• The lichen cover was about five-fold and the biomass about fifteen-fold in the ungrazed (fenced) sites than in the grazed ones.• The decrease of not only the biomass, but also the cover of lichens, is alarming. AbstractReindeer husbandry and forestry are practiced in the same areas in northern Fennoscandia. Reindeer pastures have largely deteriorated. We aimed to quantify the separate and combined effects of reindeer grazing and forestry on the amount of ground lichens. To do this, we mapped and inventoried all larger enclosures (49) in Finnish Lapland where forest management practices were similar in both sides of the fence. The average time since fencing was 43 years. We recorded the cover and estimated dry biomass of ground lichens, as well as parameters describing forest stand characteristics. The effect of reindeer grazing on both the cover and estimated dry biomass of lichens was clear: in the ungrazed (fenced) sites, the lichen cover (35.8%) was on average 5.3-fold and the dry biomass (1929 kg ha -1 ) 14.8-fold compared with the corresponding estimates in the grazed sites (6.8% and 130 kg ha -1 ). The effect of forestry on lichens was smaller. In the grazed stands the cover and biomass of lichens were higher in the mature stands compared to the younger stand development classes, whereas in the ungrazed stands there were no significant differences between the development classes. Both reindeer grazing and forestry affect the cover and biomass of ground lichens. The influence of reindeer grazing is, however, much heavier than that of forestry. The decrease of not only the biomass, but also the lichen cover, is alarming. The decrease of lichen cover may hinder the recovery of reindeer pastures, which in the long run endangers the sustainability of reindeer husbandry.

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“…Furthermore, grazing and trampling by reindeer generally leads to a decline in lichen abundance (Helle and Aspi 1983;Ja¨gerbrand and Alatalo 2015), and could partly explain the significant decrease in lichen diversity at Dovrefjell. Bryophytes, however, tend to benefit from grazing (Va¨re et al 1996;Austrheim and Eriksson 2001;Takala et al 2014). For instance, Helle and Aspi (1983) observed an increase in small-bodied mosses (e.g.…”

Section: Other Possible Drivers Of Changes In Vegetationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of climate change on alpine vegetation of mountain summits in Norway

Vanneste

Michelsen

Graae

et al. 2017

Ecological Research

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Climate change is affecting the composition and functioning of ecosystems across the globe. Mountain ecosystems are particularly sensitive to climate warming since their biota is generally limited by low temperatures. Cryptogams such as lichens and bryophytes are important for the biodiversity and functioning of these ecosystems, but have not often been incorporated in vegetation resurvey studies. Hence, we lack a good understanding of how vascular plants, lichens and bryophytes respond interactively to climate warming in alpine communities. Here we quantified long-term changes in species richness, cover, composition and thermophilization (i.e. the increasing dominance of warm-adapted species) of vascular plants, lichens and bryophytes on four summits at Dovrefjell, Norway. These summits are situated along an elevational gradient from the low alpine to high alpine zone and were surveyed for all species in 2001, 2008 and 2015. During the 15-year period, a decline in lichen richness and increase in bryophyte richness was detected, whereas no change in vascular plant richness was found. Dwarf-shrub abundance progressively increased at the expense of lichens, and thermophilization was most pronounced for vascular plants, but occurred only on the lowest summits and northern aspects. Lichens showed less thermophilization and, for the bryophytes, no significant thermophilization was found. Although recent climate change may have primarily caused the observed changes in vegetation, combined effects with non-climatic factors (e.g. grazing and trampling) are likely important as well. At a larger scale, alpine vegetation shifts could have a profound impact on biosphere functioning with feedbacks to the global climate.Keywords Alpine vegetation AE Climate change AE Resurvey study AE Thermophilization AE CryptogamsThe original version of this article was revised due to a retrospective Open Access.Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article

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The effect and extent of heavy grazing by reindeer in oligotrophic pine heaths in northeastern Fennoscandia

Cited by 87 publications

References 21 publications

Ongoing changes at the long-term monitoring sites of Gurgler Kamm Biosphere Reserve, Tyrol, Austria

Ongoing changes at the long-term monitoring sites of Gurgler Kamm Biosphere Reserve, Tyrol, Austria

Effects of reindeer grazing and forestry on ground lichens in Finnish Lapland

Impact of climate change on alpine vegetation of mountain summits in Norway

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