Anna Katharina Franke, Pasi Aatsinki, Ville Hallikainen, Esa Huhta, Mikko Hyppönen, Vesa Juntunen, Kari Mikkola, Seppo Neuvonen, Pasi Rautio. (2015). Quantifying changes of the coniferous forest line in Finnish Lapland during 1983–2009. Silva Fennica vol. 49 no. 4 article id 1408. https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.1408

Keywords: Pinus sylvestris; Picea abies; tree line; forest regeneration; environmental change; stand volume

Highlights: Volume of the growing stock of spruce and pine has increased in forests and in timber lines during the past 26 years; Spruce stem numbers increased on average, while pine stem numbers remained stable and location-specific variation was observed; Presuming that the ongoing trend of increasing temperature will remain, the enhanced forest regeneration and growth may result in extension of forests in the future.

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The boreal timber- and tree-line forests grow in harsh environmental conditions in their outermost distribution limit. Here even small environmental changes may cause dramatic changes in the distribution of tree species. We examined changes of the forest lines of Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) H. Karst.) and Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) in Finnish Lapland five times during 1983–2009. We monitored the number of stems and the volume of the growing stock in thirteen different locations in forest-line areas. The linear temporal trends and the variations of these response variables were used as indicators of a possible change during the study period. Spruce showed a significant increase both in the volume of the growing stock (up to 40% increase) and in the total stem number (up to 100% increase). A significant increase in the volume of the growing stock was observed in the pine data as well (up to 70% increase), whereas the stem number stagnated or even decreased. The results suggest that spruce needs favourable conditions to have an abundant regeneration, but after the establishment the seedlings seem to be more resistant against biotic and abiotic disturbances than pine seedlings. The increasing stand volume might result in a climate-related northward and upward extension of forests in the future. However, our results show that responses in the boreal forest line are species and location specific and a more favourable climate does not necessarily lead to an advance of the coniferous forest line.

Franke, Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Management and Production of Renewable Resources, Eteläranta 55, FI-96301 Rovaniemi, Finland E-mail: anna.franke@fau.de
Aatsinki, Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Management and Production of Renewable Resources, Eteläranta 55, FI-96301 Rovaniemi, Finland E-mail: pasi.aatsinki@luke.fi
Hallikainen, Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Management and Production of Renewable Resources, Eteläranta 55, FI-96301 Rovaniemi, Finland E-mail: ville.hallikainen@luke.fi
Huhta, Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Management and Production of Renewable Resources, Eteläranta 55, FI-96301 Rovaniemi, Finland E-mail: esa.huhta@luke.fi
Hyppönen, Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Management and Production of Renewable Resources, Eteläranta 55, FI-96301 Rovaniemi, Finland E-mail: mikko.hypponen@luke.fi
Juntunen, The Sámi Education Institute, Menesjärventie 4, P.O. Box 50, FI-99871 Inari, Finland E-mail: vesa.juntunen@sogsakk.fi
Mikkola, Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Economics and society, Eteläranta 55, FI-96301 Rovaniemi, Finland E-mail: kari.mikkola@luke.fi
Neuvonen, Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Management and Production of Renewable Resources, P.O. Box 68, FI-80101, Joensuu, Finland E-mail: seppo.neuvonen@luke.fi
Rautio, Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Bio-based business and industry, Eteläranta 55, FI-96301 Rovaniemi, Finland E-mail: pasi.rautio@luke.fi

article id 1153, category Research article

Anu Akujärvi, Ville Hallikainen, Mikko Hyppönen, Eero Mattila, Kari Mikkola, Pasi Rautio. (2014). Effects of reindeer grazing and forestry on ground lichens in Finnish Lapland. Silva Fennica vol. 48 no. 3 article id 1153. https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.1153

Keywords: forest management; timber harvesting; reindeer herding; pastures; lichen cover; lichen biomass

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.

Abstract | Full text in HTML | Full text in PDF | Author Info

Reindeer 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.

Akujärvi, Finnish Environment Institute, Helsinki, Finland E-mail: anu.akujarvi@ymparisto.fi
Hallikainen, Finnish Forest Research Institute, Northern Unit, P.O. Box 16, FI-96301 Rovaniemi, Finland E-mail: ville.hallikainen@metla.fi
Hyppönen, Finnish Forest Research Institute, Northern Unit, P.O. Box 16, FI-96301 Rovaniemi, Finland E-mail: mikko.hypponen@metla.fi
Mattila, Finnish Forest Research Institute, Northern Unit, P.O. Box 16, FI-96301 Rovaniemi, Finland E-mail: eero.mattila@metla.fi
Mikkola, Finnish Forest Research Institute, Northern Unit, P.O. Box 16, FI-96301 Rovaniemi, Finland E-mail: kari.mikkola@metla.fi
Rautio, Finnish Forest Research Institute, Northern Unit, P.O. Box 16, FI-96301 Rovaniemi, Finland E-mail: pasi.rautio@metla.fi

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