Fig. 1. Reindeer husbandry areas (in darker grey or yellow with green dots) in the Nordic countries and Russia (Fennoscandia). Illustration: Johanna Roto, Nordregio 2015.

Fig. 2. A) Conventional, large-scale mechanical site preparation (MSP) has eradicated the ground lichen; B) gentle, lichen-adapted MSP has sustained the ground lichen cover, hence providing a food source for reindeer year-round. Photo: Sven Adler, SLU.

Fig. 3. Combining i) reindeer husbandry needs, ii) societal demand for Continuous Cover Forestry (CCF) silviculture, and iii) the desire of both forest industry and society for volume growth of pioneer tree species requires the development of technology for gentle, lichen-adapted mechanical site preparation (MSP).

Fig. 4. A) Gentle, lichen-adapted mechanical site preparation (MSP) with a harvester in selection cutting; the MSP is performed using a simple scarifier mounted on the harvester head. B) Gentle, lichen-adapted MSP with a forwarder in gap cutting; the MSP is performed using image-based precision steering of the scarifying device to avoid lichen-rich areas. We postulate that the density of lichens and/or shelterwoods dictates whether harvester-based MSP (A) or forwarder-based MSP (B) is most suitable during shelterwood cutting. Drawings: Linnea Hansson, Skogforsk.