H uman I nteractions with the Mountain B irch Forest ECO system:

1. Human Interactions with the Mountain Birch Forest ECOsystem: Implications for Sustainable Development (HIBECO) as a NARP activity Oddvar Skre1,7), Kari Laine1), Frans E. Wielgolaski2), Staffan Karlsson3), Seppo Neuvonen4), Alison Hester5) and Dietbert Thannheiser6) 1) University of Oulu, Finland, 2) University of Oslo, Norway, 3) Swedish Royal Academy of Sciences, Sweden, 4) University of Turku, Finland, 5) Macaulay Land Use Res. Institute, Scotland, 6) University of Hamburg, Germany 7) Skogforsk Bergen, Norway; Contact: Oddvar.Skre@skogforsk.no and/or Kari.Laine@oulu.fi • Summary abstract • The HIBECO project has focussed on the human dimensions and natural conditions of the mountain birch forest ecosystem and will formulate management scenarios and development plans which will ensure future sustainability of these ecosystems. These aims has been achieved in an interdiciplinary manner, combining productivity, herbivory and socio-economics. Among the preliminary results from the project may be mentioned: • (a)Soil factors were found to be as important as climatic factors in determining the performance of northern Betula pubescens trees. There were also marked differences among provenances in foliage senescense and frost hardiness, i.e. southern and lowland provenances were later and less hardy against winter damage than northern and alpine relatives, on the other hand northern provenances were found to be more sensitive to spring frost damage and increased winter temperatures. • (b)Both variations in topography (winter temperature) and latitudinal as well as oceanity gradients were found to determine the geometrid defoliation risk model for Fennoscandian birch forests. Early leafing birch provenances seemed to be preferred. Remote sensing studies and earlier investigations have shown substantial overgrazing by reindeer in northern Fennoscandia, and by sheep in Scotland and Iceland. Experiments on simulated browsing indicate that the timing of damage is decisive. Comparative studies in the Maze region in Finnmark county in northern Norway show a dramatic reduction in the lichen cover and a subsequent increase in the Cornus suecica and moss cover in the birch forests, probably related to a stronger grazing pressure and a warmer and more humid climate. • A dynamic model has been developed within the HIBECO project, to study the interactive effects related to various anthropogenic and herbivory responses. The output from this model show the overall consequences within six 100 x 100 km study areas for birch forest structure and dynamics on a landscape scale. Traditional use of birch forests has been investigated by interviews of the local population in these areas. General objectives The projects will focus on the human dimensions and natural conditions of the mountain birch forest ecosystem and will formulate management scenarios and development plans which will ensure future sustainability of these ecosystems Research areas Greenland Scotland Study sites PART A. Human interactions. Specific objectives -To describe and understand the intense human-environmental interactions with regards to mountain birch ecosystems -To strengthen the knowledge of mountain birch forests to secure appropriate levels of quality of life and employment -To estimate the overall land cover change and the percentage of woody canopy change in order to distinguish the birch vegetation component and to provide evidence and impact of biophysical vs. human influence -To work out management plans according to climate and land use scenarios, to maintain, restore and enhance land use practices, sustainable multifunctional management and use of forest resources and the biological diversity of the mountain forest ecosystem PART B. Birch forestry productivity. Specific objectives: -To determine mountain birch forest biomass and productivity at the landscape/regional level, using equations relating biomass to remote sensing data -To identify and assess the major environmental factors controlling biomass and productivity of the mountain birch forests -To clarify the responses and adaptation of mountain birch to climatic changes, with emphasis on winter temperature and frost hardiness studies  -To select and identify birch genotypes/provenances suitable for forest regeneration at different climate scenarios  -To quantify the upper limit of birch forest resource harvesting by human communities at different climate and land use scenarios PART C. Herbivore x birch relationships. Specific objectives: - To clarify the interactions between birch and important domestic ungulate grazers, reindeer and sheep - To collect basic knowledge of three-way interactions between mountain birch, domestic ungulate grazers and insect herbivores - To strengthen the knowledge of insect population outbreaks in northern European birch forest ecosystems, in order to enhance methods of management, protection and restoration of the mountain birch ecosystem - To contribute towards the larger or regional scale of the project 6700 PART D. Integration. Specific objectives: - To link information on anthropogenic influence and disturbance to the studies of herbivore-birch relationships and on climate impact and biomass studies - to estimate the potential for sustainable human use at different management and climate scenarios - to work out and verifiy forest simulation models, taking into account the value of birch as a renewable resource in socio-economic terms as well as in physical and economic terms and in terms of employment generated, using the standard cost/benefit methodology - To develop management plans according to different climate and land use scenarios to ensure appropriate management of forest resources taking into account the socio-economic and political conditions amoung local residents August 1987 July 2000 Percentage change in cover of main vegetatiopn types in Masi in 1961-2000 Change in Classified Land Cover Maps for Máze Region in Northern Norway from LandSat (TM) Mean numbers of leaves produced per birch sapling one season after simulated browsing damage at two sites in Scotland, August 2001. Pre-clip data are also shown on left side of graph. Means plus standard errors are given. meters 6700 Outline of the model • Introduction: What can a model do for the HIBECO project? • General model structure: Exploring spatiotemporal birch forest dynamics under influence from forestry in a homogeneous environment • Adding realism I: Age-structured forest dynamics at scale 1 Ha • Adding realism II: Dynamics in a heterogeneous landscape • Adding realism III: Climate change scenarios • Adding realism IV: Influences from herbivores – grazing ungulates and leaf-eating insects Responses of humus, birch foliage and stem biomass, shrub and seedling density and lichen cover to reindeer grazing in northern Finland. Mean values with standard error (left) and single plots of stem and foliage biomass and lichen cover (below). Cutting trees for fencing against sheep grazing in Greenland See more http://www.hibeco.org Human Impact and Sustainable Utilization of Subarctic Birch Forests in a Changing Environment (NARP) NARP Project partners from other Nordic countries: University of Oulu University of Turku University of Oslo University of Tromsa Swedish Agricultural University Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Icelandic Institute of Natural History Greenland Agricultural Advisory Service Utsjoki municipality Gaisa Sami Resource Center and Network Vardöhus Museum (Finmark Country) General documentation and publications related to the project, available on http://www.hibeco.org, e.g. -  Nordic Mountain Birch Ecosystems (ed. F. E. Wielgolaski). MAB Series vol. 27. This book published by UNESCO/MAB contains some of the present and past studies of the Northern Subarctic-Subalpine Ecology research group (NSSE) on birch forest ecology. - Annual progress report 2000-02 for the first two years of the HIBECO project - Program and abstracts from the NSSE symposium in Aberdeen 13 June 2001. - Program for the HIBECO workshop in Kevo 6-7 October 2001 - Program and abstracts from the NARP/NSSE/HIBECO symposium in Narsarsuaq Sept 2002 - The HIBECO project and related NARP funded network activities was presented at the NARP annual meeting in Oulu, Finland,12 May 2001.