Exploring the multiple use of boreal landscapes : the importance of social-ecological diversity for mobility and flexibility

• Sustainable multiple use of landscapes can be a challenging task for the stakeholders involved, especially when they have competing interests with respect to natural resource management. In this paper we analyze the consequences associated with “landscape diversity”, including the interactions between environmental, administrative and societal factors. As a case study, we describe winter land use for reindeer husbandry in the boreal forest in Northern Sweden, a resource that is also used for commercial timber production. We show how and why the interactions between the three factors associated with landscape diversity affect reindeer herding and the options for responding to change. Multi-dimensional landscape diversity can either (i) promote flexibility in the face of change in the form of mobility or (ii) create fragmentation that restricts adaption to changes. This is a result of the dynamic patterns of diverse landscape structures, created by administrative and societal choices. Because such landscape patterns react differently to environmental variability within a season and between years, landscape functions adjusted to the dynamics of environmental variables could help to provide continuity of grazing resources in both space and time and ensure that reindeer husbandry remains resilient to changes. Because of the unequal distribution of power and capacity for decision making, social learning between the two stakeholders can help to balance trade-offs between both types of land user, allowing them to coexist in a landscape shaped by diverse values, priorities and management practices.

Ämnesord

HUMANIORA  -- Annan humaniora -- Kulturstudier (hsv//swe)

HUMANITIES  -- Other Humanities -- Cultural Studies (hsv//eng)

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Sociologi -- Socialantropologi (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Sociology -- Social Anthropology (hsv//eng)

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Geovetenskap och miljövetenskap -- Miljövetenskap (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Earth and Related Environmental Sciences -- Environmental Sciences (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

natural resource management

multiple use

reindeer herding

forestry

land-use conflict

Publikations- och innehållstyp

ref (ämneskategori)

art (ämneskategori)