Periodic Reporting for period 2 - CHARTER (Drivers and Feedbacks of Changes in Arctic Terrestrial Biodiversity)
Berichtszeitraum: 2022-02-01 bis 2023-07-31
CHARTER grew out of a desire to better understand the processes that have been driving rapid climate and land use changes in the Arctic. The name comes from the project title: Drivers and Feedbacks of Changes in Arctic Terrestrial Biodiversity. The project started in August 2020 and will run for 4 years. CHARTER involves 21 research institutions across 9 countries. CHARTER is coordinated d by the Arctic Centre, University of Lapland and the project leader is Research Professor Bruce Forbes.
CHARTER works mainly in European Arctic. Changes in climate and land use affect biodiversity, as well as snow cover, sea ice and permafrost. Changes in these, in turn, have other consequences and feedbacks to Arctic regional climate.
These changes are not merely of academic interest. They are especially felt by those working on the land, such as reindeer herders. This is perhaps best demonstrated by the 2013/4 severe icing event on the world’s most productive reindeer herding region of Yamal, Northwest Russia, where it is estimated that Nenets reindeer herders lost at least 61,000 reindeer, perhaps as many as one fifth of all reindeer in that region. Some herding families lost all their reindeer and have reverted to fishing in order to remain in the tundra while they attempt to rebuild their herds before another such catastrophe may strike. Poor winter grazing conditions in winter 2019/20 led to the death of as many as 15,000 reindeer in Finland, which had large financial consequences for herders along with a substantially increased workload.
Reindeer are obviously an important species for herders and cultures that depend on them. Reindeer are also a key species in the Arctic; they have strong effect on the functioning of the ecosystems. By managing the grazing, reindeer herding as a livelihood has the potential to affect even permafrost region temperatures and, through effects of grazing on vegetation, regional climate.
CHARTER wants to co-develop tools with Arctic communities to better adapt to climatic and biodiversity changes. The project will do this for example through joint data collection, analysis and modeling. CHARTER will look backwards to build a short, medium and long range look at biodiversity, meteorological and snow and ice data. This will build out a picture of change throughout the Holocene period (the last 11,000 years). CHARTER will take a more detailed look at these same changes and drivers over the last 40 years.
CHARTER will also co-produce knowledge with local herders and other practitioners and co-develop optional future pathways for the region. The aim is to develop climate modelling tools so that they better consider also the climate impacts of local livelihoods and related land cover changes. When climate scenarios up to 2050 take into account also relevant Arctic livelihoods, the strategies for adaptation are easier to co-develop. The ambition is that Arctic decision making would better consider the actions by local communities and livelihoods. This would support gearing Arctic land management towards climate change mitigation and sustainable development.
CHARTER works mainly in European Arctic. Changes in climate and land use affect biodiversity, as well as snow cover, sea ice and permafrost. Changes in these, in turn, have other consequences and feedbacks to Arctic regional climate.
These changes are not merely of academic interest. They are especially felt by those working on the land, such as reindeer herders. This is perhaps best demonstrated by the 2013/4 severe icing event on the world’s most productive reindeer herding region of Yamal, Northwest Russia, where it is estimated that Nenets reindeer herders lost at least 61,000 reindeer, perhaps as many as one fifth of all reindeer in that region. Some herding families lost all their reindeer and have reverted to fishing in order to remain in the tundra while they attempt to rebuild their herds before another such catastrophe may strike. Poor winter grazing conditions in winter 2019/20 led to the death of as many as 15,000 reindeer in Finland, which had large financial consequences for herders along with a substantially increased workload.
Reindeer are obviously an important species for herders and cultures that depend on them. Reindeer are also a key species in the Arctic; they have strong effect on the functioning of the ecosystems. By managing the grazing, reindeer herding as a livelihood has the potential to affect even permafrost region temperatures and, through effects of grazing on vegetation, regional climate.
CHARTER wants to co-develop tools with Arctic communities to better adapt to climatic and biodiversity changes. The project will do this for example through joint data collection, analysis and modeling. CHARTER will look backwards to build a short, medium and long range look at biodiversity, meteorological and snow and ice data. This will build out a picture of change throughout the Holocene period (the last 11,000 years). CHARTER will take a more detailed look at these same changes and drivers over the last 40 years.
CHARTER will also co-produce knowledge with local herders and other practitioners and co-develop optional future pathways for the region. The aim is to develop climate modelling tools so that they better consider also the climate impacts of local livelihoods and related land cover changes. When climate scenarios up to 2050 take into account also relevant Arctic livelihoods, the strategies for adaptation are easier to co-develop. The ambition is that Arctic decision making would better consider the actions by local communities and livelihoods. This would support gearing Arctic land management towards climate change mitigation and sustainable development.
So far, work has been performed in seven work packages, led by researchers from across Europe. The project is supported by an advisory group made up of selected experts representing reindeer herders, administrators, relevant ministries and science communication professionals.
CHARTER has two wide cross-cutting themes for all WPs: “Tools and data for Arctic Strategies”, and “Public dialogue on the Arctic”. The published results have produced input for “tools and data”, which are valuable in the on-going and future political processes, “for Arctic Strategies”, at the EU or national level. Many CHARTER deliverables are deepening and broadening our understanding related to Arctic SESs; responses of Arctic terrestrial systems to changes in climate and the cryosphere (in shorter and longer term), and feedbacks and interactions related to these. Impacts on and interactions with Arctic land-use types and local livelihoods and communities have been studied, as well. These data and tools are essential for decision making, aiming at supporting Arctic communities and traditional livelihoods through climatic and geopolitical changes. For example, implementation of grazing and trampling effects into climate modelling has been presented in D5.3; this kind of work is valuable when different grazing management systems and related socio-economic and environmental pathways are assessed. WP4 has provided systematic review and mapping (D4.1) identifying sources of biodiversity proxy data for the Arctic through the Holocene, and climate and cryosphere database (D4.2) and paleoecological database (D4.3). Our second cross-cutting theme is “Public dialogue on the Arctic”. We have been working on this theme at various levels, regions and with various stake-, right- and knowledge holder groups. Results from WP6 are being used to design policy options and to identify ways to interact and with whom to interact to maximize the possibilities of the dialogue. Towards the end of the project we will work to put CHARTER results to full use also after the project finishes; to make an impact and strong legacy. CHARTER results can be used as background of future collaborative research projects
CHARTER has two wide cross-cutting themes for all WPs: “Tools and data for Arctic Strategies”, and “Public dialogue on the Arctic”. The published results have produced input for “tools and data”, which are valuable in the on-going and future political processes, “for Arctic Strategies”, at the EU or national level. Many CHARTER deliverables are deepening and broadening our understanding related to Arctic SESs; responses of Arctic terrestrial systems to changes in climate and the cryosphere (in shorter and longer term), and feedbacks and interactions related to these. Impacts on and interactions with Arctic land-use types and local livelihoods and communities have been studied, as well. These data and tools are essential for decision making, aiming at supporting Arctic communities and traditional livelihoods through climatic and geopolitical changes. For example, implementation of grazing and trampling effects into climate modelling has been presented in D5.3; this kind of work is valuable when different grazing management systems and related socio-economic and environmental pathways are assessed. WP4 has provided systematic review and mapping (D4.1) identifying sources of biodiversity proxy data for the Arctic through the Holocene, and climate and cryosphere database (D4.2) and paleoecological database (D4.3). Our second cross-cutting theme is “Public dialogue on the Arctic”. We have been working on this theme at various levels, regions and with various stake-, right- and knowledge holder groups. Results from WP6 are being used to design policy options and to identify ways to interact and with whom to interact to maximize the possibilities of the dialogue. Towards the end of the project we will work to put CHARTER results to full use also after the project finishes; to make an impact and strong legacy. CHARTER results can be used as background of future collaborative research projects
Ambitious aims set in the CHARTER research plan are still valid and we can expect results that are beyond the state of the art. CHARTER’s analysis will include conceptualization of large herbivores (e.g. reindeer/caribou) as drivers of tundra ecosystem state transitions. Team’s initial successful attempts at “fingerprinting” ROS events resulting from sea ice degradation will be expanded. Together, the consortium will pursue a breakthrough in our functional understanding of decadal to centennial time scales of sea ice and terrestrial rangeland dynamics. Given the proposed time depth of CHARTER’s research, the consortium will strive to be at the cutting edge of the new revolution in paleoecology. Large datasets and new analytical tools will be used to understand how biodiversity has changed in the past, how conservation efforts need to take long historical trajectories into account and identify thresholds and tipping points of ecological systems. By addressing how livelihoods based on pastoralism will continue to co-exist in an Arctic characterized by rapid land use and climate change, CHARTER can facilitate future biodiversity-oriented conservation projects in the Arctic. Utilizing co-development and strongly participatory approach is a way to avoid inadvertently choosing mitigation policies that have unwanted local and regional side effects. The state-of-the-art in biodiversity conservation theorizes biodiversity management as a public good based on the inclusion of different ways of knowing in order to ensure relevance, legitimacy and credibility. EU initiatives reflect this approach in theory, but have seldom achieved it in practice. CHARTER will provide empirical evidence of how concerns about biodiversity protection, and climate change mitigation and adaptation, can be integrated across knowledge systems and spatial scales. CHARTER expects to have impact on EU and national policies, and IPCC assessments and other major regional and global initiatives. It will also support the EU Polar Research Cluster and EC bioeconomy strategy, EU space policy and IPBES work.