Fire, people and reindeer in the boreal forest : the role of fire in the historical and contemporary interactions between Sami reindeer herding and forest management in northern Sweden

In the boreal forest of northern Sweden, fire was used from around 1920 to 1970 as a forest regeneration measure, and then abandoned for some decades. Since the 1990s, fire restoration has been carried out through regeneration and conservation burning in commercial and protected forests. The same forest is also used as reindeer pasturelands by indigenous Sami herders. The overall aim of this thesis was to investigate the human dimensions of fire regimes in the Swedish boreal forest, with a focus on interactions between fire, Sami reindeer husbandry and forest management during the 20th century and up to the present. This goal was addressed through an interdisciplinary approach combining historical ecology and environmental anthropology. The results show that while forest managers conceive fire as a natural perturbation, Sami herders have conflicting feelings about fire, as they have had to endure the effects of imposed burning strategies on their livelihood. While burning can promote summer pasture and maintain the long-term availability of winter pasture, it destroys lichen pasture temporarily and Sami ecological knowledge shows that burning also affects the behaviour and movement patterns of the reindeer. These pitfalls already affected reindeer herding during the first half of the 20 th century, and even triggered an early form of consultation with the forestry sector. Today, while generally opposed to all external measures that affect reindeer grazing grounds, Sami herders increasingly see in burning a way to restore winter pasturelands. They use the consultation process with forest owners to negotiate for burning that serves their interests. The fire regime thus reflects a combination of technical constraints, forest management and nature conservation objectives, and conditions posed by Sami herders. However, in order for Sami herders to actually assert their interests, true fire co-management would have to be implemented

The origins of prescribed burning in Scandinavian forestry: the seminal role of Joel Wretlind in the management of fire-dependent forests

In Sweden, prescribed burning was trialed as early as the 1890s for forest regeneration purposes. However, the origins of prescribed burning in Sweden are commonly attributed to Joel Efraim Wretlind, forest manager in the State Forest district of Mala, Vasterbotten County, from 1920 to 1952. To more fully understand the role he played in the development of prescribed burning and the extent of his burning, we examined historical records from the State Forest Company's archive and Wretlind's personal archive. The data showed that at least 11,208 ha was burned through prescribed burning between 1921 and 1970, representing 18.7% of the Mala state-owned forest area. Wretlind thus created a new forestry-driven fire regime, reaching, during peak years, extents close to historical fire regimes before the fire suppression era, and much higher than present-day burning. His use of prescribed fire to regenerate forests served as a guide for many other forest managers, spreading to all of northern Sweden during the 1950-1960s. Our analysis of Wretlind's latest accounts also shows how he stood against the evolutions of modern forestry to defend a forestry system based on the reproduction of natural processes, such as fire

Feux, rennes et humains dans la forêt boréale : le rôle du feu dans les interactions historiques et contemporaines entre l'élevage de rennes sami et la gestion forestière dans le Nord de la Suède

In the boreal forest of northern Sweden, fire was used from around 1920 to 1970 as a forest regeneration measure, and then abandoned for some decades. Since the 1990s, fire restoration has been carried out through regeneration and conservation burning in commercial and protected forests. The same forest is also used as reindeer pasturelands by indigenous Sami herders. The overall aim of this thesis was to investigate the human dimensions of fire regimes in the Swedish boreal forest, with a focus on interactions between fire, Sami reindeer husbandry and forest management during the 20th century and up to the present. This goal was addressed through an interdisciplinary approach combining historical ecology and environmental anthropology. The results show that while forest managers conceive fire as a natural perturbation, Sami herders have conflicting feelings about fire, as they have had to endure the effects of imposed burning strategies on their livelihood. While burning can promote summer pasture and maintain the long-term availability of winter pasture, it destroys lichen pasture temporarily and Sami ecological knowledge shows that burning also affects the behaviour and movement patterns of the reindeer. These pitfalls already affected reindeer herding during the first half of the 20th century, and even triggered an early form of consultation with the forestry sector. Today, while generally opposed to all external measures that affect reindeer grazing grounds, Sami herders increasingly see in burning a way to restore winter pasturelands. They use the consultation process with forest owners to negotiate for burning that serves their interests. The fire regime thus reflects a combination of technical constraints, forest management and nature conservation objectives, and conditions posed by Sami herders. However, in order for Sami herders to actually assert their interests, true fire co-management would have to be implemented.Dans le nord de la Suède, le feu a été utilisé comme mesure de régénération forestière entre les années 1920 et 1970, puis abandonné pendant deux décennies. Depuis les années 1990, la restauration du feu a été mise en œuvre à travers des brûlages de régénération et de conservation dans les forêts commerciales et protégées. Ces mêmes forêts sont utilisées par les éleveurs autochtones samis comme pâturages pour leurs rennes. L’objectif général de cette thèse était d’étudier les dimensions humaines des régimes de feux dans la forêt boréale suédoise, en se concentrant sur les interactions entre l’élevage de rennes sami et la gestion forestière pendant le 20ème siècle jusqu’à aujourd’hui. Pour atteindre cet objectif, une approche interdisciplinaire combinant histoire écologique et anthropologie environnementale a été utilisée. Les résultats montrent que les gestionnaires forestiers conçoivent le feu comme une perturbation naturelle à restaurer, alors que les éleveurs samis éprouvent des sentiments ambivalents à l’égard du feu, ayant subi les effets de stratégies de brûlage imposées par le secteur forestier sur leur mode de vie. Tandis que le brûlage favorise le pâturage d’été, et maintient la disponibilité du pâturage d’hiver sur le long terme, il détruit temporairement les pâturages de lichen. Les savoirs écologiques samis montrent que le brûlage affecte aussi le comportement et le patron de déplacement des rennes. Ces écueils affectaient déjà l’élevage durant la première moitié du 20ème siècle, et avaient même initié une première forme de consultation avec le secteur forestier. Aujourd’hui, bien que généralement opposés à toute mesure extérieure qui affecte les pâturages des rennes, les éleveurs samis voient dans le brûlage un moyen de restaurer les pâturages d’hiver. Ils se servent du processus de consultation avec les propriétaires forestiers pour négocier une utilisation du brûlage qui serve leurs intérêts. Le régime de feux reflète ainsi une combinaison de contraintes techniques, d’objectifs de gestion forestière et de conservation de la nature, et de conditions posées par les éleveurs samis. Afin que les éleveurs samis puissent réellement faire valoir leurs intérêts, une véritable cogestion du feu devrait cependant être mise en place

La thèse interdisciplinaire en sciences de l’environnement, des défis à relever et des opportunités à saisir : regards de doctorants

Les incitations croissantes à l’interdisciplinarité viennent modifier les pratiques de recherche dès le doctorat. Les doctorants faisant le choix de l’interdisciplinarité peuvent se trouver livrés à eux-mêmes face aux défis méthodologiques et épistémologiques que cette approche peut entraîner. Ce texte témoigne d’un projet initié et conduit par trois doctorants se revendiquant d’une pratique interdisciplinaire des sciences de l’environnement. Il présente et analyse les résultats d’un questionnaire diffusé auprès de doctorants en sciences de l’environnement en France, notamment suite à une conférence organisée sur le thème de la thèse interdisciplinaire. L’article propose aussi des pistes de réflexion pour une meilleure intégration de l’interdisciplinarité dans le parcours doctoral

Influence of prescribed burning on reindeer winter pastures at landscape scale in northern Sweden: A modelling approach

International audienceWhilst the re-introduction of fire can contribute to biodiversity conservation in Fennoscandian forests, the effects on reindeer herding remain uncertain. To assess the short- and long-term effects of prescribed burning on lichen supply in a productive forest landscape, we developed a model simulating lichen biomass available for reindeer grazing, covering 300 years and 1500 pine stands, under different soil preparation scenarios, including different prescribed burning regimes and mechanical scarification. Our simulations revealed that burning 25-50% of yearly clear-cuts has the potential to stop, or even reverse, reindeer lichen decline at landscape scale after 70 years, greatly surpassing the short-term losses caused by burning. No burning or burning 5% of yearly clear-cuts, as required by the FSC certification, compounded the negative effects of fire suppression and scarification on lichen. Compared to the scenario with no soil preparation, all our simulations resulted in a continuous decrease of lichen supply in Lichen-type stands, indicating that any form of disturbance in these habitats can strongly limit future gains