Differing perceptions and tensions among tourists and locals concerning a national park region in Norway

In the context of national park management, landscape conservation, and tourism development in a mountain region in Norway, the aim of the research is to analyse how tourists, residents, and local stakeholders experience and practise their participation in the landscapes. A mixed methods approach was used, which included focus group meetings, semi-structured interviews, an on-site survey, and two Internet surveys to gain in-depth knowledge of tourists’ and locals’ relations to and evaluations of the landscape in the studied national park region, which comprised the park itself and eight protected landscape areas. The results revealed that many of the tourists visiting the national park considered the area it covered was a wilderness, while locals considered the area’s authenticity was closely connected to cultural traditions and a long-lasting interconnectedness between people and landscape. As both locals and tourists shared a desire to maintain the wildlife and landscape characteristics of the national park, authenticity may serve as a common denominator for emphasizing local development, outdoor activities, and meeting points outside the boundary of the park. The authors conclude that involving tourists in a knowledge process that provides insights into the past and present livelihoods of communities and the use of the natural resources could help to enhance tourists’ experiences, but without compromising local understandings of authenticity. Authenticity Community livelihoods Landscape conservation National park Nature-based tourism Protected landscapespublishedVersio

Linking Social Values of Wild Reindeer to Planning and Management Options in Southern Norway

Norway is home to the last remaining populations of wild mountain reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus) in Europe. Concerns over anthropogenic and natural drivers have led to change in the management regime from a population-based model to an area-based model. More complex management goals, increasing involvement of stakeholders, and larger management units call for improved knowledge about reindeer-related values. We examined the responses of 1000 respondents to 39 statements of attitudes and values associated with wild reindeer presence and the management situation in two reindeer regions of southern Norway. We used a partial least-squares path modeling approach to examine the nexus between the attraction of wild reindeer, sustainability concerns, utilitarian and non-utilitarian values, conflicts, and attitudes toward hunting. The results show that local concepts of the sustainability of reindeer are based on opinions about the ecological requirements as well as the roles reindeer can play in the social and economic development of the communities. The attraction of reindeer is a function of consumptive as well as non-consumptive objectives. Segments of the community with different consumptive orientations can share ideas about the attraction of reindeer, but diverge in their interpretation of the sustainability of the species. Improved knowledge about the diversity and complexity of value orientations associated with wild reindeer can be a useful tool for developing multi-objective management frameworks with a diversity of stakeholders who may share similar values and interests, although they have different experience and knowledge bases.Les toutes dernières populations de rennes sauvages des montagnes (Rangifer tarandus tarandus) de l’Europe se trouvent en Norvège. Des préoccupations sur le plan des motifs anthropiques et des motifs naturels ont donné lieu à la modification du régime de gestion, qui est passé d’un modèle axé sur la population à un modèle axé sur la région. En raison des objectifs de gestion plus complexes, de l’influence accrue des parties prenantes et de secteurs de gestion plus grands, il y a lieu de se doter de meilleures connaissances au sujet des valeurs liées aux rennes. Nous avons examiné les réponses de 1 000 répondants à 39 énoncés relatifs aux attitudes et aux valeurs liées à la présence des rennes sauvages et à la situation de la gestion dans deux régions où évoluent les rennes, dans le sud de la Norvège. Nous avons fait la modélisation du parcours au moyen de la régression partielle par les moindres carrés dans le but d’examiner la connexion entre l’attraction du renne sauvage, les inquiétudes en matière de durabilité, les valeurs utilitaires et non utilitaires, les conflits et les attitudes vis-à-vis de la chasse. Selon les résultats, les concepts locaux de la durabilité du renne reposent sur des opinions au sujet des exigences écologiques ainsi que sur les rôles que peuvent jouer les rennes dans le développement social et économique des collectivités. L’attraction du renne dépend des objectifs de consommation et des objectifs de non-consommation. Les segments de la collectivité ayant des orientations de consommation différentes peuvent partager des idées au sujet de l’attraction du renne, mais leur interprétation de la durabilité de l’espèce diverge. Il serait utile de posséder de meilleures connaissances au sujet de la diversité et de la complexité des orientations de la valeur liées au renne sauvage, car cela pourrait permettre d’élaborer des cadres de gestion à maints objectifs avec une diversité de parties prenantes susceptibles d’avoir des valeurs et des intérêts semblables, bien que leurs connaissances et leurs expériences diffèrent

Bruk av skog til bioenergi - betyr det noe for opplevelsesverdier?

Som en del av det grønne skiftet har økt uttak av biomasse fra skogene våre fått mye oppmerksomhet. Målet er blant annet å øke produksjonen av bioenergi. Økt uttak kan påvirke hvordan skogene oppleves og hvor tiltrekkende de er for rekreasjon, noe som igjen kan ha betydning i et folkehelseperspektiv

Nøkkelbiotoper i skog: En vurdering av nøkkelbiotoper som forvaltningstiltak for bevaring av biologisk mangfold i skog

Det er et skogpolitisk mål at norsk skogbruk skal utøves på en slik måte at det biologiske mangfoldet bevares på sikt. Begrepet nøkkelbiotoper står idag sentralt i arbeidet med å identifisere og forvalte skog som man anser som viktig i denne sammenheng. På oppdrag fra Levende Skog har prosjektets målstning vært å innhente kunnskap om nøkkelbiotoper i Norge slik at det blir tilgjengelig for praktisk skogbruk. Nøkkelbiotoper er et nytt Skandinavisk begrep, utviklet i Sverige og senere tilpasset norske forhold. Nøkkelbiotoper representerer i praksis små og spredte biotoper som antas å ha større betydning for biologisk mangfold enn arealene omkring. Opprinnelig var begrepet knyttet til områder med rødlistearter, men er senere utvidet til også å omfatte sjeldne naturtyper. Det synes å herske usikkerhet om hva nøkkelbiotoper egentlig er. Denne usikkerheten har bl.a sammenheng med hvor vidt nøkkelbiotoper oppfattes som et biologisk fenomen, dvs. "hot-spots" med naturlig overhyppighet av sjeldne arter, eller om det er et forvaltningsbegrep som skal fange opp "restbiotoper" som er i ferd med å forsvinne. Det synes å være svak vitenskapelig dokumentasjon på at sjeldne arter naturlig opptrer klumpvis (hot spots). På den annen side er det bred enighet om at mange naturtyper er i ferd med å bli svært sjeldne, og lokalt har forsvunnet i områder med intensivt skogbruk. I slike kulturskog-områder vil det derfor være lett å indentifisere eventuelle restbiotoper med naturskog-preg. På denne bakgrunn har prosjektet definert nøkkelbiotop som et avgrenset forvaltningsområde som opprettes for å bevare eller nyskape verdifulle biotoper som ikke ivaretas ved dagens skogbruk. Graden av overlapp i lokal utbredelse av organismer har stor betydning for hvor effektivt nøkkelbiotoper vil være for bevaring av biologisk mangfold. Dersom sjeldne arter, over et bredt spekter av artsgrupper, har stor romlig overlapp i forekomst (hot-spots), bør bevaring av nøkkelbiotoper stå sentralt i en langsiktig forvaltning av biologisk mangfold (forutsatt at størrelsen og spredningsmulighetene mellom dem er tilstrekkelig). Hvis så ikke er tilfelle, eller hvis graden av romlig overlapp er liten, kan en forvaltningsstrategi med tyngdepunkt i stedstilpassede tiltak generelt i skoglandskapet være et bedre valg (forutsatt at organismene tåler hogstinngrepene). Viktig i denne sammenheng er på hvilken romlig skala overlapp i forekomst finner sted. Dagens dokumenterte hot-spots (ti-talls kvadratkilometer og større) ligger på et skala-nivå som langt overgår areal-omfanget av nøkkelbiotoper. Rapporten diskuterer nøkkelbiotoper i et langsiktig tidsperspektiv _(''kontinuitet"), vurderer bruken av ulike "indikatorer", og sammenfatter i hvilken grad rødlistearter fanges opp gjennom en slik forvaltnings-strategi. Tilsammen 15 nøkkelbiotoper deles inn i 3 kategorier; Restbiotoper i skog omfatter (1) brann-biotoper, (2) gammel lauvskog, (3)fleraldret gammel granskog, (4)fleraldret gammelfuruskog og (5)fleraldret gammel edellauvskog. Stedsbetingede biotoper omfatter (6) kalkområder, (7) vassdrag, (8) rikmyr, (9) bergvegg, (10) flommark, (11) ravine, (12) bekkekløft og (13) rasmark. Restbiotoper utenfor skog omfatter (14) hagemarkskog, og (15) naturbeite. Det gis kortfattede beskrivelser av viktige økologiske prosesser, skogstrukturer og tilhørende rødlistearter. Totalt er 262 rødlistearter vurdert å være truet av skogbruk. Av disse har 119 arter biotopkrav som knytter de opp til en eller flere av nøkkelbiotopene. Dette utgjør 7% av de skogslevende rødlisteartene.Nøkkelbiotoper i skog: En vurdering av nøkkelbiotoper som forvaltningstiltak for bevaring av biologisk mangfold i skogpublishedVersio

Environmental justice in a very green city: Spatial inequality in exposure to urban nature, air pollution and heat in Oslo, Norway

Poorer citizens are often more exposed to environmental hazards due to spatial inequalities in the distribution of urban blue-green space. Few cities have managed to prevent spatial and social inequality despite sustainable development strategies like compact city planning. We explore whether environmental injustice exists in a city where one would least expect to find it: a city with abundant nature, an affluent population governed by a left leaning social democratic city council, and an aggressive densification strategy; Oslo, Norway. Green space was measured with a satellite-derived vegetation index which captures the combined availability of gardens, street trees, parks and forest. Blue space was defined by the proximity of residential areas to the closest lake, river or fjord. We found that poorer city districts, often with greater immigrant populations, have less available blue-green spaces and are disproportionately exposed to hazardous air pollution levels, but not extreme heat compared to wealthier city districts. Citizens living within 100 m of a water body are likely to earn US$20,000 more per year than citizens living 500 m away from water, and a US$ 3000 increase in annual income corresponds to a 10 % increase in green space availability. Hazardous air pollution concentrations in the poorest city districts were above levels recommended by the WHO and Oslo municipality. Historical trends showed that districts undergoing population densification coincide with the lowest availability of blue-green space, suggesting that environmental justice has been overlooked in compact city planning policy. Despite Oslo's affluence and egalitarian ideals, the patterns of inequality we observed mirror the city's historical east-west class divide and point to spatial concentration of wealth as a core factor to consider in studies of green segregation. Urban greening initiatives in Oslo and other cities should not take spatial equality for granted, and instead consider socio-economic geographies in their planning process. Green space Blue space Densification Urban nature Urban sustainability ExposurepublishedVersio

A river runs through the landscape: Everyday use in an ever changing environment

The meaning of riverine landscapes to society has evolved to serve our ever-changing needs, from harvesting and transporting resources to arenas for outdoor recreation and contemplation. From the 18th century, rivers have been important resources for industry and hydroelectric power. The objective of this study is to explore and describe the rhythms of everyday use of a river environment using multiple quantitative and qualitative methods, and to identify subjective, multiple and often competing relations. We use Lefebvre’s concept of rhythmanalysis and Ingold’s contextual approach as a tool for bridging scientific and methodological disciplines. Our results show a wide breadth in everyday activities and a dynamic relation between people and the river on multiple time scales. The use of the river environment appears orderly and predictable, but the wide spectrum of everyday users on different spatiotemporal scales is diverse and forms multiple rhythms at each locality. The partial lockdown in Norway in response to Covid-19 and the subsequent shifts in people’s daily routines changed the rhythm of daily and weekly use patterns, and demonstrates how rhythms can change rapidly in the face of largescale, societal agitation. We argue that rhythmanalysis is a useful analytical tool in interdisciplinary approaches to better understand the use and valuations of landscapes.publishedVersio

Truete arter i skog: En gjennomgang av rødlistearter i forhold til norsk skogbruk

Norsk skogbruk skal utøves på en slik måte at alle planter og dyr som naturlig hører hjemme i norsk natur skal bevares i levedyktige populasjoner. Rødlista er et offisielt register over arter man anser utdødd eller hvis levedyktighet man anser truet. En slik liste kan derfor være et nyttig redskap i forvaltningen av biologisk mangfold. Etter oppdrag fra Levende Skog har prosjektet vurdert artene på den norske rødlista i forhold til skogbrukets næringsvirksomhet. Av totalt 2.811 rødliste-arter er 1.619 arter (58%) knyttet til biotoper som påvirkes av skogbruk. Disse omfatter 16 pattedyr, 18 fugler, 4 krypdyr og amfibier, 717 insekter (hovedsakelig sommerfugler og biller), 56 karplanter, 86 moser, 51 lav og 671 sopp. Mange organismegrupper er ikke vurdert i rødliste-sammenheng, hvorav de største gruppene finnes blant insekter (tovinger og årevinger), edderkoppdyr, skorpelav og sopp. Ingen arter synes å være utdødd på grunn av skogbruk, men 269 arter (I 0% av alle rødlisteartene) er vurdert å være truet som en direkte konsekvens av skogbrukets aktiviteter. Disse er benevnt systematisk truete arter. Tilsammen 1.136 arter ( 40%) er oppført med usikker status ( dvs. usikkert hvorvidt de er truet av skogbruk), blant annet på grunn av kunnskapsmangel eller få funn, mens 214 arter (8%) er truet av andre grunner enn skogbruk. [...

Low cadence interval training at moderate intensity does not improve cycling performance in highly trained veteran cyclists

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Bias and precision of crowdsourced recreational activity data from Strava

Recreational activity is the single most valuable ecosystem service in many developed countries with a range of benefits for public health. Crowdsourced recreational activity data is increasingly being adopted in management and monitoring of urban landscapes, however inherent biases in the data make it difficult to generalize patterns to the total population. We used in-situ observations and questionnaires to quantify accuracy in Strava data - a widely used outdoor activity monitoring app – in Oslo, Norway. The precision with which Strava data captured the spatial (R2 = 0.9) and temporal variation (R2 = 0.51) in observed recreational activity (cyclist and pedestrian) was relatively high for monthly time series during summer, although precision degraded at weekly and daily resolutions and during winter. Despite the precision, Strava exhibits significant biases relative to the total recreationist population. Strava activities represented 2.5 % of total recreationist activity in 2016, a proportion that increased steadily to 5.7 % in 2020 due to a growing usership. Strava users are biased toward cyclists (8 % higher than observed), males (15.7 % higher) and middle-aged people (20.4 % higher for ages 35–54). Strava pedestrians that were able to complete a questionnaire survey (>19 years) were biased to higher income brackets and education levels. Future studies using Strava data need to consider these biases – particularly the underrepresentation of vulnerable age (children/elderly) and socio-economic (poor/uneducated) groups. The implementation of Strava data in urban planning processes will depend on accuracy requirements of the application purpose and the extent to which biases can be corrected for. Accuracy Mobility GPS tracking Physical activity Green spacepublishedVersio