Ethnography of a Post-Soviet Landscape: Exploring the Dynamics among Forests, People, and Resource Use in Central Kamchatka.

To understand natural resource use patterns in central Kamchatka (in the Russian Far East) I used an integrated geographical approach in which I wove historical, ecological, ethnographic, and spatial strands into an ethnography of landscape. Forming the core of the dissertation, this ethnography encompassed an examination of the complex landscape in central Kamchatka and the ecological processes defining it. It also included a study of the human communities inhabiting this region and how they interact with the natural world through their resource use. I explored this human-environment interface at a unique time juncture: the post-Soviet period. Marked by severe socio-economic and political crises, this period has distinctly influenced people’s relationship with the environment. I began this ethnography by tracing the current state of the landscape to large-scale industrial logging in the mid-twentieth century, which was the outcome of relationships among the Soviet state, the people in this region, and the forests. People have responded to ecological transformation, and to sweeping socio-economic changes in the post-Soviet period, through their resource use decisions and behaviors. One prominent strategy to support livelihood has been the gathering of non-timber forest resources (e.g. berries, medicinal herbs, and mushrooms). This study focuses on lingonberry (Vaccinium vitis-idaea), which is widely distributed throughout central Kamchatka and has strong economic and cultural value. By linking ecological and ethnographic data to spatial data in GIS (Geographical Information Systems), I looked systematically at how land cover, distance, and accessibility shape lingonberry gathering patterns. Land cover was the most important determinant in gathering patterns: sites with high gathering intensity and marketing of harvests had larger proportions of early to mid-successional forests. These sites also tended to be located further from villages, which was expected given logging trajectories that radiated outward from these villages. These sites were, however, very accessible due to high road densities within them, and to the post-Soviet spike in individual car ownership. Overall, this linking of non-spatial and spatial data in an ethnography of landscape made people’s interactions with the landscape explicit, thereby deepening our understanding of human-environment relationships during a time of great ecological, socio-economic, and political change.Ph.D.Natural Resources and EnvironmentUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/77922/1/shitztal_1.pd

The Relationship Between Resources and Human Migration Patterns in Central Kamchatka During the Post-Soviet Period

This paper examines the relationship between resources and migration in post-Soviet Kamchatka (Russian Far East). During the post-Soviet period of socio-economic hardship, migration trends have changed drastically both in central Kamchatka and throughout the Russian Far East. I predicted that there would be a clear relationship between resource scarcity and people's decisions to leave in search of more propitious opportunities. Against the backdrop of economic decline, out-migration prevailed in central Kamchatka throughout the post-Soviet period; however, migration patterns among villages in this rural and resource-dependent region diverge considerably. Villages in central Kamchatka facing a local natural resource crisis show greater net negative migration than those with a relatively intact resource base. Such variation is notable, given the relatively contained area of the study; it suggests migration patterns are closely tied to ecological conditions. Besides socio-economic and ecological factors, historical circumstances also influence migration patterns. The decision to migrate is complex, arising from the interaction of socio-economic, political, ecological, and historical conditions.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/43506/1/11111_2004_Article_489378.pd

Changing Human Populations in Post-Soviet Kamchatka: An Integrated Study of Shifts in Fertility and Net Population

We expect population changes to be closely tied to resource abundance or scarcity. Here, I demonstrate a clear relationship between the widespread socio-economic crisis of the post-Soviet period and declining population patterns in central Kamchatka. These broad patterns, however, vary among populations, reflecting particular interlinked socio-economic, ecological, and historical conditions. More dramatic decline is observed in areas where the socio-economic crisis has coincided with a local natural resource crisis. Analyzing population shifts in the context of local circumstances, this paper corroborates the link between resource conditions and changes at the family level.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/43505/1/11111_2004_Article_489377.pd

PIRE Project: Promoting Urban Sustainability in the Arctic

Arctic; urban; sustainability index; economic, social and environmental sustainabilityPeer reviewe

Long-term trends in anthropogenic land use in Siberia and the Russian Far East : a case study synthesis from Landsat

As globally important forested areas situated in a context of dramatic socio-economic changes, Siberia and the Russian Far East (RFE) are important regions to monitor for anthropogenic land-use trends. Therefore, we compiled decadal Landsat-derived land-cover and land-use data for eight dominantly rural case study sites in these regions and focused on trends associated with settlements, agriculture, logging, and roads 1975-2010. Several key spatial-temporal trends emerged from the integrated landscape-scale analyses. First, road building increased in all case study sites over the 35-year period, despite widespread socio-economic decline post-1990. Second, increase in settlements area was negligible over all sites. Third, increased road building, largely of minor roads, was especially high in more rugged and remote RFE case study sites not associated with greater agriculture extent or settlement densities. High demands for wood export coupled with the expansion of commercial timber harvest leases starting in the mid-1990s are likely among leading reasons for an increase in roads. Fourth, although fire was the dominant disturbance over all sites and dates combined, logging exerted a strong land-use pattern, serving as a reminder that considering local anthropogenic landscapes is important, especially in Siberia and the RFE, which represent almost 10% of the Earth's terrestrial land surface. The paper concludes by identifying remaining research needs regarding anthropogenic land use in the region: more frequent moderate spatial resolution imagery and greater access to more finely resolved statistical and other spatial data will enable further research. Social media abstract Landsat reveals long-term anthropogenic land-use trends in Siberia and Russian Far EastPeer reviewe

Northern Eurasia Future Initiative (NEFI): facing the challenges and pathways of global change in the 21st century

During the past several decades, the Earth system has changed significantly, especially across Northern Eurasia. Changes in the socio-economic conditions of the larger countries in the region have also resulted in a variety of regional environmental changes that can have global consequences. The Northern Eurasia Future Initiative (NEFI) has been designed as an essential continuation of the Northern Eurasia Earth Science Partnership Initiative (NEESPI), which was launched in 2004. NEESPI sought to elucidate all aspects of ongoing environmental change, to inform societies and, thus, to better prepare societies for future developments. A key principle of NEFI is that these developments must now be secured through science-based strategies co-designed with regional decision makers to lead their societies to prosperity in the face of environmental and institutional challenges. NEESPI scientific research, data, and models have created a solid knowledge base to support the NEFI program. This paper presents the NEFI research vision consensus based on that knowledge. It provides the reader with samples of recent accomplishments in regional studies and formulates new NEFI science questions. To address these questions, nine research foci are identified and their selections are briefly justified. These foci include: warming of the Arctic; changing frequency, pattern, and intensity of extreme and inclement environmental conditions; retreat of the cryosphere; changes in terrestrial water cycles; changes in the biosphere; pressures on land-use; changes in infrastructure; societal actions in response to environmental change; and quantification of Northern Eurasia's role in the global Earth system. Powerful feedbacks between the Earth and human systems in Northern Eurasia (e.g., mega-fires, droughts, depletion of the cryosphere essential for water supply, retreat of sea ice) result from past and current human activities (e.g., large scale water withdrawals, land use and governance change) and potentially restrict or provide new opportunities for future human activities. Therefore, we propose that Integrated Assessment Models are needed as the final stage of global change assessment. The overarching goal of this NEFI modeling effort will enable evaluation of economic decisions in response to changing environmental conditions and justification of mitigation and adaptation efforts

Transformations in post-Soviet Kamchatka

Master of ScienceNatural Resources and Environment; Russian and East European StudiesUniversity of Michiganhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/106285/1/39015057585195.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/106285/2/39015057585195.pdfDescription of 39015057585195.pdf : Restricted to UM users only

Mapping resource use over a Russian landscape: an integrated look at harvesting of a non-timber forest product in central Kamchatka

Small-scale resource use became an important adaptive mechanism in remote logging communities in Russia at the onset of the post-Soviet period in 1991. We focused on harvesting of a non-timber forest product, lingonberry ( Vaccinium vitis-idaea ), in the forests of the Kamchatka Peninsula (Russian Far East). We employed an integrated geographical approach to make quantifiable connections between harvesting and the landscape, and to interpret these relationships in their broader contexts. Landsat TM images were used for a new classification; the resulting land-cover map was the basis for linking non-spatial data on harvesters’ gathering behaviors to spatial data within delineated lingonberry gathering sites. Several significant relationships emerged: (1) mature forests negatively affected harvesters’ initial choice to gather in a site, while young forests had a positive effect; (2) land-cover type was critical in determining how and why gathering occurred: post-disturbance young and maturing forests were significantly associated with higher gathering intensity and with the choice to market harvests; and (3) distance from gathering sites to villages and main roads also mattered: longer distances were significantly correlated to more time spent gathering and to increased marketing of harvests. We further considered our findings in light of the larger ecological and social dynamics at play in central Kamchatka. This unique study is an important starting point for conservation- and sustainable development-based work, and for additional research into the drivers of human–landscape interactions in the Russian Far East