Reindeer herding practices and their effect on vegetation in northern Scandinavia may influence when snow melts in spring.
Tall, dense shrubs can hasten snow melt in the tundra. As more branches protrude over packed snow, less sunlight is reflected off the bright surface and more heat is absorbed by the ground.
A team led by Juval Cohen at the Finnish Meteorological Institute in Helsinki used satellite observations to examine the cover of vegetation and snow in northern Scandinavia. In Finland, where reindeer typically graze on the tundra throughout the year, snow melt begins later. In inland Norway, where the pastures are left ungrazed during summer and vegetation is taller and more abundant, the snow melts earlier.
More intense reindeer grazing could delay snow melt and reduce ground heating during spring in the rapidly warming tundra, the authors suggest.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Reindeer keep the ground cool. Nature 498, 140 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/498140a
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/498140a
