Study site
Our study was conducted in Raisduoddar, a sub-oceanic area in Troms
fylke, northern Norway (69˚30’N, 27˚20’E) approximately 600-700m above
sea level with pre-dominating Empetrum-Dicranum-Lichen vegetation
(Oksanen and Virtanen 1995). In northern Norway, reindeer are managed
and migrate from winter grazing areas in inner Finnmark to summer
grazing areas near the coast (Suominen and Olofsson 2000). During the
1960’s a permanent fence was constructed in Raisduoddar to prevent
reindeer from entering migration areas or winter ranges during the
summer. The fence is made from wire and wooden stakes approximately one
meter above the ground and spans several kilometers over the tundra.
While the side of the fence in the summer range is heavily grazed, the
side in the spring and autumn ranges is only lightly grazed due to deep
snow during the spring migration and the rapid movement of reindeer
towards winter ranges in the autumn (Olofsson et al. 2001). Hereafter
this fence will be referred to as the permanent fence. While the alpine
regions in Scandinavia are generally considered to be low productivity,
our study site has calcareous rock, which facilitates the growth of more
plant species and thus increases the productivity of the region to
intermediate (relative to the surrounding low productivity areas).