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).