Resilience in Social-Ecological Systems of Northwest Eurasia - RISES

Time: 2012-2016
Contact: Prof. Bruce Forbes

RISES worked to reconstruct the environmental histories of integrated social-ecological systems in Fennoscandia and Yamal, West Siberia that have been characterized by both climate change and the constant adaptation of people and their reindeer herds through the late Holocene. The team is experienced in strongly interdisciplinary and theoretical research. Intensive study areas for collecting experimental (quantitative) and descriptive (qualitative) data were selected for different bioclimatic zones, near and beyond treeline, in each region.

The project worked to link indigenous (Sámi and Nenets) oral histories with archaeology, palaeoecology and modern ecological and climate studies for a holistic explanation of stable states. Now that the project has ended, we will endeavour to produce a state-of-the-art assessment on the relative roles of, and feedbacks between, humans, animals and climate in the structure, function and resilience of past and contemporary systems. In addition, we analyzed the relationship between retreating Barent and Kara sea ice and major rain-on-snow events on mainland Arctic Russia, which resulted in massive reindeer mortality. Finally, we have also created a science exhibition module focusing on the role of tundra willow shrubs in the Yamal tundra Nenets social-ecological system. 

Sample publications:
Myers-Smith, I.H. S. Elmendorf, P. Beck, M. Wilmking, M. Hallinger, D. Blok, K.D. Tape, S.A. Rayback, M. Macias-Fauria, B.C. Forbes et al. (2015) Climate sensitivity of shrub growth across the tundra biome. Nature Climate Change DOI: 10.1038/NCLIMATE2697.

Forbes, B.C., T. Kumpula, N. Meschtyb, R. Laptander, M. Macias-Fauria, P. Zetterberg, M. Verdonen, A. Skarin, K.-Y. Kim, L.N. Boisvert, J.C. Stroeve and A. Bartsch. Sea ice, rain-on-snow and tundra reindeer nomadism in Arctic Russia. Biology Letters (accepted).

RISES project workshop in Tallinn, 26.11.2013

Sosiaalis-ekologisten järjestelmien palautuminen Luoteis-Eurasiassa

RISES rekonstruoi sosio-ekologisten systeemien ympäristöhistoriallista kehitystä Fennoskandiassa ja Jamalilla Länsi-Siperiassa, johon on vaikuttanut sekä ilmastonmuutos että ihmisen ja porolaumojen sopeutuminen siihen myöhäis-Holoseenin aikana.

Tutkimusryhmällä on kokemusta poikkitieteisestä ja teoreettisesta tutkimuksesta. Pääkohteet kokeellisen (kvantitatiivisen) ja kuvaavan (kvalitatiivisen) aineiston keräämiseksi molemmilla tutkimusalueilla on valittu kahdelta bioklimaattiselta vyöhykkeeltä, läheltä puurajaa ja puurajan takaa.

Alkuperäiskansojen (saamelaiset ja nenetsit) perimätietoa yhdistetään arkeologisen, paleoekologisen ja ekologisen aineiston sekä ilmastohavaintojen kanssa jotta saadaan kokonaisvaltainen kuva vallitsevista oloista. Ihmisten, eläinten ja ilmaston välillä toimivien varhaisten ja nykyisten vuorovaikutussysteemien toiminnasta ja muutoksen sietokyvystä tuotetaan malli.

Projekti antoi poikkitieteistä koulutusta 6 tutkijatohtorille.

Field work in Yuribei, Yamal

Mari Kuoppamaa, a postdoc researcher from the Arctic Centre, and three Russian assistants went to Yuribei tundra in Yamal, to do field work during 13.-17.3 2014. The goal of this excursion was to drill lake sediment samples from three lakes close to historical dwelling place Yarte-6. Pollen analysis is made from the samples and with that information the changes in the regional vegetation during the last 2 000 years can be modeled.

See photos and a diary from the field work taken by interpreter Konstantin Bannikov.