The wild side: Norway’s herbivore communities are getting wilder

In many parts of the world, wild herbivores coexist with domestic livestock. Direct interactions between wild and domestic herbivores such as competition for forage often occur, as do indirect interactions such as apparent competition through predator densities. However, environmental management of wild herbivores and livestock is usually completely disconnected.

In a newly published paper, James Speed and colleagues analyse densities of wild herbivores and livestock in space (across Norway’s rangelands) and time (from 1949 to 2015). They find that livestock densities have greatly reduced, while wild cervids have increased in density. This is especially strong in milder regions, while mountain and northern regions remain dominated by livestock today (Figure 1).

**Figure 1.** Change in large herbivore communities across Norway from 1949 to 2015. Note the decline in the livestock assemblage and increase in forest cervids in the south east and central regions. The semi-domestic reindeer assemblage and mountain herbivore communities remain more stable over time.

These changes signify that Norway’s herbivore communities have become wilder – a process known as passive rewilding. However, both livestock and wild herbivores remain under stringent environmental management today. Interactions between wild and domestic herbivores, through both vegetation and predation, indicate that management of livestock and wild herbivores should be more integrated.

You can read the full paper here.

Reference: Speed JDM, Austrheim G, Kolstad AL, Solberg EJ (2019) Long-term changes in northern large-herbivore communities reveal differential rewilding rates in space and time. PLoS ONE 14(5): e0217166

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0217166

Picture: Moose (Alces alces, European elk) is one of the species that has increased most in density across Norway from 1949 to 2015 (photo: James Speed, NTNU).