The Maps are produced using an innovative approach developed thanks to the support of several projects supported by the Research Council of Norway (RenewableReindeer, ProdChange, OneImpact) and numerous local monitoring projects. The method can be used on other species (see GreenPlan).

The approach allows to quantify functional habitat, barriers to movements, corridors, and the cumulative impacts of human activities on reindeer, and to identify areas to be prioritized locally and nationally for conservation and restoration. This is done in steps: 

1. First, we produced probabilistic maps showing resources (RSF), barriers (SSF), and human footprint on reindeer habitat, for each 100m pixel in Norway, taking into account the cumulative impact of infrastructure and anthropogenic activities (OneImpact R/GRASS GIS tools)

2. Second, we took a bird-eye view of the landscape, and used network models (integrated in ConScape library - see last page) to scale-up these maps to identify the most functional areas (providing simultaneously high-quality and well-connected resources), and corridors among these

3. Last, we produced land-planning support-tools to perform scenario analyses (e.g., test the effect of building new infrastructures or removing existing ones) and, finally, to perform zonation / land prioritization for conservation or restoration

WORKFLOW

All images: Panzacchi et al 2022 (CC BY-SA) 

TECHNICAL DETAILS

Step 1: GPs data and environmental data are analysed to quantify Habitat Quality/Loss and Habitat Permeability/Friction to movements using niche modelling. This was done using Resource Selection Funcions [1] and Step Selection Functions [16] respectively, taking into account the cumulative impact of infrastructure and anthropogenic activities - see OneImpact R/GRASS GIS tools [16, 20]. Based on the RSF and SSF maps, we derived also several types of estimates of Human Footprint for each pixel in isolation [3].

Step 2: The software ConScape - Connected Landscapes [7] uses network modes [4,5] to integrated habitat quality and permeability into maps quantifying Functional Habitat (high quality & well-connected pixels [23]) and Functional Corridors (pixels with highest movement flow), at 100 m resolution, for Norway [6,7,14]. These maps quantify the actual Cumulative Impact of anthropogenic activities, that can extend far beyond the immediate surroundings of the infrastructure [15; 21] 

Step 3 a: Simulate the impact of climate or land-use changes scenarios to guide Impact Assessment of new infrastructures (in the example, building a tourist resort, trail and road reduces functional habitat of ca. 21%), the identification of efficient mitigation/off-set measures [15, 17, 18,22]

Step 3b: Zonate / produce land prioritization maps, calibrated based upon area protection goals; this map can be categorized to facilitate zonation [19]. This step is under development, for multiple species, in the project GreenPlan

An overview of the full approach and steps is presented in Norwegian here [0, 8, 9,10, 15, 22]  and in English here [11, 12,13, 19] 

REFERENCES

[0] Panzacchi, M., van Moorter, B., Tveraa, T., Rolandsen, C. M., Gundersen, V., Lelotte, L., Dos Santos, B. B. N., Bøthun, S. W., Andersen, R., Strand, O. 2022. Statistisk modellering av samlet belastning av menneskelig aktivitet på villrein. Identifisering av viktige leveområder og scenarioanalyser for konsekvensutredning og arealplanlegging. NINA Rapport 2189.

[1] Panzacchi M, van Moorter B Strand O, Loe LE, Reimers E (2015) Searching for the fundamental niche using individual-based habitat selection modelling across populations. Ecography 38: 659-669

[2] Panzacchi, M, van Moorter B, Strand B, Saerens M, Kivimäki I, St. Clair CC, Herfindal I, Boitani L (2016) Predicting the continuum between corridors and barriers to animal movements using Step Selection Functions and Randomized Shortest Paths. J Anim Ecol 85: 32-42

[3] Lelotte Lucie (2021) MSc Thesis. Analysis of the human footprint on reindeer summer habitat. Using habitat selection modeling to assess anthropogenic drivers of habitat loss in Norwegian wild mountain reindeer. Univ. Liege, Belgium & NINA  (link)

[4] Kivimäki I, Shimbo M, Særens M (2014) Developments in the theory of randomized shortest paths with a comparison of graph node distances. Physica A: Statistical

Mechanics and its Applications 393: 600-616

[5] Kivimäki I, van Moorter B, Panzacchi M, Jari Saramäki, Marco Saerens. (2020) Maximum likelihood estimation for randomized shortest paths with trajectory data. Journal of Complex Networks (8),4

[6] Van Moorter B, Kivimäki I, Panzacchi M, Særens M (2021). Review & Synthesis: defining and quantifying Effective Connectivity. Ecography44, 6: 870-884

[7] Van Moorter M, Kivimaki I, Noack A, Devooght R, Panzacchi M, Hall K, Leleux P, Saerens M. (2023) Accelerating advances in landscape connectivity modeling with the ConScape library. Methods in Ecology and Evolution, 14, 133– 145. https://doi.org/10.1111/2041-210X.13850 

[8] Gundersen, V., van Moorter, B. Panzacchi, M., Rauset, G.R. & Strand, O. 2021. Villrein-ferdselsanalyser på Hardangervidda - Anbefalinger og tiltak. NINA Rapport 1903. Norsk institutt for naturforskning. [in Norwegian]

[9] Panzacchi M, Grimsby P.Ø., Van Moorter B, Strand O, Kivimäki I, Saerens M; Gundersen V. (2021) Fornybar energi og reinsdyr: nye metoder for å simulere effekten av inngrep, forstyrrelser og kompenserende tiltak Energi Norge - Produksjonsteknisk konferanse (here)

[10] Panzacchi M, Landrø J. (2020) Unikt verktøy beregner hvordan mennesker påvirker naturen. NINA nyhettsak (here) 

[11] Stange E, Panzacchi M, van Moorter B (2019) Modelling green infrastructure for conservation and land planning – a pilot study. NINA Report 1625

[12] Panzacchi M, Bram van Moorter, Ilkka Kivimaki, Marco Særens, Andreas Noak, Kimberly Hall, Olav Strand, Audun Stien, Torkild Tveraa, Knut Langeland, Stefan Blumentrath, Vegard Gundersen et al. (2019). Samla belasting og bærekraftig arealplanlegging (Cumultive impacts) – Fagseminaret "Naturmangfold og klima" under NINA-dagan 2019 (link)

[13] Panzacchi, Manuela; Van Moorter, Bram; Strand, Olav; Kivimäki, Ilkka; Saerens, Marco; Stien, Audun; Tveraa, Torkild; Langeland, Knut; Gundersen, Vegard; Eftestøl, Sindre; Tsegaye, Diress; Coleman, Jonathan I.R. (Keynote talk) 2021. How to Quantify the Cumulative Impact of Human Activities on reindeer and aid Sustainable Land Planning". 18th North American Caribou Workshop (link) 

     [14] Van Moorter B, Kivimaki I, Panzacchi M, Saura S, Strand O, Saerens M (under review) Connecting the niche: Going beyond mere suitable towards functional habitat by including accessibility and connectivity

[15] Dorber, M., Panzacchi, M., Strand, O, B. van Moorter. New indicator of habitat functionality reveals high risk of underestimating trade-offs among sustainable development goals: The case of wild reindeer and hydropower. Ambio (2023)

[16] Niebuhr B. Bernardo, Bram Van Moorter, Audun Stien, Torkild Tveraa, Olav Strand, Knut Langeland, Per Sandström, Moudud Alam, Anna Skarin, Manuela Panzacchi ((2023). Estimating the cumulative impact and zone of influence of anthropogenic infrastructure on biodiversity.  Methos in Ecology and Evolution, 19 (9):2362-2375 

[17] Hagen D, Evju M, Henriksen PS, Solli S, Erikstad L, Bartlett J. (2022). From military training area to National Park over 20 years: Indicators for outcome evaluation in a large-scale restoration project in alpine Norway. Journal for Nature Conservation, 66

[18] Hagen, D., Henriksen, P. S., Solli, S., Løkstad, V. & Evju, M. 2022. Fra skytefelt til nasjonalpark. Restaurering av Hjerkinn skytefelt på Dovrefjell. NINA Temahefte 86. Norsk institutt for naturforskning 

[19] Web-App for GreenInfrastructure managment in Norway: https://sites.google.com/view/greeninfrastructureapp/home  

[20] Niebuhr B. B, Panzacchi M, van Moorter B (2022). oneimpact: Tools for the assessment of cumulative impacts of anthropogenic disturbance on ecological studies. https://github.com/NINAnor/oneimpact, https://ninanor.github.io/oneimpact/. OneImpact R/GRASS GIS tools

[21] Niebuhr B.B, Sant’Ana D., Panzacchi M., van Moorter B., Sandström P., Morato R.G., Skarin A (2022). Renewable energy infrastructure impacts biodiversity beyond the area it occupies. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 119 (48) e2208815119

[22] Panzacchi M. et al 2023. Vannkraft spiser mer av villreinens leveområder enn mange tror. Nyheter (nina.no) [popular science - in Norwegian] 

[23] Van Moorter B, Kivimäki I, Panzacchi M, Saura S, Niebuhr B.B., Strand O, Saerens M. (2023) Habitat Functionality: integrating environmental and geographic space in niche modelling for conservation planning. Ecology 104(7): e4105

[24] Kivimäki I, B. Van Moorter, M. Saerens (2024). Sensitivity to network perturbations in the randomized shortest paths framework: theory and applications in ecological connectivity. Journal of Physics: Complexity, Volume 5, Number 2. DOI 10.1088/2632-072X/ad4841

FURTHER READS

• Broekman M. J.E., Hilbers J.P., Huijbregts M. A.J., Mueller T., … Panzacchi M. ... & Tucker M. (2022) Evaluating expert-based habitat suitability information of terrestrial mammals with GPS-tracking data. Global Ecology and Biogeography

• Van Moorter, B., Engen, S., Fryxell, J.M., Panzacchi, M., Nilsen, E.B., Mysterud, A. (2020) Consequences of barriers and changing seasonality on population dynamics and harvest of migratory ungulates. Theoretical Ecology 13, 595–605

• Joly K, Gunn A, Côté S., Panzacchi M, Adamczewski J, Suitor MJ, Gurarie E. (2021) Caribou and reindeer migrations in the changing Arctic. Animal Migration. 8:156–167

• Linnell JDC, Cretois B, Nilsen EB, Rolandsen C, Solberg EJ, Veiberg V, Kaczensky P, Van Moorter B, Panzacchi M; Rauset GR, Kaltenborn B. (2020). The challenges and opportunities of coexisting with wild ungulates in the human-dominated landscapes of Europe's Anthropocene in Biological Conservation,, 244

• Gundersen V, Vistad O, Panzacchi M, Strand O, Van Moorter B (2019). Large-scale segregation of tourists and wild reindeer in three Norwegian national parks: Management implications. Tourism Management 75, 22-33 

• Moving in the Anthropocene: Global reductions in terrestrial mammalian movements. Tucker M, Böhning-Gaese K, Fagan F, Fryxell J, Bram Van Moorter et al. 2018, Science. 359(6374): 466-469

• Beyer H, E Gurarie, L Börger, Panzacchi M, Basille M, Herfindal I, Van Moorter B, Lele S,  Matthiopoulos J (2016)  ‘You shall not pass!’: quantifying barrier permeability and proximity avoidance by animals (pages 43–53) Journal of Animal Ecology, Special Issue 85-1

• Cagnacci F, Focardi S, Ghisla A, van Moorter B, Merrill E, Gurarie E, Heurich M, Mysterud A, Linnell J, Panzacchi M, May R, Nygård T, Rolandsen C, Hebblewhite M (2016). How many routes lead to migration? Comparison of methods to assess and characterize migratory movements. Journal of Animal Ecology, Special Issue, 85-1

• Panzacchi M., Van Moorter B., Strand, O. (2013) Learning from the past to predict the future: Modelling archaeological findings and GPS data to quantify reindeer sensitivity to anthropogenic disturbance in Norway. Landscape Ecology, Special Issue 28:847–859

• Panzacchi M., Van Moorter B., Strand, O. (2013) A road in the middle of one of the last wild reindeer migrations routes in Norway: crossing behaviour and threats to conservation. Rangifer, Special Issue 21: 15-26

• Ruud A., Kaltenborn B. P. Wild Reindeer and hydropower: Can regional planning processes make a difference?  Kart og Plan, Vol. 77, pp. 360–377

• Mark S. Boyce, Chris J. Johnson, Evelyn H. Merrill, Scott E. Nielsen, Erling J. Solberg and Bram van Moorter (2016) REVIEW: Can habitat selection predict abundance? (11–20) . Journal of Animal Ecology, Special Feature Review: Stuck in Motion? Reconnecting Questions and Tools in Movement Ecology 

• Borger L. (2015) EDITORIAL: Stuck in motion? Reconnecting questions and tools in movement ecology. Journal of Animal Ecology, 5:10

• Broekman, M.J., Hilbers, J.P., Huijbregts, M.A., Mueller, T., Ali, A.H., Andrén, H., Altmann, J., Aronsson, M., Attias, N., Bartlam‐Brooks, H.L. and van Beest, F.M., 2022. Evaluating expert‐based habitat suitability information of terrestrial mammals with GPS‐tracking data. Global Ecology and Biogeography

Reports (most in Norwegian)

• 2021  Gundersen V, Van Moorter B, Panzacchi M, Rauset GR, Strand O. Villrein-ferdselsanalyser på Hardangervidda. Anbefalinger og tiltak. Lillehammer: Norsk institutt for naturforskning (NINA) 96 s. NINA rapport (1903)

• 2019   Stange E., Panzacchi M., Van Moorter B. Modelling green infrastructure for conservation and land planning – a Pilot Study. Suggestions for analyzing the functional connectedness of high-quality habitat to aid sustainable land use planning. Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, ISBN 978-82-426-3368-2, NINA report 1625, 72 p.

• 2016 Gunn, A.; Cuyler, C.; Mizin, I.; Panzacchi M; Russell, D.; Seip, D.; Sipko, T.; Strand, Olav; Henttonen, H.; Tikhonov, A.  Rangifer tarandus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016  

• 2015  Strand, O., Gundersen, V., Jordhøy, P., Andersen, R., Nerhoel, I., Panzacchi, M og B. Van Moorter. Villreinens arealbruk i Knutshø. Resultater fra GPS-undersøkelsene - NINA Report 1019 

• 2015  Strand, O., Gundersen, V., Jordhøy, P., Andersen, R., Nerhoel, I., Panzacchi, M., Van Moorter, B. Villrein og ferdsel i Rondane. Sluttrapport fra GPS-merkeprosjektet 2009–2014. NINA report 1013:170 pp.

• 2015  Strand, O., Jordhøy, P., Panzacchi, M., Van Moorter, B. Veger og villrein. Oppsummering – overvåking av Rv7 over Hardangervidda. NINA report 1121: 47 pp.

• 2013  Gundersen V, Olsson T, Strand O, Mackay M, Panzacchi M, Van Moorter B. Nordfjella villreinområde. Konsekvens av planforslag for villrein, friluftsliv og reiseliv. NINA Report 956:71pp

• 2013  Gundersen, V., Nerhoel, I., Strand, O. & Panzacchi M. Ferdsel i Snøhettaområdet. Sluttrapport. NINA Rapport 932. 70 p.

• 2012  Wold, L. C., Gundersen, V., Nerhoel, I., Strand, O. Panzacchi, M., Dokk. J. G. & O. Andersen. 2012. Friluftsliv og turisme i Nordfjella villreinområde - NINA Rapport 850. 37 s.

• 2012 P Jordhøy, R Sørensen, O Strand, R Andersen og M Panzacchi. Villreinen i Snøhetta- og Knutshøområdet. Status og leveområde. NINA Report 800. 102 pp.

• 2011 Strand O., Jordhøy P., Mossing A., Knudsen P.A. , Nesse L., Skjerdal H., Panzacchi M., Andersen R., Gundersen V. Villreinen i Nordfjella. Status og leveområde. NINA-rapport 634. 110 pp.

• 2011 Strand O, Panzacchi M, Van Moorter B, Bay LA, Andersen R, Jordhøy P, Nielsen EB. Villreinens bruk av Setesdalsheiene- Sluttrapport fra GPS merkeprosjektet 2006-2010. NINA Rapport 694. 164 pp. 

•  2011 Gundersen V, Wold L, Andersen O, Panzacchi M Ferdsel i Nordfjella 2010: Verdiskapning, tilrettelegging og ferdselsintensitet i villreinens leveområder. NINA-Rapport 697.  

• 2010 Strand O, Gundersen V, Panzacchi M, Andersen O, Falldorf T, Andersen R, Van Moorter B, Jordhøy P, Fangel K. Ferdsel i villreinens leveområder. NINA Rapport 551. 101pp