Monitoring large herbivore effects on vegetation in Greenland - Workshop report. Technical Report No. 47

Greenland Institute of Natural Resources
(GN) has established an extensive network
with expertise on large ungulate research
and management. Objectives of the network include the enhancement of the research quality and competence at GN as
well as the development of monitoring protocols, research programs and sustainable
management plans for large ungulates in
Greenland. Besides the importance of building a net-work group, another important
task is to seek co-ordination and collaboration with international research groups
with project interests within Greenland.

In parallel with comprehensive research on
monitoring techniques and ungulate ecology, the institute has arranged two international workshops on caribou and muskoxen. The first workshop was about the
establishment of goals for managing caribou
and muskoxen in Greenland, whereas the
present delt with the methods needed to
monitor ungulate populations and vegetation. The present workshop gathered researchers and representatives from GN, The
Home rule Governments’ Directorate for
Fishery, Hunting and Villages, experts from
the Nordic countries, USA, Scotland and
France. The workshop covered a background session on ungulates and grazing as
well as a session on mapping the different
monitoring and research tools available. Relevant questions on future monitoring and
future research plans within Greenland
were also addressed.

The workshop recommended that future
monitoring should be built so that gathered
material are processed and available for
translation into management advice in a
fast and efficient way. Several questions
needs to be addressed. How is this herbivore plant balance and how can we be able to
predict when populations growing too large
and what densities can be within the different areas? A number of rapid habitat assessments to address sustainability questions
in the short term, as well as building up a  database in the long term are necessary. As
a first step the refinement of the existing
feedback system from the hunters should be
manifested in simpler and clearer forms as
well as expanding/developing the cooperation with locals to carry out simple monitoring procedures on vegetation and the density of animals. On a longer term the institutes’ research and monitoring program
should be co-ordinated and carried out in
co-operation with the other relevant research interests from abroad.

The workshop and net work building is
finaced by the Nordic Council (NARP Programme) and GN.