Ecological and economical carrying capacity for moose in the boreal forests of Scandinavia

Moose hunting is important for rural economy in Norway. Today its meat value alone exceeds € 60 million. In the future we expect the per capita value of moose to increase, as it is an alternative income for a hard-pressed agriculture. This is an inciteme nt for increasing the population. However, a high number of moose are not merely beneficial, neither for private landowners nor for the society at large. Negative effects of too many moose nearly all originate from forage over-consumption. If dominating tree species is retarded by moose browsing, the consequences are far-reaching for both structure and composition of the future forest. At high densities the moose impact can in fact be the most significant biological driving force in the system, only over ridden by stochastic events like abiotic catastrophes and biological epidemics. During the last decade intensive browsing damage has been recorded in several parts of Norway. Consequently many local moose populations have been reduced. For the forestry t his has had immediate positive effects, while the declining moose condition does not seem to respond un-equivocally. However, no conclusion should be drawn without simultaneously quantifying the change in forage availability. Through a comprehensive stu dy of the moose: forage relationship we will gather data needed to estimate moose ecological and economical carrying capacity. This will later be used in bio-economic optimization models. Our project will be the first ever to go trans-diciplinary with in- depth field studies to assess optimal management of moose and timber. While this may only be an initial step towards the holistic approach we ultimately should practice in managing our boreal forests, it is actually the final step needed for realistically planning the economically optimal management of private land. Although the latter may be an end-product in itself, we hope it will be a stepping stone for future integration of similarly related projects.