Characteristics of the Snow Cover and Its Relationship to Wild Mountain Reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus L.) Feeding Strategies

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Abstract
Snow profiles were sampled along an east-west gradient in wild reindeer home range from winter ground in the east to calving ground in the west. Hardness to ramsonde at Finse (west) increased from 22-395 kg from early to late winter; hardness in the winter habitat (east) increased from 40-140 kg in uncratered areas and from 15-27 kg in cratered areas (P < 0.01, t-test between west, uncratered and cratered areas). Density increased from 0.20-0.37 g cm-3 in early winter to 0.40-0.55 g cm-3 in late winter prior to melt off (P < 0.01, t-test between areas). Hardness measured with the spring penetrometer increased from 200-400 g cm-2 in early winter to 800-1000 g cm-2 in late winter prior to melt off in cratered areas. The ramsonde was used to measure the wind-hardened snow and the spring penetrometer to measure soft snow. Pawing rate (strokes per minute) decreased linearly with increasing density (Y = 0.54X + 20.3, r = 0.96, P < 0.01) and exponentially with hardness (g cm-2) (Y = 52.7 - 6.94 ln X, r = 0.92, P < 0.01). Significantly different semilogarithmic relationships between density and hardness were found in cratered areas and in uncratered areas. Wind-hardening influenced snow structure more in uncratered than cratered areas. Crater depths decreased inversely with increasing density (Y = -8.08 - 22.86 ln X, n = 8, r = 0.8, P < 0.01; and hardness, Y = 61.23 - 7.58 ln X, r = 0.83, P < 0.01) restricting reindeer to the upper zone of the Loiseleurio-Arctostaphylion heaths. Collapse of snow structure in May in the low alpine zone was the major factor accounting for reindeer movement into the middle alpine zone, where there was a supportive snow cover but more restricted grazing areas.

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