Please stay on the path to protect the sensitive vegetation and the biocrust.
Second World War
Do not touch or remove any archaeological traces that you encounter!
Microclimate and plant diversity
Rough terrains characterize the mountainous Arctic areas, such as the Kilpisjärvi region. Mountains and fells dominate these northern landscapes, but they are also rich in small-scale topographic features: ridges and gorges, hollows, and hummocks. The main relief here was formed by ancient orographic lifts and ice ages, but the local topography is still shaped by current processes such as running water, wind, and freeze–thaw cycles.
Norway lemming
The Norway lemming is an arvicoline rodent (subfamily including voles and lemmings), famous for its bright colouration, sometimes aggressive behaviour and, most of all, its periodic migrations. Another special feature of this little rodent is its exceptional diet, a significant part of which consists of mosses. The majority of the winter diet of lemmings can consist of mosses, and mosses also make up a substantial part of their diet in the summer. Because the nutritional value of moss is poor, lemmings must consume great amounts of it, leaving fell heaths almost bare after a population peak . On the other hand, Norway lemmings also leave behind a great deal of droppings, which can be seen on the fells after peak population years.
Changes in bird abundances
Mountain bird populations are dynamic, and their numbers change from year to year. Many mountain birds are not very faithful to their previous breeding sites, and they can move long distances when looking for suitable breeding places. The changes in mountain bird populations are linked to climatic conditions, but insect and rodent populations also affect bird abundances.
Differing snow cover
Snow does not cover the land evenly. Snow depth varies greatly, especially in places like Kilpisjärvi where both fells and mountain birch forests are found in a relatively small area, and slopes of varying steepness face different compass directions. Wind notably affects snow distribution. In places where the wind accelerates, snow grains erode from the surface of the snow cover, and thin and wind-packed snow cover forms. Wind transports the snow. In places where the wind slows down, the transported snow accumulates as deep snowbanks. Wind, along with topography, forest canopy, and shrubs or other ground vegetation affects how much snow accumulates on the ground in any specific location. In fell environments, places with some ground vegetation have higher surface roughness than places without any. More snow accumulates in places with higher surface roughness.
Avalanches
Avalanches are a natural phenomenon, where a large mass of snow moves rapidly down a slope. The release of an avalanche depends mainly on the inner structure of the snow cover: thickness, continuity, and strength of the snow layers. A change in weather or the weight of a skier can trigger an avalanche when conditions are right.
World War 2 military landscapes
Do not touch or remove any archaeological traces that you encounter!
Secrets in the lake bottom
Diverse lakes and ponds are typical in the Arctic landscape. Waterbodies provide crucial habitats and resources for wildlife and serve key roles in carbon and nutrient cycling. Lakes also provide long-term material and carbon sinks. Layers of mud or sediments are continuously accumulating at lake bottoms. Sediments often form metres-thick chronological deposits of former aquatic and terrestrial organisms, fine-grained clay and silt from the catchment, and airborne particles such as plant pollen and soot.
Past climate and landscape in Kilpisjärvi
Following the last glaciation event, the climate warmed due to increasing solar insolation following changes to the Earth’s position on its orbit. The edge of the Fennoscandian Ice Sheet began receding from the Norwegian coast 11 700 years ago and the Earth entered the present interglacial era, the Holocene. The landscape around lake Saanajärvi was ice-free around 10 500 years ago. The edge of the ice sheet remained south of lake Kilpisjärvi, which was then an ice-dammed lake with water levels reaching heights over 500 metres above sea level.
Fish stocking in Lapland
Stocking means adding fish from a fish farm or lake to another lake.
Climate change in time
Anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions have caused most of the Earth’s climate warming over the past century. But the planet’s climate has always been changing. How is present climate change different from past changes?
Breathing Microworlds
Can you see the microworld that looks like a mixture between a creek and a pond? It is about 400 metres north of you, just down the slope of Saana. Maybe it is a well?The running water gathers an overwhelming amount of moss and lots of other inhabitants such as tardigrades and other microbes. When you listen closely, you can hear the moss breathing, slowly, over the course of days and months.
Emerging Microworlds
There is a small body of water about a hundred metres west from you, hidden away slightly below the turf. Small rocks are scattered around it, while grass-like plants are sparsely growing from its bottom through the water surface. In summer and autumn, the water is very clear, and you can easily see the narrow bottom. Can you imagine how the wind sounds blowing through the grass?
Rotting Microworlds
Quite close to the path and slightly downhill you may spot a massive boulder with a tiny pond next to it. With its various microclimates that emerge from the configurations of rockfaces, nooks and water surfaces, it is host to a multitude of plants, mushrooms and insects.When you close your eyes and listen carefully, you may hear the sounds of the wind blowing over the rock and the insects buzzing around the pond. Do you hear the microbes that are slowly decomposing and transforming rock, plants and insects alike?
Slalom skiing on Saana
Do not touch or remove any archaeological or historical traces that you encounter!
Listening in
In our imagination, the remote landscapes within the Arctic circle are wild and untouched in comparison to the more densely populated areas of Europe. However, tourism activities in these areas are increasing, not just in summer but also during the winter months. This naturally has many positive outcomes for both the local population and visitors, and, when well managed, can have minimal impacts on the landscape. However, some activities have wider-reaching consequences that are harder to understand.
Shrubification
Vegetation in the treeless tundra biome is small statured but diverse, consisting of various shrubs, grasses, sedges, mosses, and lichens. They are all adapted to the cold, snowy, and windy conditions with short growing seasons. However, rapid Arctic climate warming over the past few decades is shifting the tundra vegetation. Shrubs and trees in particular are growing taller, wider, and taking over new habitats that were previously too cold for them, in a process called shrubification.
