Can a snow structure model estimate snow characteristics relevant to reindeer husbandry?

Snow affects foraging conditions of reindeer e.g. by increasing the energy expenditures for moving and digging work or, in contrast, by making access of arboreal lichen easier. Still the studies concentrating on the role of the snow pack structure on reindeer population dynamics and reindeer management are few. We aim to find out which of the snow characteristics are relevant for reindeer in the northern boreal zone according to the experiences of reindeer herders and is this relevance seen also in reproduction rate of reindeer in this area. We also aim to validate the ability of the snow model SNOWPACK to reliably estimate the relevant snow structure characteristics. We combined meteorolog…