Professor E-mail: christina.skarpe@hihm.no Phone: +47 62430835 Fax: +47 62430851 Mailing address: Hedmark University College Faculty of Forestry and Wildlife Management Campus Evenstad NO-2480 Koppang Norway
Research interests: My main research interests concern interactions between large terrestrial herbivores on the one hand and plants (particularly woody plants), vegetation and ecosystem processes on the other. Heterogeneity of such interactive systems in space and time and the dynamics induced by global drivers such as climate, and changing land use patterns become increasingly important aspects. I have most experience from African savannas, but also from Central America, the steppic areas of China and arctic Spitsbergen. Recently grazing in the mountains and browsing by moose in the forests of Norway have taken an increasing part of my interest.

Selected projects:

• Ecology of savanna heterogeneity and mammalian herbivores – Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), Hedmark University College, 2004-
• Bio-engineering multi-functional silvopastoral landscapes: A case study in Nicaragua (SILPAS) In cooperation with Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA), University for Life Sciences (UMB), Centre for Tropical Agricultural Research and Education (CATIE), Fundación Centro de Estudios Ambientales del Mediterráneo (CEAM) – The Research Council of Norway 2009-2013; participant
• Functional Diversity: An ecological framework for sustainable and adaptable agro-forestry systems in landscapes of semi-arid and arid eco-regions (FUNCITree) Cooperation between Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA), Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza (CATIE), Wageningen University (WUR), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas (CSIC), Centre de Cooperation Internationale en Recherhé Agronomique pour le Développement (CIRAD), Institut Sénégalais de Recherches Agricoles (ISRA) & Institut d’Economie Rurale (IER), EU 2009-2013; participant
• Effects of browsing and season on defense and growth of selected woody species at the Nkuhlu exclosure, Kruger National Park, South Africa. In cooperation with University of Zululand (UZ) and Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), National Research Foundation, Swedish Research Council, Swedish International Development Co-operation Agency (SIDA) 2005-2008; participant
• Tops and branches from forestry as moose feed With Glommen Skog AS (Glommen Skog AS & Hedmark University College) 2007-2008; Scientific leader
• Mammalian herbivore communities and their food plants; a comparative approach - Scandinavia - Kamchatka In cooperation with Swedish University for Agricultural Sciences (Umeå) (Swedish Polar Secretariat) 2008; participant

Refereed publications since 2004 (author names in italics are persons supervised by me) :

Kalwij, J.M., de Boer, W.F., Mucina, L., Prins, H.H.T., Skarpe, C . & Winterbach, C. – Tree

cover and biomass increase in a southern African savanna despite growing elephant

population. Ecological Applications (in press)

Rusch, G.M., Skarpe, C. & Halley, D.J. 2009. Plant traits link hypotheses about resource-

use and responses to herbivory. Basic and Applied Ecology 10: 466-474

Wallgren, M., Skarpe, C . Bergström, R., Danell, K., Bergström, A., Jakobsson, T., Karlsson,

K. & Strand, T. 2009. Influence of land use on the abundance of wildlife and

livestock in the Kalahari, Botswana. Journal of Arid Environments 73: 314-321

Wallgren, M ., Bergström, R., Danell, K. & Skarpe, C . 2009. Wildlife community patterns in

relation to landscape structure and environmental gradients in a Swedish boreal ecosystem. Wildlife Biology 15: 310-318

Wallgren, M., Skarpe, C . Bergström, R., Danell, K., Granlund, L. and Bergström, A. 2008

Mammal community structure in relation to human disturbance and key resources in southern Africa. African Journal of Ecology 47: 20-30

Dalerum, F., Lange, H., Skarpe, C ., Rooke, T ., Inga, B. & Bateman, F.W. 2008. Foraging

competition, vigilance and group size; a simple modell using total time budget on

observational data. South African Journal of Wildlife Research 38: 138-145

Esquivel, J., Harvey, C.A., Finegan, B., Casanoves, F. & Skarpe, C . 2008. Effects of pasture

management on natural regeneration of trees and shrubs in neotropical pastures. Journal of Applied Ecology 45: 371-380

Hassan, S.N., Rusch, G.M., Hytteborn, H., Skarpe, C . & Kikula, I. 2007 Effects of fire on

sward structure and grazing in western Serengeti, Tanzania. African Journal of

Ecology 46: 174-185

Skarpe, C . & Hester, A.J. 2007. The impacts of browsing and grazing on plant population

dynamics. In: Gordon, I. & Prins, H. (Eds.) Ecology of Grazing and Browsing of Mammalian Herbivores . Springer Verlag. pp 217-262

Skarpe, C. , Jansson, I., Seljeli, L., Bergström, R. & Røskaft, E. 2007.Browsing by goats on

three spatial scales in a semi-arid savanna. Journal of Arid Environments 68: 480-491

Garnier, E., Lavorel, S.,Ansquer, P., Castro, H., Cruz, P., Dolezal, J., Eriksson, O., Fortunel,

C., Freitas, H., Golodets, C., Grigulis, K., Jouany, C., Kazakou, E., Kigel, J., Kleyer,

M., Lehsten, V., Leps, J., Meier, T., Pakeman, R., Papadimitriou, M., Papanastasis,

V.P., Quested, H., Quetier, F., Robson, M., Roumet, C., Rusch, G., Skarpe, C. ,

Sternberg, M., Theau, J., Thebault, T., Vile, D. and Zarovali M. P. 2007 Assessing

the Effects of Land-use Change on Plant Traits, Communities and Ecosystem

Functioning in Grasslands: A Standardized Methodology and Lessons from an

Application to 11 European Sites. Annals of Botany 99: 967-985