Vegard Gundersen
Biographic Data
| ID | 1347383 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Vegard Gundersen |
| GIVEN NAMES | Vegard |
| FAMILY NAME | Gundersen |
| SIGNATURE | GUNDERSEN V |
| AFFILIATIONS | Norwegian Institute for Nature Research |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-3337-2479 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 19 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 17 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 19 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2008 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
Impacts of forest clear-cutting on recreational activity
People prefer intact forests, but there is little research on behavioural avoidance of forest clear-cuts. • We used before-after-control-impact design using 2.7 M recreational activities from Strava across 10,781 forest clear-cuts. • We found a negative effect on total activity, but positive effect on skiing. • Clear-cutting impacts on recreation were more pronounced near urban areas. • Implications for trade-offs between provisioning and cultura…
Co-producing tools for integrating visitor management in municipal planning – lessons from a Norwegian case study
This paper explores how visitor management can be operationalized to support sustainable development of peripheral mountainous communities facing tourism pressures. It argues for anchoring visitor management into municipal planning to align tourism and second home development with local community needs and goals. Building on results co-produced through interdisciplinary and collaborative case-study research, the paper presents six methods to atte…
Children’s Nature Use and Related Constraints
A growing number of research studies show that children spend less time in natural environments, which may have detrimental effects on children's mental and physical health. This study explores changes in children's (6-12 years) use of nearby nature and constraints on playing in nature between 2013 and 2023. We apply an ecological approach, including individual, social, and structural constraints on outdoor play. The study is based on national su…
Children’s and Adolescents’ Use of Nature During the Covid-19 Pandemic in a Very Green Country
Play, physical activity, and social interaction with other children in nature are important for healthy and social development in childhood and adolescence. The extent to which lockdown policies during the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the way children engaged in outdoor activities remains unclear, especially in a country with free access to abundant nature during the pandemic. We performed a national survey of parents ( n = 1002) in Norway in Janua…
Bias and precision of crowdsourced recreational activity data from Strava
Recreational activity is the single most valuable ecosystem service in many developed countries with a range of benefits for public health. Crowdsourced recreational activity data is increasingly being adopted in management and monitoring of urban landscapes, however inherent biases in the data make it difficult to generalize patterns to the total population. We used in-situ observations and questionnaires to quantify accuracy in Strava data - a …
A review of reindeer ( Rangifer tarandus tarandus ) disturbance research in Northern Europe
Disturbance of wild reindeer from human activity is a key challenge for wildlife management. We reviewed recent literature on reindeer disturbance in Northern Europe and discuss a major lacuna in this field of research, namely knowledge about the complexity of human behaviour, which is the major agent of disturbance. Past studies have rarely included detailed data on human activities, but instead treated fixed infrastructure as valid proxies for …
Differing perceptions and tensions among tourists and locals concerning a national park region in Norway
In the context of national park management, landscape conservation, and tourism development in a mountain region in Norway, the aim of the research is to analyse how tourists, residents, and local stakeholders experience and practise their participation in the landscapes. A mixed methods approach was used, which included focus group meetings, semi-structured interviews, an on-site survey, and two Internet surveys to gain in-depth knowledge of tou…
Spatiotemporal tourism pattern in a large reindeer ( Rangifer tarandus tarandus ) range as an important factor in disturbance research and management
Tourism and recreation in protected areas may compromise conservation values if their forms and volumes exceed the area’s tolerance. Disturbance-sensitive species such as wild and semi-domestic reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus) in most mountain areas in Fennoscandia are particularly vulnerable to humans, but disturbance research seldom includes data on the human component of this co-existence. By estimating the visitor volume in space and tim…
Land use planning in disputed mountain areas
Mountain areas are often subject to conflicts between different user interests and protection. The authors examine land use planning processes in Norway applied in accordance with the Planning and Building Act and the Nature Diversity Act and discuss how they might be improved. They find that although influenced by trends of decentralization, inclusion and integration, and principles for multilevel governance, the land use planning approaches for…
Back to nature
In Oslo, as elsewhere, the COVID-19 outbreak and the following lockdown measures during spring 2020 led to increased use of urban green infrastructure. Whether this has led to more durable changes in recreation patterns remains an open question. We used mobile tracking data from 53,000 STRAVA users to explore the longevity of increases in recreational activity. We compared 2020 activity levels relative to a weather benchmark (i.e. baseline), defi…
A river runs through the landscape
The meaning of riverine landscapes to society has evolved to serve our ever-changing needs, from harvesting and transporting resources to arenas for outdoor recreation and contemplation. From the 18th century, rivers have been important resources for industry and hydroelectric power. The objective of this study is to explore and describe the rhythms of everyday use of a river environment using multiple quantitative and qualitative methods, and to…
Urban nature in a time of crisis
The global response to the COVID-19 pandemic has brought with it significant changes to human mobility patterns and working environments. We aimed to explore how social distancing measures affected recreational use of urban green space during the partial lockdown in Oslo, Norway. Mobile tracking data from thousands of recreationists were used to analyze high resolution spatio-temporal changes in activity. We estimated that outdoor recreational ac…
The unique spatial ecology of human hunters
Seeing the Forest for the Trees
Forested lands serve multiple needs, and the priorities that go into balancing the competing demands can vary over time. In addition to being the source of timber and other natural resources, forested lands provide a number of other services such as biodiversity conservation and opportunities for outdoor recreation. While allocations that enhance conservation and recreation can involve expenses and lost revenue, mechanisms exist to provide landow…
Large-scale segregation of tourists and wild reindeer in three Norwegian national parks
The challenge to harmonize nature-based tourism with species conservation is important both from an economic, cultural and ecological perspective. One approach for understanding this interaction is to compare the spatiotemporal overlap between tourism activities and the focal species’ space use, with the purpose to identify areas, periods, and conditions in which tourism exerts the highest negative impact. Here, we combine GPS data from 66 wild r…
The beat of the mountain
This article discusses how studying rhythms can help us better understand and manage spatiotemporal tensions in social-ecological landscapes, highlighting the potential of rhythmanalysis as a tool for crossing scientific and methodological borders. The empirical material is from a study of human and non-human users and uses of the highly valued Dovrefjell mountain area in Norway, with particular attention to the much-debated Snøheim Road. We take…
Linking Social Values of Wild Reindeer to Planning and Management Options in Southern Norway
Norway is home to the last remaining populations of wild mountain reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus) in Europe. Concerns over anthropogenic and natural drivers have led to change in the management regime from a population-based model to an area-based model. More complex management goals, increasing involvement of stakeholders, and larger management units call for improved knowledge about reindeer-related values. We examined the responses of 10…
How to engage children with nature
Children's nature experiences are to an increasing degree organized by adults and involve adult's presence. A qualitative study of the Norwegian nationwide Children's Trekking Club explores how children interact with nature through organized events with varying degrees of adult management and planning. The study shows that free and spontaneous play functions as a key to more bodily, emotional and sensuous interaction with nature in contrast to wh…
Public preferences for forest structures
The beat of the mountain
This article discusses how studying rhythms can help us better understand and manage spatiotemporal tensions in social-ecological landscapes, highlighting the potential of rhythmanalysis as a tool for crossing scientific and methodological borders. The empirical material is from a study of human and non-human users and uses of the highly valued Dovrefjell mountain area in Norway, with particular attention to the much-debated Snøheim Road. We take…
How to engage children with nature
Children's nature experiences are to an increasing degree organized by adults and involve adult's presence. A qualitative study of the Norwegian nationwide Children's Trekking Club explores how children interact with nature through organized events with varying degrees of adult management and planning. The study shows that free and spontaneous play functions as a key to more bodily, emotional and sensuous interaction with nature in contrast to wh…
Large-scale segregation of tourists and wild reindeer in three Norwegian national parks
The challenge to harmonize nature-based tourism with species conservation is important both from an economic, cultural and ecological perspective. One approach for understanding this interaction is to compare the spatiotemporal overlap between tourism activities and the focal species’ space use, with the purpose to identify areas, periods, and conditions in which tourism exerts the highest negative impact. Here, we combine GPS data from 66 wild r…
The unique spatial ecology of human hunters
Differing perceptions and tensions among tourists and locals concerning a national park region in Norway
In the context of national park management, landscape conservation, and tourism development in a mountain region in Norway, the aim of the research is to analyse how tourists, residents, and local stakeholders experience and practise their participation in the landscapes. A mixed methods approach was used, which included focus group meetings, semi-structured interviews, an on-site survey, and two Internet surveys to gain in-depth knowledge of tou…
Seeing the Forest for the Trees
Forested lands serve multiple needs, and the priorities that go into balancing the competing demands can vary over time. In addition to being the source of timber and other natural resources, forested lands provide a number of other services such as biodiversity conservation and opportunities for outdoor recreation. While allocations that enhance conservation and recreation can involve expenses and lost revenue, mechanisms exist to provide landow…
Public preferences for forest structures
How to engage children with nature
Children's nature experiences are to an increasing degree organized by adults and involve adult's presence. A qualitative study of the Norwegian nationwide Children's Trekking Club explores how children interact with nature through organized events with varying degrees of adult management and planning. The study shows that free and spontaneous play functions as a key to more bodily, emotional and sensuous interaction with nature in contrast to wh…
Linking Social Values of Wild Reindeer to Planning and Management Options in Southern Norway
Norway is home to the last remaining populations of wild mountain reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus) in Europe. Concerns over anthropogenic and natural drivers have led to change in the management regime from a population-based model to an area-based model. More complex management goals, increasing involvement of stakeholders, and larger management units call for improved knowledge about reindeer-related values. We examined the responses of 10…
The beat of the mountain
This article discusses how studying rhythms can help us better understand and manage spatiotemporal tensions in social-ecological landscapes, highlighting the potential of rhythmanalysis as a tool for crossing scientific and methodological borders. The empirical material is from a study of human and non-human users and uses of the highly valued Dovrefjell mountain area in Norway, with particular attention to the much-debated Snøheim Road. We take…
Seeing the Forest for the Trees
Forested lands serve multiple needs, and the priorities that go into balancing the competing demands can vary over time. In addition to being the source of timber and other natural resources, forested lands provide a number of other services such as biodiversity conservation and opportunities for outdoor recreation. While allocations that enhance conservation and recreation can involve expenses and lost revenue, mechanisms exist to provide landow…
Large-scale segregation of tourists and wild reindeer in three Norwegian national parks
The challenge to harmonize nature-based tourism with species conservation is important both from an economic, cultural and ecological perspective. One approach for understanding this interaction is to compare the spatiotemporal overlap between tourism activities and the focal species’ space use, with the purpose to identify areas, periods, and conditions in which tourism exerts the highest negative impact. Here, we combine GPS data from 66 wild r…
Urban nature in a time of crisis
The global response to the COVID-19 pandemic has brought with it significant changes to human mobility patterns and working environments. We aimed to explore how social distancing measures affected recreational use of urban green space during the partial lockdown in Oslo, Norway. Mobile tracking data from thousands of recreationists were used to analyze high resolution spatio-temporal changes in activity. We estimated that outdoor recreational ac…
The unique spatial ecology of human hunters
Spatiotemporal tourism pattern in a large reindeer ( Rangifer tarandus tarandus ) range as an important factor in disturbance research and management
Tourism and recreation in protected areas may compromise conservation values if their forms and volumes exceed the area’s tolerance. Disturbance-sensitive species such as wild and semi-domestic reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus) in most mountain areas in Fennoscandia are particularly vulnerable to humans, but disturbance research seldom includes data on the human component of this co-existence. By estimating the visitor volume in space and tim…
Land use planning in disputed mountain areas
Mountain areas are often subject to conflicts between different user interests and protection. The authors examine land use planning processes in Norway applied in accordance with the Planning and Building Act and the Nature Diversity Act and discuss how they might be improved. They find that although influenced by trends of decentralization, inclusion and integration, and principles for multilevel governance, the land use planning approaches for…
Back to nature
In Oslo, as elsewhere, the COVID-19 outbreak and the following lockdown measures during spring 2020 led to increased use of urban green infrastructure. Whether this has led to more durable changes in recreation patterns remains an open question. We used mobile tracking data from 53,000 STRAVA users to explore the longevity of increases in recreational activity. We compared 2020 activity levels relative to a weather benchmark (i.e. baseline), defi…
A river runs through the landscape
The meaning of riverine landscapes to society has evolved to serve our ever-changing needs, from harvesting and transporting resources to arenas for outdoor recreation and contemplation. From the 18th century, rivers have been important resources for industry and hydroelectric power. The objective of this study is to explore and describe the rhythms of everyday use of a river environment using multiple quantitative and qualitative methods, and to…
A review of reindeer ( Rangifer tarandus tarandus ) disturbance research in Northern Europe
Disturbance of wild reindeer from human activity is a key challenge for wildlife management. We reviewed recent literature on reindeer disturbance in Northern Europe and discuss a major lacuna in this field of research, namely knowledge about the complexity of human behaviour, which is the major agent of disturbance. Past studies have rarely included detailed data on human activities, but instead treated fixed infrastructure as valid proxies for …
Differing perceptions and tensions among tourists and locals concerning a national park region in Norway
In the context of national park management, landscape conservation, and tourism development in a mountain region in Norway, the aim of the research is to analyse how tourists, residents, and local stakeholders experience and practise their participation in the landscapes. A mixed methods approach was used, which included focus group meetings, semi-structured interviews, an on-site survey, and two Internet surveys to gain in-depth knowledge of tou…
Bias and precision of crowdsourced recreational activity data from Strava
Recreational activity is the single most valuable ecosystem service in many developed countries with a range of benefits for public health. Crowdsourced recreational activity data is increasingly being adopted in management and monitoring of urban landscapes, however inherent biases in the data make it difficult to generalize patterns to the total population. We used in-situ observations and questionnaires to quantify accuracy in Strava data - a …
Children’s and Adolescents’ Use of Nature During the Covid-19 Pandemic in a Very Green Country
Play, physical activity, and social interaction with other children in nature are important for healthy and social development in childhood and adolescence. The extent to which lockdown policies during the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the way children engaged in outdoor activities remains unclear, especially in a country with free access to abundant nature during the pandemic. We performed a national survey of parents ( n = 1002) in Norway in Janua…
Impacts of forest clear-cutting on recreational activity
People prefer intact forests, but there is little research on behavioural avoidance of forest clear-cuts. • We used before-after-control-impact design using 2.7 M recreational activities from Strava across 10,781 forest clear-cuts. • We found a negative effect on total activity, but positive effect on skiing. • Clear-cutting impacts on recreation were more pronounced near urban areas. • Implications for trade-offs between provisioning and cultura…
Co-producing tools for integrating visitor management in municipal planning – lessons from a Norwegian case study
This paper explores how visitor management can be operationalized to support sustainable development of peripheral mountainous communities facing tourism pressures. It argues for anchoring visitor management into municipal planning to align tourism and second home development with local community needs and goals. Building on results co-produced through interdisciplinary and collaborative case-study research, the paper presents six methods to atte…
Children’s Nature Use and Related Constraints
A growing number of research studies show that children spend less time in natural environments, which may have detrimental effects on children's mental and physical health. This study explores changes in children's (6-12 years) use of nearby nature and constraints on playing in nature between 2013 and 2023. We apply an ecological approach, including individual, social, and structural constraints on outdoor play. The study is based on national su…
Geography (16 works) · Ecology (14 works) · Sociology (9 works) · Urban Green Space and Health (9 works) · Biology (8 works) · Environmental resource management (8 works) · Recreation (7 works) · Environmental planning (6 works) · Land Use and Ecosystem Services (5 works) · Medicine (5 works)