Overgrazing of Arctic tundra vegetation. During the last 10 years increasing signs of the impact of foraging pinkfeet on tundra vegetation in Svalbard has been observed. This is particularly due to the grubbing for roots and rhizomes in the wet xxxx carpets whereby geese pull out xxxx and food plants. This may in some areas create holes or craters which appear to regenerate at variable rates depending on wetness, patch size and the plant community (Speed et al. 2010); slowed down by the fact that geese year after year return to the same patches, grubbing on the edges of open patches. In other areas the foraging activity may cause a shift in vegetation composition with a decrease in xxxx cover and an increase in graminoids (grasses and sedges)(van der Wal et al. 2007). The extent of grubbed areas seems to be increasing with the increment in population size (Speed et al. 2009), although monitoring of this development is currently lacking.
