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Narrating Rewilding analyzes interactions between imaginative writings and environmental histories to ask how novels and creative nonfiction contribute to conversations of wilderness rewilding. I identify aspects of rewilding in Cormac McCarthy’s All the Pretty Horses, Marilynne Robinson’s Housekeeping, and Terry Tempest Williams’s Refuge within a context of William Cronon’s and James Feldman’s works of environmental history, and I argue that the selected imaginative works offer alternative ramifications of rewilding by questioning Cronon’s and Feldman’s anthropocentric basis. While Cronon and Feldman argue that a rewilding wilderness expresses interconnections between human history and expressions of nature, and that a return of wild aspects benefits human understanding and interaction within wilderness areas, in these imaginative writings, wildernesses are sites that flatten hierarchies between natural elements and human aspects, places where characters languish. They are lands deeply layered with both natural and cultural histories, but aspects of the past often remain beyond reach. Rewilding in these wildernesses equates with damage and loss. Taken together, I argue that these narratives of wilderness rewilding augment one another, creating a dialog where Cronon’s and Feldman’s discourses of environmental recovery and of human gain inform corresponding imaginative writings but are also challenged by models of lament and loss. This restructured approach to wilderness rewilding offers a widened range of potential responses to an ever-changing, ever-rewilding wilderness.

This thesis investigates the characteristics of the Arctic region in terms of climate change, biodiversity, culture and exploiting human action. Is the 21st centurythe era where we reconcile between nature and societal development demands? Here it is questioning if we as humans have a responsibility to design for us, yet also for animals with equal value. Nonetheless, the animals that have been pushed towards ecological displacement have a significant important role on our earth and especially in the Arctic - to sustain balance in ecosystems and to protect the terrestrial carbon sinks. The thesis investigates if rewilding as a strategy can be used to reconcile that very conflict through four theoretical lenses: Tsing’s theory on friction, Bratton’s theory on automation, Ghosh theory on narrative and Latour’s theory on hybrids. In short, the project landed in a dual functional fauna bridge with a research centre intended for rewilding. This means that a bridge over a railway and a highway will be designed as a natural transition for animals to cross over, but also it will be inhabited by researchers and NGOs in which creates a node for knowledge exchanges between the users of the bridge and reindeer husbandry practitioners.

Rewilding theory appeared 20 years ago as a new conservation narrative based on the regula- tory roles of large predators and the importance to protect core reserves and their connectivity to maintain the resilience and complexity of core ecosystems (Perino et al., 2019). In Europe, despite a growing popularity, rewilding remains very criticized, due to a still non-understood concept (Torres et al. 2018). Assessing rewilding is crucial to overcoming conflicts and oppo- sition, and maximizing its benefits. Yet, such a process is complex and resource-demanding (Mata et al., 2018). In this thesis, we spatially assessed indicators of rewilding progress in the German Oder Delta (GOD), a site that joined Rewilding Europe Network (REN) in 2012. Those indicators include connectivity between three land cover types (Arable lands, Vegetation coverage and Water bodies), analysis of land use changes and assessment of iconic species population changes for the years 2006, 2012 and 2018. We addressed the question “How much did the 2012 rewilding policy in the German Oder Delta impact the return of iconic species?”. The connectivity between the different types of animal’s habitats is measured based on evalu- ating the evolution of landscape fragmentation in the area. Through gathering and analyzing land fragmentation data for the years 2006, 2012 and 2018, we found that the level of land- scape fragmentation between the same land types has not changed in the GOD after 2012. The overall connectivity between water bodies was found to be higher in the GOD than in MV and the connectivity between arable lands higher in MV than in the GOD. Surfaces and patches dedicated to water have increased between 2006 and 2012 in the GOD, which coincides with rewetting programs implemented in the region since the late 1990s. Moreover, the land use change in the GOD between 2006 and 2018 especially happened be- tween urban fabric to pasture and from pasture to inland marshes. Eventually, observation of iconic species including the White-Tailed Eagle, the Grey Seal, the Bison and the Beaver has continuously increased since 2006 in the region. From a large-scale perspective, it is hard to conclude rewilding policy’s success. We can however suggest that the combination of rewilding with conservation programs seems to have contributed to increasing the population of some iconic species as well as water bodies' sur- faces.

High Nature Value farmland (HNVf) refers to traditional agricultural landscapes which support high levels of biodiversity. HNVf is declining across Europe, through both intensification and abandonment, raising concerns about the conservation of species associated with it. One argument is that such HNV species are better described as being dependent on disturbance, and that management practices on HNVf mimics the effects of natural disturbance processes such as herbivory, fire, severe weather and flooding, which are often suppressed across much of Europe. If true, one innovative approach for conserving HNV species would be to restore natural disturbance processes, as advocated by the "rewilding" conservation movement. I set out to explore the feasibility of this approach, focusing on flooding. Restoration of flood regimes is receiving growing attention, not only for its biodiversity benefits but also to reduce the risk of flooding in downstream urban areas, improve water quality, and increase the amenity value of rivers. I carried out four linked studies. Each followed a broadly similar approach: I selected sampling locations both in floodplain areas and comparable surrounding farmland, I surveyed birds and butterflies as indicator taxa of biodiversity, I carried out habitat mapping, and I estimated disturbance through both field measurements and remotely sensed data. My first study was around the Pripyat river in Ukraine, which has a large floodplain that has had minimal human intervention. I found that several, but not all, HNV species had higher population densities in the floodplain than in the surrounding HNV farmland, and several more had approximately equal population densities in the two habitats. This suggested intact flood regimes can retain some species that are elsewhere restricted to HNVf. My second study was around the river Rhône, France, where a restoration project has increased flow in floodplain channels and improved their connectivity with the main channel. I compared restored and non-restored segments of floodplain channel, as well as farmland and other habitats. While I found significant differences in population densitiesbetween habitat types, few species showed significant differences between restored and non-restored segments, suggesting that restoration had only limited ecological impacts on the wider landscape. My third study investigated a more ambitious restoration project which has reconnected a large area of floodplain to the river Peene in Germany. I found many HNV species had equal or higher population densities in the restored floodplain than in the surrounding unrestored farmland. This demonstrates that it is possible to restore the effect of natural flood disturbance on habitats and species. However, not all HNV species benefitted from flood-disturbed habitats, so clearly other conservation interventions need to be considered. For the final study, pooling data from all three sites I looked for associations between species' traits and environmental variables. My aim was to identify traits which predict species' responses to the environment, and hence which species are most likely to benefit from restoration. However, I did not find any significant associations in my data. In conclusion, I demonstrated that flood-disturbed habitats are suitable for many species traditionally associated with HNV farmland, and further that restoring flood disturbance processes can recreate those habitats. As such, reconnecting rivers and restoring floodplains would be a useful conservation intervention for species threatened by the abandonment or intensification of HNV farmland in Europe. However, other species did not benefit, and require other conservation interventions, perhaps other forms of rewilding, or continued incentivisation of favourable farming practices.

Abstract The wild forest reindeer is a subspecies of the reindeer. Wild forest reindeer earlier had a wide distribution range in Sweden, but it was extinct in the middle of the 19:th century because of extensive hunting. In Finland, the w.f.reindeer was extinct a few decades later by similar reasons. Later they migrated back to the eastern parts of Finland in the middle of the 20: th century. Around 1980, the w.f.reindeer was actively rentroduced to western Finland, and there the population has had a positive development. In eastern Finland though, the population have declined fast during the last years. This is partly due to an increased abundance of large predators, particularly wolf. In this study I investigated the possibilities for, and attitudes towards, a reintroduction of w.f.reindeer in parts of Sweden. My result indicates that the environmental possibilities for a reintroduction of w.f. reindeer to parts of Sweden probably are fairly good to good. The attitudes towards the w.f.reindeer is both positive and negative, much depending if you ask a hunter or an owner of semi-domestic reindeer. Many persons in my study can see several benefits with a reintroduction of w.f. reindeer, e.g. increase of hunting and recreational value of the nature. A problem that a reintroduction of w.f.reindeer in Sweden could cause, is that the w.f.reindeer can be mixed with the herds of semi-domestic reindeer. Experiences from Finland show that the reindeermanagement is disturbed when this happens. This is an important problem, or challenge, to solve if a reintroduction should be possible in the future.

On the brink of a sixth mass extinction, I renegotiate, through crafting, some basic assumptions on which our economy-culture is built, those of separation and dominance. The project Till Källan / Water Talks is based on a method where I ask various places what they would want me to do on site. It is a process of reconnecting to place and the non-human, a radical rethinking of relationship between human and the other. I investigate the possibilities of craft to be a conductor of that relationship.The paper tracks various lines of thought around my practice, like trickles gathering more water into my pond. It starts in a quantum physics philosophical base for how the world is in a state of becoming through intra-action, on to why water is the perfect medium to affect the world through a puddle. I look at how my practice has an affinity with animism as philosophy and indigenous ways of relating to place and materials. I explore various facets of performativity, in world-making, craft-making, in the resulting objects and in the restoring of relationship through ritual. The enquiry that runs through the paper is what craft is when the object was made for a place rather than for the “art-world” or other economic systems. Going back and forth between a western and a non-western mindset, between practice and theory and between the poetic and prosaic, makes for a synthesizing of sources, leading up to the concept of Rewilding Craft, and a number of crafted objects and images that speak of the relationship.

Grazing by large herbivores has the potential to provide multiple ecosystem services, depending on multiple factors. Through a range of interdisciplinary methods, including literature reviews, case studies, and semi-structured interviews, I seek to assess how grazing can contribute to sustainable landscape management, as well as how sustainable practices can be incentivised. In chapter one, I focus on the role of grazing in wildfire prevention. Through a systematic literature review, I uncover new insights into the effectiveness of large herbivores in mitigating wildfires. I find that large herbivores can reduce wildfire frequency by promoting grass-dominated landscapes and reduce fire intensity by consuming vegetation and creating landscape features that reduce fuel loads. However, the effectiveness of large herbivores depends on the type of vegetation and diet preferences of the animals, and management practices associated with livestock grazing can also influence fire ignition. In chapter two, I investigate the relationship between grazing management and ecosystem services through a literature review, focusing on synergies and trade-offs between them. I identify management practices that are beneficial to multiple ecosystem services as well as policy mechanisms that can incentivise them. In the third chapter, I use case studies to investigate the role of domestic animals in rewilding projects. I describe how domestic and semi-wild herbivores can contribute to rewilding projects and make them more inclusive for rural and indigenous communities. In the fourth chapter, I aim to identify the challenges faced by land users in performing sustainable grazing management through semi-structured interviews with 88 land users from eight case studies in Europe. I gain insights into land users' determinants of behaviour towards sustainable grazing practices using the Behaviour Change Wheel framework. Overall I suggest that grazing can be a potential solution to the challenges of the Anthropocene, but only when done in the right way. I emphasize the importance of an interdisciplinary approach in grazing research and considering socio-ecological systems. I also highlight the potential of rewilding and semi-wild grazing systems especially in areas undergoing land abandonment. The results imply a shift in meat production and consumption and potential new pathways for human-livestock relations. Finally, agricultural policies such as the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) can play a crucial role in incentivizing sustainable grazing management and should be improved to support extensive grazing and extensification.:Table of Contents i. General Introduction 6 i.i Context 7 i.i.i European grazed landscapes can provide high biodiversity and supply various ecosystem services 7 i.i.ii Challenges for European grazed systems 9 i.ii Thesis methods and outline 13 i.ii.i Literature reviews (chapters 1 & 2) 13 i.ii.ii Case studies (chapters 3 and 4) 13 i.ii.iii General approach and methodological considerations 18 i.ii.iv Research aims and questions 18 i.ii.v Thesis outline 19 i.iii Graphical abstract 21 1. Chapter One 22 1.1 Introduction 23 1.2 Literature search 25 1.3 Overall effects of herbivores on wildfire risks 26 1.3.1 Effects of herbivores on wildfire frequency 26 1.3.2 Effects of herbivores on fire intensity or severity 30 1.4 Effects of herbivores on fuel loads and fire hazard 30 1.5 Effects of vegetation characteristics on fire regimes 33 1.6 Effects of grazing-associated management on wildfires 33 1.7 Implications for management 34 1.8 Implications for policy 36 1.9 Conclusions and future challenges 37 2. Chapter Two 38 2.1 Introduction 39 2.2 Literature review: general methods 42 2.3 Results 44 2.3.1 Effects of grazing on biodiversity 44 2.3.2 Effects of grazing on climate change and its mitigation 46 2.3.3 Effects of grazing on soil quality 48 2.3.4 Effects of grazing on wildfire mitigation 49 2.3.5 Effects of grazing on cultural ecosystem services 51 2.3.6 Synergies and Trade-offs of different grazing practices and ecosystem services 52 2.3.7 Recommendations: optimizing ecosystem multifunctionality in grazed systems 55 2.4 Outlook 59 3. Chapter Three 60 3.1 Introduction 61 3.2 The Broader Theory of Rewilding and Potential Role for Livestock 64 3.2.1 Stochastic Disturbance Regimes 64 3.2.2 Trophic Complexity 65 3.2.3 Interacting Processes 66 3.3 General Case Studies 67 3.3.1 Reindeer Engineer in Swedish Lapland 67 3.3.2 Livestock Fire Brigade and Free Running Horses in the Côa Valley, Portugal 68 3.3.3 Ecotourism and Sustainable Meat at Knepp Estate, England 70 3.3.4 Oostvaardersplassen: The “Wild Experiment” 71 3.4 Conclusions 73 4. Chapter Four 77 4.1 Introduction 78 4.2 Methods 80 4.2.1 Interviews 80 4.3 Findings from interviews: Determinants of sustainable grazing decisions 81 4.3.1 Physical capability: the impact of the ‘rural exodus’ 81 4.3.2 Psychological capability: access to knowledge and understanding of administrative rules influences how land users conduct their management 82 4.3.3 Physical opportunity 83 4.3.4 Social opportunities 85 4.3.5 Motivation 85 4.4 Discussion 87 4.4.1 Intervention functions to support sustainable grazing, and associated policies 88 4.5 Conclusions and outlook 92 5. Discussion 93 5.1 Importance of the scientific, social and political context of the research 93 5.2 Societal relevance of the thesis 93 5.3 Policy relevance of grazing research 94 5.4 The value of transdisciplinary research 94 5.5 Contribution of the research 95 5.5.1 Contribution of chapter 1: large herbivores and wildfire mitigation 95 5.5.2 Contribution of chapter 2: grazing and multiple ecosystem services, trade-offs and synergies in a European context 96 5.5.3 Contribution of chapter 3: domestic livestock and rewilding 97 5.5.4 Contribution of chapter 4: drivers of decision making for sustainable grazing 98 5.5.5 Interdisciplinary approach to grazing research, grazing areas as socio-ecological systems 99 5.6 Limitations 100 5.6.1 The framework of ecosystem services 100 5.6.2 Limitations to rewilding research 101 5.6.3 The challenge of addressing different socioecological and administrative scales 101 5.6.4 Practical limitations 103 6. Outlook 104 6.1 Future research needs 104 6.2 Pathways for sustainable grazing 104 7. Conclusion 107 References 110 Summary 135 Zusammenfassung 139 Appendix 143 Appendix Chapter One 144 Appendix Chapter Two 145 Appendix Chapter Four 149 Acknowledgements 153 Author contribution statement 155

Under kandidatarbetet tilldelades man en plats på landsbygden där en ny typ av folketshus skulle ta form. Uppgiften blev att formge en hybridstruktur mellan det mer traditionella folkets hus och en produktion anpassad till platsen och dess förutsättningar.    Den tilldelade marken var ett naturreservat, placerad utanför Järna i Södertälje. Området präglades av stora fält av monokultur, en obrukad mjölkgård och ett högaktivt campingområde.  Förslaget baseras på tanken om en avvecklad monokultur där skogen får hjälp på traven att återta sin förlorade rymd. Med hjälp utav ett Rewildingprojekt där olika betesdjur som älg, ko och vildsvin betar och bökar marken kommer platsen sakta återgå till vildmark. Projektet bygger på ett koncept där områdets känsliga naturmiljö står i det första rummet. Strukturer, aktiviteter och verksamheter som appliceras på platsen bör därför oavkortat tillföra något till rekreationen av den utdränerade marken i reservatet.  Denna nya folkets hus föreslås därför bli ett hybridprogram mellan det som mer traditionellt sätt ses som folketshus och ett andligt rum, frikopplat från religion, där en ny typ av dödsomsorg introduceras på svensk mark. Den obrukade mjölkgården på Farstanäs naturreservat blir mål för den nya verksamheten där både mänskliga och animaliska kvarlevor omvandlas till näringsrik gödsel som oavkortat sprids över den utdränerade marken. Genom att jorda kvarlevorna av nära och kära i sakramentala silos på gården kommer de genom en komposteringsprocess kunna bli en del av naturen i reservatet. Det blir ett sätt för människan att ge tillbaka till naturen, samtidigt som man kan finna sin sista vila inbäddad bland trädens trygga kronor. Det mer traditionella folketshus-delen av hybridprogrammet adderar liv till platsen där scener och publika arbetsytor flätas samman med den mer allvarsamma sorgeakten som annars hade kännetecknat området och komposteringen. / The project was built on a mandatory idea of a new rural civic house where the people and a manufacturing process would share a common ground. The assigned ground for was a nature reserve placed in the outside of Järna in Södertälje (Sweden). The area is today characterized by big fields of monoculture, an unused dairy-farm, and a highly active camping site.  The proposal is built on the idea of a phased-out monoculture, where the forest will take back it´s lost ground through a Rewilding project. Grazing animals of different types will beet and root the land back to wilderness. The proposed project is built on a concept where the recreation of vulnerable habitat is the highest priority. Therefore, every structure, activity or business which is applied on the land should contribute to the recreation of the damaged land.    The new civic house is therefore proposed to be a hybrid between the typical civic house and a new spiritual space, disconnected from religion, where a new death care is introduced on Swedish ground. The unused dairy-farm on the given land will transform to the new business where human and animalic remains will convert to nutrient soil, which will be spread over the damages land in the nature reserve.  The bodies of the loved ones will be placed in sacramental silos on the farm where they, through a compost process, will be united with the wilderness of the reserve.    The more typical civic house will play it’s roll in the program by adding life to the area where staged and public workspaces intertwine with the more serious funeral ceremony in the silos.

The tiger (Panthera tigris) was once abundant in many of Asia’s forests. The entire species now hovers dangerously close to extinction. Population declines within the last two centuries are blamed largely on loss of habitat, reductions in prey species, poaching, and human-tiger conflict. Modern tiger conservation efforts focus on reintroducing formerly captive tigers to designated protected wild areas. Re-wilding and reintroduction programs teach survival skills to tiger cubs raised in zoo collections. Merging in situ and ex situ research collaborations is the twenty-first century’s interdisciplinary answer to the tiger’s plight in the wild. The zoo is viewed in terms of its role as an institution that represents societal values that shift in concurrence with shifting paradigms. This thesis studies the human-tiger relationship and analyzes three defining periods that occurred between 1800 and the present. The first period occurred during the nineteenth century, the second took place from the early through the late twentieth century and the third picked up where the second left off and is the one we are presently engaged in. The tiger is investigated in two different ways throughout — for its importance in human history and culture conceptually, and in the biological sense in terms of its importance as umbrella species within its own ecosystem. / Master of Science