Spatial Patterns and Institutional Linkages in Mountain Forestscapes: the case of the North-Eastern Caucasus

The mountain forests of the Eastern Caucasus bear the mark of long-term interaction between nature and humans. As shown by the results of forest mapping and forest use surveys, forest cover is fragmented, and forest resource use is regulated by a combination of formal and informal rules. Over a long period of history, a close relationship has developed between the diversity of mountain forest ecosystems and the institutions that regulate the use of forest resources. The established links between the population and the forest, institutions and ecosystems are reflected in the spatial pattern of different forest types, which are subject to dynamics influenced by natural factors (mainly climatic) and changing socio-political conditions. The article presents the results of mapping and analysing changes in forest cover and its use in the Chechen Re-public from a historical perspective and, in more detail, over the last few decades. For-est regeneration dynamics are observed at the upper forest line due to reduced grazing pressure and global warming. Forest densification is also observed across the entire range of altitudinal zones. Managing mountain forests in conditions of great natural and institutional diversity requires a shift in thinking from a narrow sectoral under-standing of forest biocenoses to viewing them as mountain socio-ecological systems. Assessing the sustainability of mountain forestscapes should take into account not only ecological parameters (such as biomass quantity) but also socio-ecological relation-ships expressed in the spatial mosaic of mountain forest ecosystems embedded in the local institutional system. The authors recommend raising awareness and involving the local population in the management of forest ecosystems.