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A greener Arctic does not benefit caribou; the shift in tundra vegetation due to warming is associated with declining caribou herds.

Coastal birch forests in northern Norway are currently being converted to nonnative spruce plantations. Since such land use changes may cause large alterations in the birch forest ecosystems, indicators suitable for detecting and monitoring impacts need to be pursued. In this study, we used a three-table ordination method (RLQ analysis) to identify species traits in bird assemblages indicating changes in environmental attributes at stand and landscape level. RLQ analysis has the advantage of linking species traits directly to environmental attributes, hence detecting the major ecological impacts of land use change, as well as a set of species traits sensitive to these alterations. Birds and environmental attributes were sampled in six forest types in 12 different landscapes. To assess whether species traits were relatively consistent geographically and temporally, two different geographic regions and years were also included in our study design. We found the species traits investigated here to be promising indicators of land use impacts. In particular, ground nesters, cavity nesters, flycatchers, and long-distance migrants were adversely affected by conditions in elderly spruce plantations. Also, species that forage on trunks and in deciduous foliage, as well as species that eat larvae and flying insects, were related to forests with a deciduous overstory. Despite the variety of species traits reflecting ecological changes at the stand level, only the species sensitive to the reduction in area of rich birch forests responded to fragmentation effects at the landscape level. These effects of land use changes appeared to be consistent in time (years) and space (geographic regions). We argue that knowledge about trait-environmental linkages is essential when selecting indicators for monitoring land use impacts. To best separate human effects from natural fluctuations, major environmental attributes that vary naturally in time and space should also be monitored in conjunction with the indicator species traits. Finally, trait-environmental linkages could form the basis of making predictions about changes in biological and functional diversity in response to land use changes. These predictions could subsequently be evaluated in monitoring programs.

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Recent attention to the role of Indigenous knowledge (IK) in environmental monitoring, research and decision‐making is likely to attract new people to this field of work. Advancing the bringing together of IK and science in a way that is desirable to IK holders can lead to successful and inclusive research and decision‐making. We used the Delphi technique with 18 expert participants who were IK holders or working closely with IK from across the Arctic to examine the drivers of progress and limitations to the use of IK along with science to inform decision‐making related to wildlife, reindeer herding and the environment. We also used this technique to identify participants' experiences of scientists' misconceptions concerning IK. Participants had a strong focus on transformative change relating to the structure of institutions, politics, rights, involvement, power and agency over technical issues advancing or limiting progress (e.g. new technologies and language barriers). Participants identified two modes of desirable research: coproducing knowledge with scientists and autonomous Indigenous‐led research. They highlighted the need for more collaborative and coproduction projects to allow further refinement of approaches and more funding to support autonomous, Indigenous‐led research. Most misconceptions held by scientists concerning IK that were identified by participants related to the spatial, temporal and conceptual scope of IK, and the perceived need to validate IK using Western science. Our research highlights some of the issues that need to be addressed by all participants in research and decision‐making involving IK and science. While exact approaches will need to be tailored to specific social‐ecological contexts, consideration of these broader concerns revealed by our analysis are likely to be central to effective partnerships. A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article.