Several models have addressed the management of the Fenno-Scandinavian mountain region, for example Sverdrup et al (2010, Swedish EPA) presented many Causal Loop Diagram models of the Swedish mountain management. Burkhard and Müller (2008, Ecol.Indicators 8:828-840) presented a model for the Fenno-Scandinavian reindeer herding, including also an indicator system for the management. In this paper we add the relatively new measure emergy to these models, and discuss the benefits achieved.

Emergy is a measure appearing when applying the energy hierarchy principle to natural (e.g. forests, lakes, or mountains) or human (e.g. mountain societies, cities or countries) systems, postulating that energies in any system will self-organize in hierarchical patterns given time to do so. Emergy is expressed in relation to one type of energy occuring in the hierarchy, most often solar emergy Joules, seJ.

In the model by Burkhard and Müller (2008) the emergy values will add information both on the thermodynamic part of the model, but also on the economic side since emergy values in seJ can be alternatively expressed in a proportional, currency related unit, for example Em€ or Em$. The significance is that Em€ or Em$ measures the contribution different items give to the whole system, rather than how individuals give market values for different items; a donor value approach rather than a receiver or market  value approach.