Monitoring of grazing lands

The IINH has participated in the monitoring of livestock grazing land since 2005. This long-term research on the condition and biological diversity of land used for pasturage is carried out in cooperation with the Agricultural University of Iceland and the Soil Conservation Service. Permanent plots were set out in Iceland’s lowlands and highlands in 1997–1998 and resampled in 2005 and 2015. The data allow researchers to monitor the long-term effects of climate warming and reductions in grazing pressure due to changing land use.

Data have been shared with international studies on the effects of climate change on arctic and alpine vegetation; see publication in Nature 2018 (doi.org/10.1038/s41586-018-0563-7).

Large-scale vegetation changes in Iceland from 1982–2010 have been studied using remote sensing and analysis of MODIS NDVI trends, see publication in Remote Sensing 2015, (doi.org/10.3390/rs70809492).

IINH Contact: Borgþór Magnússon