The roles of agriculture and climate in land degradation in southeast Iceland AD 1700–1900

Friðþór Sófus Sigurmundsson; Guðrún Gísladóttir; Egill Erlendsson

doi:10.1080/04353676.2020.1813985

The roles of agriculture and climate in land degradation in southeast Iceland AD 1700–1900

Friðþór Sófus Sigurmundsson, Guðrún Gísladóttir, Egill Erlendsson

University of Iceland

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Past human land-use is increasingly recognized as a driver of ecosystem change in seemingly natural landscapes. Quantification of historical land use is therefore critical for assessing the degree of human impact and requires integration of geography, ecology and history. This paper examines the impact of climate change, land-use and exposure to international markets on the terrestrial ecology in Suðursveit, in southeast Iceland between AD 1700 and 1901. For this we use historical data concerning land-use, livestock and demography, and mapping of glacier advance, glacier outburst floods (jökulhlaups) and agricultural land. Change in land-use or population during the eighteenth century was insignificant. Population declined in the first two decades of the nineteenth century due to the advance of Breiðamerkurjökull glacier. After AD 1820, Suðursveit became part of international market for agricultural products, which facilitated population and livestock increase. This led to overgrazing and severe land degradation in the nineteenth century.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	132-150
Number of pages	19
Journal	Geografiska Annaler, Series A: Physical Geography
Volume	103
Issue number	2
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1080/04353676.2020.1813985
Publication status	Published - 14 Sept 2020

Bibliographical note

Funding Information: This research was supported by The Icelandic Research Fund under Grant number 1201211 021; University of Iceland Research Fund; The University of Iceland Doctoral Grants Fund; Landsvirkjun Energy Research Fund; Friends of Vatnaj?kull Fund, and Kv?skerjasj??ur Fund. This research was supported by The Icelandic Research Fund under Grant number 1201211 021; University of Iceland Research Fund; The University of Iceland Doctoral Grants Fund; Landsvirkjun Energy Research Fund; Friends of Vatnaj?kull Fund, and Kv?skerjasj??ur Fund. Scott J. Riddell proofread the manuscript with regard to English. The authors are also grateful to H?skuldur ?orbjarnarson, Olga Kolbr?n Vilmundard?ttir, Sigr?n D?gg Eddud?ttir, Theresa Bonatotzky, Mar?a Svavard?ttir and P?ll Kolka for valuable assistance in the field and the office. The authors are also grateful to farmers in Su?ursveit, who granted access to their lands. Funding Information: This research was supported by The Icelandic Research Fund under Grant number 1201211 021; University of Iceland Research Fund; The University of Iceland Doctoral Grants Fund; Landsvirkjun Energy Research Fund; Friends of Vatnajökull Fund, and Kvískerjasjóður Fund. Scott J. Riddell proofread the manuscript with regard to English. The authors are also grateful to Höskuldur Þorbjarnarson, Olga Kolbrún Vilmundardóttir, Sigrún Dögg Eddudóttir, Theresa Bonatotzky, María Svavardóttir and Páll Kolka for valuable assistance in the field and the office. The authors are also grateful to farmers in Suðursveit, who granted access to their lands. Publisher Copyright: © 2020 Swedish Society for Anthropology and Geography.

Other keywords

Climate change
Iceland
demography
land degradation
land-use
landscape

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10.1080/04353676.2020.1813985

Cite this

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title = "The roles of agriculture and climate in land degradation in southeast Iceland AD 1700–1900",

abstract = "Past human land-use is increasingly recognized as a driver of ecosystem change in seemingly natural landscapes. Quantification of historical land use is therefore critical for assessing the degree of human impact and requires integration of geography, ecology and history. This paper examines the impact of climate change, land-use and exposure to international markets on the terrestrial ecology in Su{\dh}ursveit, in southeast Iceland between AD 1700 and 1901. For this we use historical data concerning land-use, livestock and demography, and mapping of glacier advance, glacier outburst floods (j{\"o}kulhlaups) and agricultural land. Change in land-use or population during the eighteenth century was insignificant. Population declined in the first two decades of the nineteenth century due to the advance of Brei{\dh}amerkurj{\"o}kull glacier. After AD 1820, Su{\dh}ursveit became part of international market for agricultural products, which facilitated population and livestock increase. This led to overgrazing and severe land degradation in the nineteenth century.",

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note = "Funding Information: This research was supported by The Icelandic Research Fund under Grant number 1201211 021; University of Iceland Research Fund; The University of Iceland Doctoral Grants Fund; Landsvirkjun Energy Research Fund; Friends of Vatnaj?kull Fund, and Kv?skerjasj??ur Fund. This research was supported by The Icelandic Research Fund under Grant number 1201211 021; University of Iceland Research Fund; The University of Iceland Doctoral Grants Fund; Landsvirkjun Energy Research Fund; Friends of Vatnaj?kull Fund, and Kv?skerjasj??ur Fund. Scott J. Riddell proofread the manuscript with regard to English. The authors are also grateful to H?skuldur ?orbjarnarson, Olga Kolbr?n Vilmundard?ttir, Sigr?n D?gg Eddud?ttir, Theresa Bonatotzky, Mar?a Svavard?ttir and P?ll Kolka for valuable assistance in the field and the office. The authors are also grateful to farmers in Su?ursveit, who granted access to their lands. Funding Information: This research was supported by The Icelandic Research Fund under Grant number 1201211 021; University of Iceland Research Fund; The University of Iceland Doctoral Grants Fund; Landsvirkjun Energy Research Fund; Friends of Vatnaj{\"o}kull Fund, and Kv{\'i}skerjasj{\'o}{\dh}ur Fund. Scott J. Riddell proofread the manuscript with regard to English. The authors are also grateful to H{\"o}skuldur {\TH}orbjarnarson, Olga Kolbr{\'u}n Vilmundard{\'o}ttir, Sigr{\'u}n D{\"o}gg Eddud{\'o}ttir, Theresa Bonatotzky, Mar{\'i}a Svavard{\'o}ttir and P{\'a}ll Kolka for valuable assistance in the field and the office. The authors are also grateful to farmers in Su{\dh}ursveit, who granted access to their lands. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2020 Swedish Society for Anthropology and Geography.",

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doi = "10.1080/04353676.2020.1813985",

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N2 - Past human land-use is increasingly recognized as a driver of ecosystem change in seemingly natural landscapes. Quantification of historical land use is therefore critical for assessing the degree of human impact and requires integration of geography, ecology and history. This paper examines the impact of climate change, land-use and exposure to international markets on the terrestrial ecology in Suðursveit, in southeast Iceland between AD 1700 and 1901. For this we use historical data concerning land-use, livestock and demography, and mapping of glacier advance, glacier outburst floods (jökulhlaups) and agricultural land. Change in land-use or population during the eighteenth century was insignificant. Population declined in the first two decades of the nineteenth century due to the advance of Breiðamerkurjökull glacier. After AD 1820, Suðursveit became part of international market for agricultural products, which facilitated population and livestock increase. This led to overgrazing and severe land degradation in the nineteenth century.

AB - Past human land-use is increasingly recognized as a driver of ecosystem change in seemingly natural landscapes. Quantification of historical land use is therefore critical for assessing the degree of human impact and requires integration of geography, ecology and history. This paper examines the impact of climate change, land-use and exposure to international markets on the terrestrial ecology in Suðursveit, in southeast Iceland between AD 1700 and 1901. For this we use historical data concerning land-use, livestock and demography, and mapping of glacier advance, glacier outburst floods (jökulhlaups) and agricultural land. Change in land-use or population during the eighteenth century was insignificant. Population declined in the first two decades of the nineteenth century due to the advance of Breiðamerkurjökull glacier. After AD 1820, Suðursveit became part of international market for agricultural products, which facilitated population and livestock increase. This led to overgrazing and severe land degradation in the nineteenth century.

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The roles of agriculture and climate in land degradation in southeast Iceland AD 1700–1900

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Other keywords

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