Líffræðifélag Íslands - biologia.is
Líffræðiráðstefnan 2017

Erindi/veggspjald / Talk/poster E47

Assessing the ecological impacts of extensive sheep grazing in Iceland

Höfundar / Authors: Bryndís Marteinsdóttir (1), Elín Fjóla Þórarinsdóttir (1), Guðmundur Halldórsson (1), Jóhann Þórsson (1), Kristín Svavarsdóttir (1), Magnús Þór Einarsson (1) og Sigþrúður Jónsdóttir (1)

Starfsvettvangur / Affiliations: Landgræðsla ríkisins

Kynnir / Presenter: Bryndís Marteinsdóttir

A long term vegetation monitoring programme is currently being developed in Iceland. This programme is based on an agreement between the Soil Conservation Service of Iceland (SCSI), Ministry of Industries and Innovation, the Farmers Association of Iceland and the Icelandic National Associations of Sheep Farmers, and managed by the SCSI. While the vegetation in Iceland has been mapped at a coarse scale, data on vegetation changes are fragmented. However, to achieve sustainable land management it is necessary to obtain information on vegetation changes over time and related land-use data. The monitoring programme will be based on an adaptive monitoring approach, span several spatial scales and focus on both vegetation resources and land-use. Satellite images will provide large scale data, but drones and on-site vegetation analyses, by land users and specialists, will be used for obtaining higher resolution data. In addition, the project aims to develop indicators of sustainable land-use, using experiments, available information and results from the monitoring programme.
The overall objective is to use these data to promote, in collaboration with stakeholders, sustainable land management.