DESERTIFICATION IN ICELAND
The extremely active soil erosion in Iceland often surprises visitors.
It is very noticeable on the landscape, and one of the main geologic and
geomorphic features that shape the surface of the country. We hope that the
visitors and those generally interested in land degradation will find this
homepage useful.
A program to assess soil erosion in
Iceland was started in 1990 and completed in 1997. Erosion has now been
surveyed in all of Iceland. The information is stored in a readily accessible
database, consisting of about 18 000 polygons with information about erosion
type and severity in addition to other digital land use related information.
The project to assess erosion and
desertification in Iceland was awarded the Nordic Council "Nature and
Environmental Award" in 1998.
20 dec.
2005
The book "Soil Erosion in Iceland" has now been translated into
German and is available on this web site as pdf file.
We hope that this will be of benefit for all the numerous German visitors
that come to Iceland each year, which includes students from German
universities. Download
19 dec.
2001
A new soil map of Iceland has recently been completed, based on a new
classification scheme. Maximum resolution is about 1:250 000. The map
and additional information can be viewed at this web site (Icelandic soils).
1.sept. 2001
Soil Erosion in Iceland.
By Olafur Arnalds, Elin
Fjola Þorarinsdottir, Sigmar Metusalemsson, Asgeir Jonsson, Einar Gretarsson,
and Arnor Arnason. This book is a translation of the book Jarðvegsrof á
Íslandi ( pdf.file ) that was
originally published in Icelandic in 1997.
The book gives the results of a project that aimed to map soil erosion in
all of Iceland. A special classification of soil erosion was used and an
erosion severity scale. The book contains numerous color photographs of
Icelandic landscapes and erosion features. The book costs 15.30 pounds or 30
US dollars plus shipping. For orders, please contact margretj@lbhi.is.It is
also available on this web site as pdf.file.
See also "Soil Erosion in Iceland,
results".