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Iceland

Desertification

Vulnerabilities

Soil erosion and desertification is a problem in Iceland. In Iceland the human impact on ecosystems is strong. About 65% of the entire island is estimated to have been covered with vegetation at the time of settlement in the year 874. Today, only about 25% of Iceland is vegetated. This reduction in vegetative cover is the result of a combination of harsh climate and intensive land and resource utilization by a farming and agrarian society over 11 centuries (1).


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References

The references below are cited in full in a separate map 'References'. Please click here if you are looking for the full references for Iceland.

  1. Ministry for the Environment of Iceland (2007)
  2. Ministry for the Environment of Iceland (2010)
  3. Icelandic Ministry for the Environment and Natural Resources (2018)

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