Investigations of the Long Term Sustainability of Human Ecodynamic Systems in Northern Iceland

This project has centered on the Lake Myvatn area of northeastern Iceland. In spite of severe erosion problems, the Myvatn economy has been largely sustainable since the time when Iceland was first settled in the late ninth century. Until the
early part of the twentieth century, the inhabitants of the region lived almost entirely on the proceeds of the land by farming, fishing for trout, and collecting the eggs of wild birds. In recent times, tourism has become an extremely important part
of the economy. This brings needed revenue but raises conservation issues in what is a very fragile ecosystem. The interplay between the hydrology and geology of the area has formed a unique landscape characterised by an abundance of pseudo-craters
and curious lava formations and an ecosystem that is unparalleled in Iceland. In the Myvatn area most resources are directly connected to water. The complex food web and biogeochemistry of the lake has created unique wildlife resources on which
people depended, and adjacent wetlands produced the most important sources of hay for the animal husbandry practiced in the area. In the past, because of its North Atlantic location, marginal for agriculture, grass was the only viable crop in
Iceland, and the economy focused primarily on the keeping of sheep and cattle until comparatively recent times. This meant that the success or failure of the grass crop, coupled with winter rangeland grazing, was the one aspect of the economy on
which all else rested. If there was not enough hay to feed the livestock over the winter, then they could die, and the human population could also suffer with famines and related difficulties. The primary goal of this project was to establish what
were the varying factors that influenced the success or failure of the grass growth and hay crop and grazing, and the sustainability of the use of these resources. A particularly important part of the project was to examine resource-management
decisions and to consider to what extent local farmers focused on the long-term sustainability of grazing resources.