A representative of the British non-profit organization Mossy Earth was in Iceland the other day to study the protection and reclamation of Icelandic birch forests. Subsequently, an agreement was signed with Skógræktin for the first project funded by Mossy Earth in Iceland, the planting of 50,000 birch plants at Bakkakotsháls in Skorradalur Valley in the spring of 2022.

A mini-conference will be held in Iceland 5-7 October 2021 in conjunction with the Final Meeting of the Nordic/Baltic CAR-ES network. Various topics of forest management will be discussed in the context of carbon sequestration, functional biodiversity, water quality and soil quality.

An agreement has been signed between One Tree Planted and the Icelandic Forest Service for the planting of 180,000 seedlings on the slopes of the mountain Spákonufell close to the village of Skagaströnd in North-Iceland. The project will be completed in the autumn of 2024. As a result, a diverse recreational forest will grow, benefitting the local community with shelter from cold winds and improving biodiversity and natural cycles.

Diverse and inter-disciplinary PhD and MS projects in relation to birch woodland restoration in Iceland are open for applications within the research project Restoration of birch woodlands in the 21st century – challenges, approaches and benefits (BirkiVist) funded by the Icelandic Strategic Research and Development Program 2020-2023 on Societal Challenges.

An interesting symbiosis of lupine and birch can be seen on Graystone Heath, a badly eroded site just south of the town of Húsavík, North-Iceland. Where the two species are growing separately, both are struggling to survive. Where they are growing together, on the other hand, they are thriving.