Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gbm5v Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-23T01:30:02.409Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Erosional Effects on Terrestrial Resources over the last Millennium in Reykjanes, Southwest Iceland✶

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Guðrún Gísladóttir ,
Egill Erlendsson ,
Rattan Lal  and
Jerry Bigham
Guðrún Gísladóttir*
Affiliation:
Department of Geography and Tourism, Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Iceland, 101 Reykjavík, Iceland Institute of Earth Sciences, University of Iceland, 101 Reykjavík, Iceland
Egill Erlendsson
Affiliation:
Department of Geography and Tourism, Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Iceland, 101 Reykjavík, Iceland Institute of Earth Sciences, University of Iceland, 101 Reykjavík, Iceland
Rattan Lal
Affiliation:
School of Environment and Natural Resources, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 3421-1085, USA
Jerry Bigham
Affiliation:
School of Environment and Natural Resources, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 3421-1085, USA
*
*Corresponding author. Department of Geography and Tourism, and Institute of Earth Sciences, Sturlugata 7, University of Iceland, 101 Reykjavík, Iceland. E-mail address:[email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The study presents the effect of soil erosion on vegetation, soil accumulation (SA), SA rate (SAR), soil quality, soil mass, and the soil organic carbon (SOC) pool in Brown Andosols and Histosols in a 24-km area in southwest Iceland. Undisturbed prehistoric soils were distinguished from disturbed historic soils using tephrochronology. Soil erosion has been severe during historic time (last 1135 yr), resulting in the increase of the soil mass deposited in soils covered by vegetation by a factor of 7.3–9.2 and net loss of soil in unvegetated areas. The SAR correlated positively with SOC sequestration. SOC is easily transported and given the extensive accumulation of soil, the net effect of burial and subsequent reduction in decomposition is to increase SOC storage. Nevertheless, the increased accumulation and soil depletion has decreased soil quality, including the SOC, and reduced soil resistance to erosion with the depleted SOC contributing to enrichment of atmospheric CO2. The initial terrestrial disturbance was triggered by anthropogenic land use during the Medieval Warm Period, followed by volcanic activity approximately three centuries later. The combination of harsh climate during the Little Ice Age and drastic anthropogenic perturbations has led to land degradation at a catastrophic scale.

Keywords

ErosionSoil accumulationSoil qualitySoil organic carbonCarbon sequestrationVegetation changeIceland
Type
Original Articles
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 73 , Issue 1 , January 2010 , pp. 20 - 32
Copyright
University of Washington

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

✶

Soil erosion and terrestrial resources.

References

Aradóttir, Á.L., Arnalds, Ó., Archer, S., (1992). Hnignun gróðurs og jarðvegs. Græðum Ísland IV 73–82.Google Scholar
Arnalds, Ó., (2004). Volcanic soils of Iceland. Catena 56, 3–20. 10.1016/j.catena.2003.10.002 Google Scholar
Arnalds, Ó., (2008). Soils of Iceland. Jökull 58, 409–421.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Arnalds, Ó., Grétarsson, E., (2001). Jarðvegskort af Íslandi. 1:700 000. Second editionRannsóknastofnun landúnaðarins, Reykjavík.Google Scholar
Arnalds, O., Þorarinsdottir, E.F., Metusalemsson, S., Jonsson, A., Gretarsson, E., Arnason, A., (2001). Soil erosion in Iceland. The Soil Conservation Service and the Agricultural Research Institute, Reykjavík.Google Scholar
Batjes, N.H., (1996). Total carbon and nitrogen in the soils of the world. European Journal of Soil Science 47, 151–163.Google Scholar
Behre, A.A., Harte, J., Harden, J.W., Torn, M.S., (2007). The significance of the erosion-induced terrestrial carbon sink. BioScience 57, 337–346.Google Scholar
Bennett, K.D., (2009). Catalog of Pollen Types. Queen's University Belfast, . Belfast. http://www.chrono.qub.ac.uk/pollen/pc-intro.html (last accessed in June 2009).Google Scholar
Blakemore, L.C., Searle, P.L., Daly, B.K., (1987). Methods for Chemical Analysis of Soils. NZ Soil Bureau, Lower Hutt.Google Scholar
Brady, N.C., Weil, R.R., (2002). The Nature and Properties of Soils. 13th EditionPrentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey.Google Scholar
Burt, R., (2004). Soil Survey Laboratory Methods manual. Soil Survey investigation. Report No 42, version 4.0. USDA-NRCA, Lincoln, Nebraska.Google Scholar
Caseldine, C., (2001). Changes in the Holocene record from Iceland — a palaeoclimatic record or evidence for early Holocene hybridisation?. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology 117, 139–152.Google Scholar
Dawson, A.G., Hickey, K., Mayewski, P.A., Nesje, A., (2007). Greenland (GISP2) ice core and historical indicators of complex North Atlantic climate changes during the fourteenth century. The Holocene 17, 427–434.Google Scholar
Dugmore, A.J., Gísladóttir, G., Simpson, I.A., Newton, A., (2009). Conceptual models of 1200 years of Icelandic soil erosion reconstructed using tephrochronology. Journal of the North Atlantic 2, 1–18.Google Scholar
Edwards, K.J., Lawson, I.T., Erlendsson, E., Dugmore, A.J., (2005). Landscapes of contrast in Viking age Iceland and the Faroe Islands. Landscapes 6, 63–81.Google Scholar
Einarsson, M., (1988). Precipitation in southwestern Iceland. Jökull 38, 61–70.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Eiríksson, J., Bartels-Jónsdóttir, H.B., Cage, A.G., Gudmundsdóttir, E.R., Klitgaard- Kristensen, D., Marret, F., Rodrigues, T., Abrantes, F., Austin, W.E.N., Jiang, H., Knudsen, K.L., Sejrup, H.P., (2006). Variability of the North Atlantic Current during the last 2000" years based on shelf bottom water and sea surface temperatures along an open ocean/shallow marine transect in Western Europe. The Holocene 16, 1017–1029.Google Scholar
Erlendsson, E., (2007). Environmental change around the time of the Norse settlement of Iceland. Unpublished PhD thesis, . University of Aberdeen.Google Scholar
Erlendsson, E., Edwards, K.J., Buckland, P.C., (2009a). Vegetational response to early human colonisation of the volcanic and coastal environments of Ketilsstaðir, southern Iceland. Quaternary Research 72, 174–187. 10.1016/j.yqres.2009.05.005 Google Scholar
Erlendsson, E., Vickers, K.A., Gathorne-Hardy, F., Bending, J.M., Gunnarsdóttir, B., Gísladóttir, G., Edwards, K.J., (2009b). Late-Holocene environmental history of the Reykholt area, Borgarfjörður, western Iceland. In: Þorgeirsson, B.(Ed.), Mellan Text och Materiell Kultur . Snorrastofa, Reykholt.Google Scholar
Gathorne-Hardy, F.J., Erlendsson, E., Langdon, P.G., Edwards, K.J., (2009). Lake sediment evidence for late Holocene climate change and landscape erosion in western Iceland. Journal of Paleolimnology 42, 413–426. 10.1007/s10933-008-9285-4 Google Scholar
Geirsdóttir, Á., Miller, G.H., Thordarson, Th., Ólafsdóttir, K., (2009). A 2000" year record of climate variations reconstructed from Haukadalsvatn, West Iceland. Journal of Paleolimnology 41, 95–115. 10.1007/s10933-008-9253-z CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gísladóttir, G., (1998). Environmental Characterization and Change in South-western Iceland. Dissertation Series 10 . Department of Physical Geography, Stockholm University, Stockholm.Google Scholar
Gísladóttir, G., (2001). Ecological disturbance and soil erosion on grazing land in Southwest Iceland. Conacher, A. Land Degradation.Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht.109–126.Google Scholar
Gisladottir, F.O., Arnalds, O., Gisladottir, G., (2005). The effect of landscape and retreating glaciers on wind erosion in South Iceland. Land Degradation and Development 16, 177–187. 10.1002/ldr.645 Google Scholar
Gregorich, E.G., Greer, K.J., Anderson, D.W., Liang, B.C., (1998). Carbon distribution and losses: erosion and deposition effects. Soil and Tillage Research 47, 291–302.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grimm, E.C., (1991). TILIA and TILIA.GRAPH 1. Illinois State Museum, Springfield.Google Scholar
Grimm, E.C., (2004). TGview 2.0.2. Illinois State Museum, Springfield.Google Scholar
Grönvold, K., Óskarsson, N., Johnsen, J., Clausen, H.B., Hammer, C.U., Bond, G., Bard, E., (1995). Ash layers from Iceland in the Greenland GRIP ice core correlated with oceanic and land sediments. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 135, 149–155.Google Scholar
Guðjónsson, G., Gíslason, E., (1988). Vegetation map of Iceland. 1:500 000. General overview. Icelandic Institute of Natural History, Reykjavík, (1st edition).Google Scholar
Hafliðason, H., Larsen, G., Ólafsson, G., (1992). The recent sedimentation history of Thingvallavatn, Iceland. Oikos 64, 80–95.Google Scholar
Hallsdóttir, M., (1987). Pollen Analytical Studies of Human Influence on Vegetation in Relation to the Landnám Tephra Layer in Southwest Iceland. Lundqua Thesis 18. Lund University, . Lund.Google Scholar
Harden, J.W., Sharpe, J.M., Parton, W.J., Ojima, D.S., Fries, T.L., Huntington, T.G., Dabney, S.M., (1999). Dynamic replacement and loss of soil carbon on eroding cropland. Global Biogeochemical Cycles 13, 885–901.Google Scholar
Jacinthe, P.A., Lal, R., (2001). Mass balance approach to assess carbon dioxide evolution during erosional events. Land Degradation and Development 12, 329–339. 10.1002/ldr.454 Google Scholar
Jobbágy, E.G., Jackson, R.B., (2000). The vertical distribution of soil organic carbon and its relation to climate and vegetation. Ecological applications 10, 423–436.Google Scholar
Jóhannesson, H., Einarsson, S., (1988). Krísuvíkureldar I. Aldur Ögmundarhrauns og Miðaldalagsins. Jökull 38, 71–87.Google Scholar
Jóhannesson, H., Sæmundsson, K., (1988). Gological Map of Iceland. 1:500 000. Bedrock geology. Icelandic Institute of Natural History, Reykjavík, (2nd Edition).Google Scholar
Jónsson, J., (1978). Jarðfræðikort af Reykjanesskaga. Skýringar við jarðfræðikort. Jarðfræðikort. Orkustofnun, Reykjavík.Google Scholar
Jónsson, J., (1998). Eldgos á sögulegum tíma á Reykjanesskaga. Náttufræðingurinn 52, 127–139.Google Scholar
Kardjilov, M.I., Gisladottir, G., Gislason, S.R., (2006). Land degradation in North-eastern Iceland: present and past carbon fluxes. Land Degradation and Development 17, 4, 401–417. 10.1002/ldr.746 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Karlsdóttir, L., Thórsson, Æ.Th., Hallsdóttir, M., Sigurgeirsson, A., Eysteinsson, Th., Anamthawat-Jónsson, K., (2007). Differentiating pollen of Betula species from Iceland. Grana 46, 78–84. 10.1080/00173130701237832 Google Scholar
Kristinsson, H., (1986). The Flowering Plants and Ferns of Iceland. Örn og Örlygur, Reykjavík.Google Scholar
Lal, R., (1999). Soil Quality and Soil Erosion. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.Google Scholar
Lal, R., (2003). Soil erosion and the global carbon budget. Environment International 29, 437–450. 10.1016/S0160-4120(02)00192-7 Google Scholar
Lal, R., (2004). Soil carbon sequestration impacts on global climate change and food security. Science 304, 1623–1627. 10.1126/science.1097396 Google Scholar
Larsen, G., Eiríksson, J., (2008). Late Quaternary terrestrial tephrochronology of Iceland-frequency of explosive eruptions, type and volume of tephra deposits. Journal of Quaternary Science 109–120. 10.1002/jps.1129 Google Scholar
Lawson, I.T., Gathorne-Hardy, F.J., Church, M.J., Newton, A.J., Edwards, K.J., Dugmore, A.J., Einarsson, Á., (2007). Environmental impacts of the Norse settlement: palaeoenvironmental data from Mývatnssveit, Northern Iceland. Boreas 36, 1–19. 10.1080/03009480600827298 Google Scholar
McTainsh, G., Strong, C., (2007). The role of aeolian dust in ecosystems. Geomorphology 89, 39–54. 10.1016/j.geomorph.2006.07.028 Google Scholar
Moore, P.D., Webb, J.A., Collinson, M.E., (1991). Pollen Analysis. 2nd ed.Blackwell Science, Oxford.Google Scholar
Newton, A.J., Dugmore, A.J., Gittings, B.M., (2007). Tephrabase: tephrochronology and the development of a centralised European database. Journal of Quaternary Science 22, 737–743. 10.1002/jqs.1094 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Norðdahl, H., Pétursson, H.G., (2005). Relative sea-level changes in Iceland; new aspects of the Weichselian deglaciation of Iceland. Caseldine, C., Russel, A., Hardardottir, J., Knudsen, O. Iceland-modern Processes and Past Environments.Elsevier, Amsterdam.25–78.Google Scholar
Ogilvie, A.E.J., Jónsdóttir, I., (2000). Sea ice, climate, and fisheries in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Arctic 53, 383–394.Google Scholar
Ólafsdóttir, R., Guðmundsson, H., (2002). Holocene land degradation and climatic change in northeast Iceland. The Holocene 12, 159–167. 10.1191/0959683602hl531rp CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Óskarsson, H., Arnalds, Ó., Gudmundsson, J., Gudbergsson, G., (2004). Organic carbon in Icelandic Andosols: geographical variation and impact of erosion. Catena 56, 225–238. 10.1016/j.catena.2003.10.013 Google Scholar
Peña-Ramírez, V.M., Vázquez-Selem, L., Siebe, C., (2008). Soil organic carbon stocks and forest productivity in volcanic ash soils of different age (1835–30,500 B.P.) in Mexico. Geoderma 149, 224–234. 10.1016/j.geoderma.2008.11.038 Google Scholar
Polyakov, V., Lal, R., (2004). Modeling soil organic matter dynamics as affected by soil water erosion. Environmental International 30, 547–556. 10.1016/j.envint.2003.10.011 Google Scholar
Rafnsson, S., (1982). Um aldur Ögmundarhrauns. Þórarinsdóttir, H., Einarsson, Þ. Eldur er í norðri: afmælisrit helgað Sigurði Þórarinssyni sjötugum 8. janúar.Sögufélagið, Reykjavík.415–424. 1982Google Scholar
Róbertsdóttir, B.G., (1992a). Gjóskulagatímatal fyrir Su<eth>urlandsundirlendi. Forsöguleg gjóskulög frá Kötlu, áður nefnd “Katla 5000”. Veggspjaldaráðstefna Jarðfræðafélags Íslands. Jarðfræðafélag Íslands, Reykjavík.8–9. 28 apríl 1992Google Scholar
Róbertsdóttir, B.G., (1992b). Gjóskulagatímatal fyrir Suðurlandsundirlendi. Þrjú forsöguleg gjóskulög frá Heklu, HA, HB og HC. Veggspjaldaráðstefna Jarðfræðafélags Íslands. Jarðfræðafélag Íslands, Reykjavík.6–7. 28 apríl 1992Google Scholar
Rodríguez, A.R., Guerra, A., Arbelo, C., Mora, J.L., Gorrín, S.P., Armas, C., (2004). Organic forms of eroded soil organic carbon in Andosols of the Canary Islands (Spain). Geoderma 121, 205–219. 10.1016/j.geoderma.2003.11.009 Google Scholar
Sicre, M.-A., Jacob, J., Ezat, U., Rousse, S., Kissel, C., Yiou, P., Eiriksson, J., Knudsen, K.L., Jansen, E., Turon, J.-L., (2008). Decadal variability of sea surface temperatures off North Iceland over the last 2000 years. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 268, 137–142. 10.1016/j.epsl.2008.01.011 Google Scholar
Sigurgeirsson, M."., (1992). Gjóskumyndanir á Reykjanesi. Unpublished MSc thesis, University of Iceland.Google Scholar
Sigurgeirsson, M.Á. Hróarsson, B., Jónsson, D., Jónsson, S.S, (1995). Miðaldalagið. Eyjar í eldhafi. Gott mál, Reykjavík.189–198.Google Scholar
Smith, S.V., Renwick, W.H., Buddemeier, R.W., Crossland, C.J., (2001). Budgets of soil erosion and deposition for sediments and sedimentary organic carbon across the conterminous United States. Global Biogeochemical Cycles 15, 697–707.Google Scholar
Stallard, R.F., (1998). Terrestrial sedimentation and the carbon cycle: coupling weathering and erosion to carbon burial. Global Biogeochemical Cycles 12, 231–257.Google Scholar
Stockmarr, J., (1971). Tablets with spores used in absolute pollen analysis. Pollen et Spores 13, 614–621.Google Scholar
Þórarinsson, S., (1961). Uppblástur á Íslandi í ljósi öskulagarannsókna. Ársrit Skógræktarfélags Íslands 1960–1961, 17–54.Google Scholar
Van Oost, K., Quine, T.A., Govers, G., De Gryze, S., Six, J., Harden, J.W., Ritchie, J.C., MaCarty, G.W., Heckrath, G., Kosmas, C., Giraldez, J.V., Marques da Silva, J.R., Merckx, R., (2007). The impact of agricultural soil erosion on the global carbon cycle. Science 318, 626–629. 10.1126/science.1145724 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wada, K., (1985). The distinctive properties of Andosols. Advances in Soil Science 2, 173–229.Google Scholar
Yoo, K., Amundson, R., Heimsath, A.M., Dietrich, W.E., (2005). Erosion of upland hillslope soil organic carbon: coupling field measurements with sediment transport model. Global Biogeochemical Cycles 19, GB 3003>, 10.1029/2004GB002271 Google Scholar
Yoo, K., Amundson, R., Heimsath, A.M., Dietrich, W.E., (2006). Spatial patterns of soil organic carbon on hillslopes: integrating geomorphic processes and the biological C cycle. Geoderma 130, 47–65. 10.1016/j.geoderma.2005.01.008 Google Scholar