Olafur Arnalds. Soil and environmental scientist
  • Moldin.net Ólafur Arnalds
  • Mold - Soils
    • Íslensk mold
    • The Icelandic soil
    • Jarðvegskort - Soil map of Iceland
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    • Mold ert þú - kaflar
  • The Soils of Iceland
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    • Books and monographs
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  • Ástand lands - Land condition
    • Ástandsritið
    • Loftslag og mold - rit
    • Að lesa og lækna landið
    • Land literacy
  • Rof, sandar og ryk - Erosion / Aeolian / Dust
    • Jarðvegsrof á Íslandi
    • Soil Erosion in Iceland
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    • The Aeolian Environment
    • Birds and dust
    • Erosion and Aeolian References
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    • Ísnálar
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    • Á móti framförum? (Þokan)
    • Auðkúluheiði - in memoriam
    • Skógartröll
    • Beit, ástand og loftslag
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    • Beit - Afneitun vanda.
  • Lífið / The life
    • Soil poems
    • Geislavirkni og dansandi leir / Dancing clay
    • Egg og öld vistheimtar
  • Um ÓA - About OA
    • Um Ólaf Arnalds
    • CV
    • Ættfræðin - stutt
  • Peer reviewed papers

To Read and Heal the Land

A book by Olafur Arnalds and Asa L. Aradottir (in Icelandic)

PDF
Much of Icelandic ecosystems are severely degraded or in collapsed state.  However, much of this poor state goes un-noticed: land literacy needs to be improved and problems must be recognized.  Furthermore, it is important to realize the relationship between land use and land condition, and that the condition of the land can be improved, degraded land can be restored. 

The book is a text aimed for students and interested public to help the reader to:
  • understand the condition of Icelandic ecosystems – by applying easily identifiable ecosystem condition stages ranging from collapsed state (deserts with broken energy, nutrient and water cycles) to excellent condition;
  • provide some fundamental information about the principles of land restoration;
  • become familiar with ecosystem succession processes and both physical and biological controls and constraints of succession;
  • comprehend ecosystem factors that express land condition, including soil and vegetation factors such as cover, composition, soil organic matter, and factors that affect physical surface conditions;
  • understand degradation processes and their impacts on ecosystems;
  • realize the interaction between land use and land condition;
  • recognize the different erosion processes and landscape forms that express active soil erosion;
  • learn to work with nature in improving the condition of the land, and that there are no quick fixes.
The book is 110 pages and is published jointly by Landvernd (Icelandic Environment Association; www.landvernd.is), an Icelandic NGO aimed at nature protection,  the Icelandic Soil Conservation Service (www.land.is) and the Agricultural University of Iceland.  The e-book is distributed free of charge (link here and on the Icelandic page), and the price of the printed version is kept minimal (more info provided later).

 

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