Íslenskar landbúnaðarrannsóknir - 01.09.1980, Síða 84

82 ÍSLENZKAR LANDBÚNAÐARRANNSÓKNIR
áhrifum ýmiss konar mannvirkjagerðar,
svo sem vegagerðar, smíði stórbrúa, virkj-
unarframkvæmda og stórbygginga, sem
mikið jarðrask fylgir. Einnig má nefna
efnistöku til mannvirkjagerðar og jafnvel
efnisleit. Þá geta gróðurkort orðið nytsörn
ABSTRACT
Vegetation mapping in Icelaiid
Gylfi Már Guðbergsson
Department of Geosciences
University of Iceland
Mapping of vegetation in Iceland began
on a smali scale in 1955 and the first map
was published in 1957 (fig. 1). Since 1961
vegetation mapping has been a conti-
nuous program at the Agricultural Re-
search Institute.
The principal objectives of this classifi-
cation and mapping of vegetation and
of other land cover have been to evaluate
land quality for agricultural purposes,
determine the carrying capacity ofgrazing
land and to provide a basis for manage-
ment of grazing areas.
The successive stages of the carto-
graphic process are reviewed in this ar-
ticle. Data collection and field work are
outlined as well as specifications of the
maps, data representation and map con-
struction.
During the first years after the mapping
activities began as a major program in
1961 the emphasis was on work in the
common grazing areas in the highlands.
Field work in the lowland farming dis-
við skipulag hvers konar íbúðarbyggðar
og sumarbústaðahverfa. Loks eru gróð-
urkort mikilsverð heimild um gróðurfar og
um ásjónu landsins á þeim tíma, sem
gróður- og landgreining fer fram á hverj-
um stað.
tricts was started in 1968 (fig. 2). There
has been increasing demand for lowland
mapping since research and vegetation
maps have revealed the need for conser-
vation and better management of the
common grazing lands.
Vegetation maps of highland areas are
at a scale of 1 : 40 000 (Gróðurkort af ís-
landi fig. 3). A total of 64 maps covering
28 800 km2 have been completed. Maps of
lowland districts (Gróður- og jarðakort)
are at a scale of 1 : 20 000 and 13 sheets
(fig. 4) covering 4 700 km2 in the Borgar-
fjörður district have been completed (fig.
5).
Vegetation mapping has been based on
aerial photographs of various dates and
scales and the AMS CC762 map series at
1 : 50 000 scale (fig. 6) but Icelandic
orthophotomaps (1 : 20 000) will be used
in the future and then the map format will
change (figs. 7,8).
The classification of vegetation types
and land cover is outlined as well as the
field work, map content, symbolization
and design (table I, figs. 10, 11, 12).
Averticalreflectingprojector (fig. 13) is
used to transfer information from field
maps and air-photos to a base map and a
worksheet of the map is drafted in ink on a