Skógræktarritið - 15.05.2001, Side 85

SKÓGRÆKT HANDAN SKÓGARMARKA / NSSE
Development of forestry in
Iceland during the 20th century
SAMANTEKT
1 greininni erfjallað í stuttu máli um helstu atriði í sögu skógræktará
Islandi, einkum síðan 1950. Fjallað er um innflutning trjátegunda, upp-
byggingu gróðrarstöðva á sjötta áratug síðustu aldar, samdrátt í kjölfar
aprílhretsins 1963 og dauða skógarfurunnar, uppbyggingu rannsókna
og aukningu í skógrækt á ný um og eftir 1990 með tilkomu Iandshluta-
bundinna skógræktarverkefna og Landgræðsluskóga. Þá er fjallað um
helstu trjátegundir sem gróðursettar eru á íslandi.
SIGURÐUR BLÖNDAL
History
The year 1950 was a turning
point in Icelandic forestry. Since
1910, emphasis had been on the
state, through the Iceland Forest
Service, obtaining, enclosing and
protecting the best remnants of
birchwoods, many of which are
now our most cherished national
forests. After 1950, plantation
forestry based mostly on exotics,
became more important in terms
of effort and capital investment.
Contacts made to Alaska, north-
ern Scandinavia, the USSR and
regions with high elevation
forests at more southern lati-
tudes, such as the Colorado, led
to importation of seed for experi-
ments with tree species that were
likely to survive in Iceland.
Tree nurseries were built to
meet the need for seedlings and
production exceeded 1 million
seedlings by 1958. At that time,
there were two actors in forestry;
the Iceland Forest Service and
forestry societies. The former
concentrated on managing birch-
woods and planting exotics with-
in them, the later on afforesta-
tion of treeless land. In 1960,
there were over 8,000 members
of forestry societies out of a pop-
ulation of 177,000.
Two setbacks in the early
1960's had very negative practical
and psychological effects on the
development of forestry. These
were the failure of Norwegian
Scots pine, the most-planted
species during the 1950's, and an
unusually long winter warm spell
followed by hard frosts in April,
1963 causing massive tree mor-
tality in southern and western
Iceland, especially among the
Alaskan species. The practical
outcome was to search for new
species and provenances, but the
psychological effects were a
much more difficult challenge,
with planting not reaching 1960
levels again until 1990.
The need for forest research
was better recognised and a sub-
stantial gift from the Norwegian
people allowed a research sta-
tion to be opened in 1967. In
1969, parliament first approved
funding for grants for establish-
ing woodlots on farms. This was
a pilot project on only a few
farms in Eastern Iceland. These
two developments, along with
experience gained in the national
forests, are the foundations of
lcelandic forestry today.
Increased funding for forestry
during the 1970’s led to several
technical developments, includ-
ing advances in nursery produc-
tion. A sharpening of afforesta-
tion goals took place at this time
as well in connection with the
Land Reclamation Plan in 1974.
Farm afforestation was expanded
by a 1984 act of parliament, with
the goal of establishing timber
production plantations in those
areas where it was considered
feasible. This in turn led to the
establishment a regional farm
afforestation project in East
Iceland in 1991, followed by
other similar regional projects in
other parts of the country. By
2000, such regional projects cov-
ered the whole country, provid-
ing grants to land-owners for
afforestation with multiple-use
goals, not necessarily including
timber production.
The Land Reclamation Forest
Project was initiated in 1990 by
the Icelandic Forestry Associ-
ation, whereby 1 million seed-
lings have been planted every
year since, mostly by forestry
societies in co-operation with
local municipalities. State fund-
ing for afforestation has in-
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