Skógræktarritið - 15.05.2001, Page 208

Fig. 2. A forest on the other side of the pond does not spoil the view although
planting on this side would.
Fig. I. This was a Kobresia-Empetrum
heath 30 years ago. Obviously,
afforestation changes the environment.
same factor can be quite differ-
ent, even opposite, from one
scale to the next. In general,
effects of afforestation will be
greatest on the smallest scale, on
the individual forest owner or
afforestation site. On the commu-
nity or landscape scale the effects
will be variable but generally less.
Some areas will see considerable
changes due to afforestation, oth-
ers practically none. On the level
of entire regions or the whole
country, the goal of afforesting
5% of the land area below 400 m
elevation over the next 40 years
means that 95% will remain tree-
less. The environmental impact
will likewise be small. By the
same token, the effect will be
negligible on the global scale.
Effects on humans and culture
It is difficult to find negative
effects of afforestation on
humans in a land practically
devoid of forests. Afforestation
supported by government grant
schemes provides an added
source of income to those land
owners, mostly farmers, who par-
ticipate. This can amount to as
much as 3-4 months wages and
can in some cases mean the dif-
ference between the farm
remaining inhabited or not. Jobs
are also created in seedling pro-
duction and a variety of other
services connected to forestry.
Forests provide a variety of
goods and services including
shelter, recreational opportuni-
ties and even religious experi-
ence and it is hoped that a tim-
ber resource will eventually deve-
lope in some areas. The change
in land use leads, at least tem-
porarily, to a reduction in avail-
able grazing land but that is each
land owner's choice. The exis-
tance of a woodlot probably
increases property value.
Afforestation obviously
changes the look of the land-
scape, which is a psychological
effect on humans. Depending on
the type of forest planted, the
height, color and texture of the
vegetation will change. The plan-
tations will for the most part be
individual enclosures, from 20 to
150 ha in area, surrounded by
treeless land. Because fences are
straight, more or less straight
forest edges will form. These can
be made "softer” by planting
lower growing tree and shrub
species towards the forest edge.
Changes in the look of the land-
scape will be the greatest near
towns artd near farms and fields
in densly populated rural com-
munities, less in more sparsely
populated rural areas and none
outside of populated areas.
Whether these changes are seen
as positive or negative is a mat-
ter of individual taste and is difi-
cult to deal with scientifically in
environmental impact assess-
ment. However, forests can hide
individual landscape features
from view and this must be dealt
with in afforestation planning.
There is a danger that affore-
station activity can damage
archaeological sites through site
preparartion, through the growth
of tree roots or by blow-down of
trees. Some say that it is at least
as likely that afforestation will
help to conserve archaeological
sites by preventing erosion.
Nevertheless, care must be taken
to avoid disturbing sites of
archaeological or historical inter-
est with afforestation. This is
best done through the afforesta-
tion planning process and by
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SKÓGRÆKTARRITIÐ 2001 l.tbl.