Master’s thesis From Coast to Forest Development of Icelandic Coastal Forests, their Linkage to Aquatic Systems and the Perspective of Locals on them Kerstin Frank Advisors: Brynhildur Bjarnadóttir, Ph.D and Daniel Govoni University of Akureyri Faculty of Business and Science University Centre of the Westfjords Master of Resource Management: Coastal and Marine Management Ísafjörður, May 2020 Supervisory Committee Advisor: Daniel Govoni, MSc Brynhildur Bjarnadóttir, PhD Program Director: Catherine Chambers, Ph.D. Kerstin Frank From Coast to Forest - Development of Icelandic Coastal Forests, their Linkage to Aquatic Systems and the Perspective of Locals on them 45 ECTS thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of a Master of Resource Management degree in Coastal and Marine Management at the University Centre of the Westfjords, Suðurgata 12, 400 Ísafjörður, Iceland Degree accredited by the University of Akureyri, Faculty of Business and Science, Borgir, 600 Akureyri, Iceland Copyright © 2020 Kerstin Frank All rights reserved Printing: Háskólaprent, Reykjavík, May 2020 Declaration I hereby confirm that I am the sole author of this thesis and it is a product of my own academic research. __________________________________________ Kerstin Frank Abstract Coastal forests are not closed ecosystems, but are in constant interaction with other systems, including fresh waters and oceans. Interaction also takes place between humans and forests, as forests impact humans as much as humans impact forests. Therefore, a comprehensive approach is needed in order to understand ecological processes in forests and to manage them in a functional way that is also supported by society. This is especially important in Iceland, a mostly treeless country, where reforestation is an important subject on one hand, but on the other hand, there is a lack of studies on this topic. In this master’s thesis, two forest stands in the Westfjords of Iceland were studied by including a natural- as well as social-scientific approach. Within two 15 year old stands in Tálknafjörður, the growth and the survival of trees were analysed, as well as the CO2-sequestration potential. Furthermore, the impact of these forests on fresh water as well as coastal water was studied by comparing the dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and total dissolved nitrogen (TDN) concentration of a stream and a coastal area within and outside a forested area. Additionally, on the base of a survey, the public opinion towards forests and reforestation projects in Iceland was carried out. The results show that there was significant growth of trees since the last measurement in 2009. However, the stands had a rather low annual CO2-sequestration rate of 0.55 t and 0.74 t per hectare and per year. No differences in DOC and TDN concentrations between water systems within and outside a forested area could be identified. Yet, the vast majority of the local Icelandic residents seems to have a positive attitude towards forests in general and reforestation projects in Iceland, especially in regards to fighting climate change. The understanding of the potential of forests in Iceland and their linkage to water systems as well as the perspective of local residents on Icelandic forests is important in order to manage future large-scale reforestation projects in Iceland. iii Útdráttur Ekkert vistkerfi er eyland. Skógarvistkerfi sem vaxa við sjávarsíðuna eru t.d. líkleg til að hafa áhrif á ferskvatnslæki og ár sem renna til sjávar. En skógarvistkerfi hafa ekki bara áhrif á önnur vistkerfi heldur líka á okkur mennina og það samfélag sem við byggjum. Þess vegna er góður skilningur á ferlum innan skógarvistkerfa mikilvægur, en slíkur skilningur hjálpar okkur að umgangast skóginn þannig að hann verði samfélagi okkar mannanna til bóta. Á Íslandi, í nánast skóglausu landi, er talsverð áhersla lögð á að endurheimta töpuð skógarvistkerfi en skortur á rannsóknum um samspil manna og skóga er umtalsverður. Í þessu meistaraprófsverkefni voru tveir skógarreitir á Vestfjörðum lagðir til grundvallar rannsóknum á skógarvistkerfinu sjálfu sem og rannsóknum á viðhorfi almennings til skógræktar á svæðinu. Fram fóru hefðbundnar skógmælingar á tveimur 15 ára skógarreitum í Tálknafirði til að leggja mat á kolefnsibindingu þeirra. Enn fremur voru áhrif skógar á ferskvatnskerfi skoðuð með því að mæla styrk uppleysts kolefnis (DOC) og köfnunarefnis (TDN) í lækjum sem runnu til sjávar annars vegar í gegnum skógarvistkerfi og hins vegar í gegnum skóglaust land. Þar að auki var send út spurningarkönnun þar sem viðhorf almennings til skógrækar var kannað. Niðurstöðurnar sýndu umtalsverðan vöxt í trjánum frá því að síðasta úttekt var gerð, árð 2009. Hraði kolefnisbindingar í reitunum var hins vegar fremur lítill eða um 0,55 t og 0,74 t CO2 á hektara á ári. Engin marktækur munur mældist á styrk uppleysts kolefnis og köfnunarefnis í lækjum sem runnu annars vegar í gegnum skógarvistkerfi og hins vegar í gegnum skóglaust svæði. Meirihluti íbúa á Vestfjörðum sagðist vera jákvæður gagnvart skógrækt og skógræktarverkefnumá Íslandi og töldu skógrækt mikilvæga í baráttunni gegn hlýnun jarðar. iv “The health of our waters is the principal measure of how we live on the land.” Spruces in the study area Gileyri with Tálknafjörður in the back. ©Kerstin Frank Quotation by Luna Leopold, professor emeritus, Department of Landscape Architecture, University of California, Berkeley v Table of Contents Abstract ............................................................................................................................... iii Útdráttur ............................................................................................................................. iv List of Figures ...................................................................................................................... v List of Tables ....................................................................................................................... ix Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................. xi 1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 1 2 Theoretical background .................................................................................................. 7 2.1 The value of forests .................................................................................................... 7 2.1.1 Importance of forests – an ecological approach ...................................... 10 2.1.2 Social values of forests ............................................................................ 24 2.2 Forestry in Iceland.................................................................................................... 27 2.2.1 Vegetation cover in Iceland before human settlement ............................ 27 2.2.2 Impacts on vegetation cover of early settlement in Iceland .................... 28 th 2.2.3 Icelandic forests in the 19 century until today ...................................... 28 3 Main aims of this study ................................................................................................. 33 4 Material and methods .................................................................................................... 37 4.1 Evaluation of forest growth and CO2-sequestration ................................................ 37 4.1.1 Study sites ............................................................................................... 37 4.1.2 Study design ............................................................................................ 40 4.1.3 Data collection ........................................................................................ 41 4.1.4 Calculation of carbon storage and CO2-sequestration of single trees ..... 43 4.1.5 Statistical analysis of forestry data .......................................................... 46 4.2 Evaluation of the effects of forest on water quality ................................................. 46 4.2.1 Study sites of water sampling ................................................................. 46 4.2.2 Procedure of water sampling ................................................................... 50 4.3 Survey ...................................................................................................................... 50 4.3.1 Target groups .......................................................................................... 51 4.3.2 Distribution of the survey and time frame .............................................. 51 4.3.3 Survey type and outline ........................................................................... 52 4.3.4 Ethical issues ........................................................................................... 55 v 4.3.5 Data analysis and quality management ................................................... 56 5 Results ............................................................................................................................. 59 5.1 Evaluation of coastal forests .................................................................................... 59 5.1.1 Number of trees and tree species ............................................................ 59 5.1.2 Tree heights ............................................................................................. 62 5.1.3 Carbon sequestration potential ...............................................................