Exploring Þórsmörk Nature Reserve
The GRÓ LRT fellows went on a one-day excursion to Þórsmörk nature reserve last week. The focus of this excursion was on how ecosystem restoration can increase ecosystem resilience and mitigate disaster risks.
Guiding us on this tour was Mr Sveinn Runólfsson, who served as the Director of the Soil Conservation Service of Iceland for over 40 years. With a wealth of experience, he illuminated the historical degradation of the Þórsmörk region and informed the GRÓ LRT fellows about the substantial efforts that have been made, throughout more than a century, to restore the birch forest ecosystem that characterized the lowlands prior to the arrival of man in the 9th century.
Situated just north of the renowned Eyjafjallajökull glacier and volcano, the Þórsmörk region endured the impact of the Eyjafjallajökull eruption in 2010. The tephra from the eruption blanketed the land with a layer of ash, yet the woody vegetation demonstrated its effectiveness in entrapping and halting the redistribution of the ash. In stark contrast, the ash that fell on barren areas was easily blown around and washed away, exacerbating air pollution and leading to ash accumulation in river channels, worsening flood risks. This underscores the heightened resilience of the restored ecosystem in the face of ash deposits.
With us on the excursion were two crews of filmmakers, capturing the GRÓ LRT fellows during this educational tour. Each team is engaged in separate projects, with one documenting restoration in international context, while the other is producing a film about the four GRÓ programmes in Iceland.
