Agricultural University of Iceland (AUI)

Participating Scientists

PI: Bjarni D. Sigurdsson, PhD, professor of forest science, ().
Others: AUI: prof. Ólafur Arnalds, prof. Ása L. Aradóttir. Icelandic Forest Research (IFR): Dr. Brynhildur Bjarnadottir, M.Sc. Edda Oddsdottir, M.Sc. Arnór Snorrason. Soil Conservation Service of Iceland (SCS): Dr. Gudmundur Halldórsson

 

Expertise

The Agricultural University of Iceland (AUI) is the leading institution in soil-related research in Iceland and together with the IFR and SCS it is responsible for the land use, land-use change and forestry (LULUCF) national bookkeeping of Iceland. Better understanding of temporal and spatial changes in soil organic carbon (SOC) and other aspects of the terrestrial carbon cycle is a central issue for much of the research activity done by group.

 

The research work involves national inventories of carbon stocks, remote sensing, process-based modelling, field studies on chronosequences with different historical land-use and tree cover, catchment studies, micrometeorological and ecophysiolocial flux measurements on intensive research sites and laboratory work with incubations and microcosms. Even if the whole group is working on a wide range of ecosystems, the part of the group directly involved with this project is mainly working on either managed forests (plantations) or natural mountain birch woodlands.

 

Contributing Research Programmes

• IGLUD/ÍSÚ/NIRA (ongoing): National inventories on Icelands land-use change, forests and revegetation areas, respectively. The objectives of these inventories are to monitor the changes in C- stocks, control/improve the existing mapping and gather data to improve current methodology.
• CarboBrich (2008-2011) It is a chronosequence study in birch woodlands that were restored last century, the oldest being established in the 1940s. Since then these woodlands have expanded naturally. The chronosequence consists of six stages (age-classes), which each can be compared eroded land or old natural woodlands.

Relevant recent publications

• Bjarnadottir, B., B.D. Sigurdsson and A. Lindroth 2007. Estimate of annual carbon balance of a young Siberian larch (Larix sibirica) plantation in Iceland. Tellus B 59 (5): 891899.
• Hyvönen, R., G.I. Ågren, S. Linder, T. Persson, M. F. Cotrufo, A. Ekblad, M. Freeman, A. Grelle, I.A. Janssens, P.G. Jarvis, S.Kellomäki, A. Lindroth, D. Loustau, T. Lundmark, R. J. Norby, R. Oren, K. Pilegaard, M. G. Ryan, B. D. Sigurdsson, M.Strömgren , M. van Oijen and G. Wallin. 2007. The likely impact of elevated [CO2], nitrogen deposition, increased temperature and management on carbon sequestration in temperate and boreal forest ecosystems. New Phytol. 173: 463480.
• Jonsson, J. A. & B. D. Sigurdsson (2009) Effects of thinning and fertilization on soil respiration in a cottonwood plantation in Iceland. Biogeosci. Discuss. 6: 9257-9278.
• Sigurdsson, B. D., B. Magnusson, A. Elmarsdottir & B. Bjarnadottir (2005) Biomass and composition of understory vegetation and the forest floor carbon stock across Siberian larch and mountain birch chronosequences in Iceland. Annals For. Sci. 62 (8): 881-888.
• Weslien, J., L. Finér, J.A. Jonsson, H. Koivusalo, A. Laurén, T. Ranius, B. D. Sigurdsson (2009) Effects of increased forest productivity and warmer climates on carbon sequestration, runoff water quality and accumulation of dead wood in a Boreal landscape: a modeling study. Scan. J. For. Res. 24: 333-347.