Sustainable Grazing in Iceland
Explore how sheep grazing impacts Iceland's landscape, examining the intersection of traditional farming practices with environmental sustainability.
Explore how sheep grazing impacts Iceland's landscape, examining the intersection of traditional farming practices with environmental sustainability.
This course investigates the environmental impact of sheep grazing in Iceland, using it as a case study to understand broader issues of sustainable resource management. Students explore how human land use can rival natural forces in shaping landscapes, examining the complex relationship between traditional farming practices and environmental degradation. The course covers historical perspectives, current management practices, and future sustainability challenges, integrating ecological principles with socioeconomic factors to understand effective resource management in the face of environmental change.
Instructors:
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What you'll learn
Understand the cultural and economic significance of sheep grazing in Iceland
Analyze the environmental impacts of traditional grazing practices
Examine ecological principles governing grazing systems
Evaluate current approaches to sustainable grazing management
Skills you'll gain
This course includes:
PreRecorded video
Graded assignments, exams
Access on Mobile, Tablet, Desktop
Limited Access access
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There are 5 modules in this course
This course examines the environmental impact of sheep grazing in Iceland and its implications for sustainable resource management. Students learn about the historical development of sheep farming, its cultural significance, and its environmental consequences. The curriculum explores ecological principles governing grazing systems, current management practices, and strategies for sustainable land use. Through this case study, students gain insights into broader issues of environmental conservation and sustainable resource management.
Course Introduction
Module 1
Sheep Grazing in the North
Module 2
Historical Perspective of Sheep Grazing in Iceland
Module 3
The Present and Future of Sheep Grazing in Iceland
Module 4
Summary and Conclusions
Module 5
Fee Structure
Instructors
Professor
Olafur Arnalds, who holds a Ph.D. in Soil Science from Texas A&M University, has served as a professor at the Agricultural University of Iceland since 2005, including a tenure as Dean until 2012, while also contributing as a core teacher and studies committee member at the UN University Land Restoration Training Programme. His extensive involvement in international research and policy programmes related to soil and environmental sciences, including EU and Nordic networks, complements his three-year service on the Icelandic Research Fund board. Beyond his scientific publications, he has prioritized outreach programmes and educational material development, focusing his research on volcanic area soils, Icelandic soil genesis and properties, ecological restoration, and carbon sequestration. His significant contributions to the field include authoring and editing multiple international scientific books on soils, land degradation, soil conservation, and rangeland sciences, as well as creating the Icelandic soil map and "The Soils of Iceland" for Springer, while his program on "Soil Erosion in Iceland" earned the 1998 Nordic Nature and Environmental Award, and his recent work has concentrated on quantifying and mapping dust production from Icelandic desert areas and studying aeolian processes.
Associate Professor, Agricultural University of Iceland and United Nations University Land Restoration Training Programme
At the Agricultural University of Iceland, Dr. Isabel C. Barrio serves as an Associate Professor, teaching rangeland ecology and management while also instructing and mentoring fellows through the United Nations University Land Restoration Training Programme (UNU-LRT). Her research concentrates on plant-herbivore interactions within tundra ecosystems, with a particular focus on studying the effects of sheep grazing on Iceland's common highland ranges, which represents a primary land use practice in the country. Following the completion of her PhD in Environmental Sciences in 2010, she conducted postdoctoral research at the University of Alberta in Canada before establishing herself in Iceland in 2015.
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