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The Norse landnám on the North Atlantic islands: an environmental impact assessment

Dugmore, AJ; Church, MJ; Buckland, PC; Edwards, KJ; Lawson, IT; McGovern, TH; Panagiotakopulu, E; Simpson, IA; Skidmore, P; Sveinbjarnardóttir, G

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Authors

AJ Dugmore

PC Buckland

KJ Edwards

IT Lawson

TH McGovern

E Panagiotakopulu

IA Simpson

P Skidmore

G Sveinbjarnardóttir



Abstract

The Norse colonisation or landnám of the North Atlantic islands of the Faroes, Iceland and Greenland, from the ninth century AD onwards, provides opportunities to examine human environmental impacts on ‘pristine’ landscapes of an environmental gradient from warmer more maritime conditions in the east to colder more continental conditions in the west. In this paper we consider key environmental contrasts across the Atlantic and initial settlement impacts on the biota and landscape. The modes of origin of the biota, which resulted in boreo-temperate affinities, a lack of endemic species, limited diversity and no grazing mammals on the Faroes or Iceland, are crucial in determining environmental sensitivity to human impact and in particular the impact of introduced domestic animals. Gathering new data, understanding their geographical patterns and changes through time is seen as crucial when tackling fundamental questions about human interactions with environment that are relevant to both understanding the past and planning for the future.

Citation

Dugmore, A., Church, M., Buckland, P., Edwards, K., Lawson, I., McGovern, T., …Sveinbjarnardóttir, G. (2005). The Norse landnám on the North Atlantic islands: an environmental impact assessment. Polar Record, 41(1), 21-37. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0032247404003985

Journal Article Type Article
Publication Date Jan 1, 2005
Deposit Date Dec 2, 2008
Publicly Available Date Mar 29, 2024
Journal Polar Record
Print ISSN 0032-2474
Electronic ISSN 1475-3057
Publisher Cambridge University Press
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 41
Issue 1
Pages 21-37
DOI https://doi.org/10.1017/s0032247404003985
Keywords Norse, Landnam, North Atlantic, Human impact, Adaptation.
Publisher URL http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=281568&fulltextType=RA&fileId=S0032247404003985

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