Land use - State and impacts (Iceland)

Man-made areas cover 0.4 % of the total area of the country (Figure 1) where the largest surface types are classified as sport and leisure facilities (mostly settlements of summer houses and golf courses) and discontinuous urban fabric. Man-made (artificial) surfaces are very small compared to other European countries.

Figure 1.  Spatial distribution of man made (artificial) areas in Iceland (1).

Almost all urban areas are at or near the coast. More than 60 % of the inhabitants live in Reykjavík and adjacent cities in southwestern Iceland. Small inland patches of man-made surfaces are mostly areas of summer houses, but some are power plants (hydro or geothermal) (from 1).

Figure 2. Relative sizes of some man‑made (artificial) and natural land cover classes in Iceland (1).

Agricultural areas cover 2.4 % of the country and are classified into Pastures (97 %), very small patches of non-irrigated arable land and into land under Complex Cultivation Patterns (1).

Between 2000 and 2006, some 0.62 % of Iceland changed its land cover types. The most prominent changes occured in forests and semi-natural surfaces. The largest land cover change is the retreat of glaciers in the last years because of global warming. Between 2000 and 2006 the glaciers shrank by 180 km² or 1.63 % which is an annual reduction of 0.27 % (1).

Figure 3. Spatial distribution of land cover changes in Iceland between 2000 and 2006. The most obvious changes are due to melting (decrease) of the icecaps and spatial fluctuations of some of the glacial rivers (from 1).

Iceland experienced a period of economic upswing after 2003. Initially spurred by investments in the aluminium and power sectors, the annual GDP growth reached over 7 % in 2004-2005 (2). The planning/building and construction activities related to the upswing had much influence on land-use. Between 2000 and 2006, artificial surfaces increased by 64 km²; urban sprawl by 10 %, industrial and commercial sites by 20 %, new summer house areas and golf courses (sport and leisure) by 15 % and several construction sites for residential and industrial districts and a new hydropower plant in eastern Iceland, by 1055 %! (1)

References

(1) Corine Land Classification in Iceland 2000-2006. Report in Icelandic. http://www.lmi.is/Files/Skra_0038437.pdf

(2) Economy of Iceland. Report in English. http://www.sedlabanki.is/lisalib/getfile.aspx?itemid=6372