Síðumúlaskógur: the saga of an Icelandic birchwood narrated by pollen

Quasi-historical narratives describe extensive birch (Betula pubescens) woodland in Iceland “milli fjalls og fjöru” (lit. between the mountains and the shore) when humans first colonised it in the late 9^th century. It has been estimated that prior to human settlement up to 25% of the island supported woodland; today, only c. 1% of Iceland supports woodland. Kjarardalur in western Iceland is home to a surviving birchwood known as Síðumúlaskógur (c. 1 km²). A small wetland hollow (c. 5 m²) is located within Síðumúlaskógur, exceptional for Iceland in terms of the environmental and ecological context. The pollen preserved within the sediments of this hollow provide a unique opportunity to examine the history of an Icelandic birchwood from just before human settlement down to the present. Therefore, a 30 cm core was extracted from the wetland hollow which was sub-sampled for pollen analysis. In all, there were 24 sub-samples, with a resolution of one sample per centimetre between 877 CE and 1693 CE, the chronological framework defined by tephrochronology and supplemented by radiocarbon dating. This research considers why Síðumúlaskógur was able to survive into the present when so much woodland was lost elsewhere in Iceland; including areas immediately adjacent to Síðumúlaskógur that should, in theory, also continue to support birch woodland.