A deep stand of
trees once grew here-
Untouched last reach
Birthplace of geysirs

Island, home to flocks
Birds of every North
And then the monks
And then the Norse.

And the Frigg-blessed
green gave way
to ships and staves
to fire and furnace.

Millenium
has passed since then
Now seeming it
Was always so,

The blue expanse
of rocky snow
Giant-beaten
Denuded plain.

But Myvatn
lives again
Salix and Spruce
On pristine shores~

O, what a dream
That we return
this island gem
to what it was!

National Park - Jökulsárgljúfur

Jökulsárgljúfur National Park
Located on the west side of the glacier river Jökulsá á Fjöllum, The Jökulsárgljúfur National Park extends some 25 kilometers between road nr. 85 in Kelduhverfi, southwards to the waterfall Dettifoss, covering an area of approximately 120 sq. km.
Jökulsárgljúfur National Park was established in 1973, when the farm Svínadalur and a small part of Áshei›i were declared a protected area. A year later the Ás estate was added to the National Park and in 1978 most of Ásbyrgi was incorporated into the Park. Ásbyrgi is owned by the Forest Service.
History
In past centuries, Ás in Kelduhverfi was a prosperous estate, ranking among the largest in Iceland; it reached form the sea to Dettifoss and west to the district boundary at Bunguveggur. Living at Ás had many advantages such as woods yielding timber large enough for rafters, as well as extensive grasslands. But floods in Jökulsá during the 17th and 18th centuries caused ravages, and the farm never recovered. There was a church at Ás until 1816; the outlines of the cemetery are still visible.
Long part of Ás, Svínadalur appears to have been a "sel" or a summer dairy station at one time. Through out the 19th century and until 1946 it was a farm, but is now deserted. Ásbyrgi once belonged to Ás. The Forest Service has owned Ásbyrgi since 1930s and has planted amount of foreign conifers there.
Flora
The most prominent plant communities in the canyon area are brushwood and heath. The largest woodlands are those of Ásbyrgi, Áshöf›i and the Land farms, though stands of trees are also found in sheltered places in the river gorge. The main species is birch (Betula pubescens) but willows (Salix phylicifolia, S. lanata) are common and reach unusual heights for Iceland. Rowan (Sorbus aucuparia) occurs on cliffs and scree slopes. The heaths are covered with various types of dwarfshrubs ( Vaccinium, Empetrum, Arctostaphylos), along with willows, dwarf birch (Betula nana) and juniper (Juniperus communis). Bearberry (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi) and juniper often grow on hummocks, thus giving the heathland a green veneer in winter. Lichens are common, including the bright-yellow Alectoria ochroleuca. The beaked sedge (Carex rostrata) is the dominant species in wet bogs and often forms reed beds around ponds.
Sheltered hollows and slopes display a great variety of flowering herbs, wood cranesbill (Geranium sylvaticum) being the most noticeable. Angelica (Angelica archangelica) grows in clusters around springs. The tall spreading wood millet (Milium effusum) is sometimes found in woodlands and rocky tracts. The broad-leaved willow herb (Epilobium latifolium) grows along the river and up among rocks. Strawberries (Fragaria vesca), occurring here and there in the lower area, ripen in most years. Serrated wintergreen (Orthilia secunda) is common and perhaps the most characteristic plant species for the canyon. Ferns and clubmosses are not widespread, except for brittle bladder fern (Cystopteris fragilis), though the less common holly fern (Polystichum lonchitis) may be found along rock walls.
Two species mark the western boundary of the East -Iceland flora: harebell (Campanula rotundifolia), present in Vesturdalur and Ásbyrgi, and a species of lady's mantle (Alchemilla faeroensis) in Ásbyrgi. Among rare plants are herb paris (Paris quadrifolia), narrow-leaved willow herb (Epilobium angustifolium) and meadow vetchling (Lathyrus pratensis), all three occurring near to Ás, as well as interrupted clubmoss (Lycopodium annotinum) in Hólmatungur. Altogether, some 240 species of vascular plants are known to grow in the canyon area. In the late summer, wooded tracts are often teeming with mushrooms, especially the edible (Boletus scaber), though also a poisonous species, the fly agaric (Amanita muscaria), called berserkjasveppur (berserk mushroom) in Icelandic.
Fauna
Like in most of Iceland, birds are better represented than other animal species. Moorland birds are the most common: golden plover (Pluvialis apricaria), meadow pipit (Anthus pratensis), and ptarmigan (Lagopus mutus). Red wings (Turdus iliacus) are quite common and there are some other species, such as snow bunting (Plectrophenax nivalis), redpoll (Acanthis flammea), wheatear (Oenanthe oenanthe), wren (Troglodytes troglodytes) and snipe (Gallinago gallinago). Gyrfalcons (Falco rusticolus) and merlins (Falco columbarius) nest in cliffs. The raven (Corvus corax) is ubiquitous as elsewhere in Iceland. Redshank (Tringa totanus), red-necked phalarope (Phlaropus lobatus) and various kinds of ducks are found near lakes and ponds. Geese are conspicuous, particularly in late summer. Arctic terns (Sterna paradisaea) and gulls can be seen in the lower part of the area. The sandy stretches toward the sea are the only place in North-Iceland where the great skua (Catharacta skua) nests. Around 1970, the fulmar (Fulmaris glacialis) began to nest in the Ásbyrgi cliffs and has now established a colony there.
There are few mammals. Though rare here, arctic foxes (Alopex lagopus) have lairs in a few places, and minks (Mustela vision) have been observed since 1955. Long tailed field mice (Apodemus sylvaticus) are common.
Migratory char (Salvelinus alpinus) enters Jökulsá late in summer, but salmon (Salmo salar) only rarely. Ástjörn teems with stickleback (Gasterosteus oculeatus) and trout was introduced into the lake in the sixties.
Text courtesy of Náttúruvernd ríkisins

Til baka

Icelands flora is arctic-alpine and the largest part of it´s 500 flowering species is of european origin. Icelandic woodland are made up primarely of Birch, with very few other woodland species being present. The land was at settlement believed to have been covered with these woods up to about 400 M. but human inhabitation has had a serious impact on these, so that today only very few patches remain of the original birchwoods. Only one conifer is native to Iceland, the juniper, but in past decades many different foreign conifers and other trees have been imported and planted in large numbers changing the landscape substantionally in many areas.
Mammals
Iceland, as an isolated island far from other land cannot be expected to have many wild terrestrial mammals, this is also the case. The only original land mammal to live there when the first settlers came was the arctic fox. Man has added deliberately and unintentionally to the number found today. The first one was probably the field mouse which is now found all over Iceland. Another is the Reindeer brought to the island in the 18th century. The most resent and annoying addition was the American Mink, which has since 1930 spread throughout the country with a dramatic effect on many seabird colonies. The marine mammals are on the other hand many and some very common, apart from the two native seal species which bear pups on the Iceland coast, all the other arctic seal species and the walrus can be considered common vagrants if not winter guests in the waters surrounding the island. Another arctic vagrant which occurs on the island during pack-ice years is the Polar bear, but fortunately both for bear and man these cold years with pack ice have been few in the past decades. Whales are common around the island today but were almost certainly even more common in centuries gone by. Hunting by various nations depleted many of these species to the brink of extinction. One is with certainty gone forever, the atlantic race of the Gray whale, this species only lives on in the descriptions in a 17th century book. The Icelanders themselves only hunted the great whales for about 40 years after the second world war, but the smaller species were probably always taken to some extent, more often as an occasional catch, rather than by direct hunting.
Birds
Icelandic birdlife differs in many respects from neighbouring countries. This becomes evident when one looks at the number of species and to which groups they belong. The absence of small passerines and songbirds illustrates the lack of woodlands and the isolated position of Iceland but the number of waterfowl demonstrates favourable conditions for these. Most importantly the ocean provides abundant opportunities for huge numbers of seabirds, so what Iceland is lacking in the number of spices is more than made up by the number of individuals, The quality of birdwatching in Iceland is great because of the high density of birds and how easily observed they are. The seabirds colonies of the west are home to millions of Guillemots. Puffins, the most numerous spices of Iceland, are found in dense colonies all around the island. The most sought after species by birdwatchers visiting Iceland are the Icelandic Gyrfalcon, the largest falcon in the world, the Red-necked Phalarope and Puffin, can all be easily found with some experience or local guiding. All in all birdwatching in Iceland is not just for the advanced, but a pleasant experience for everyone who enjoys nature.
Fish
One half our fatherlands is the ocean. This Icelandic proverb says it all. Iceland is to a large degree shaped by the ocean and the livelihood of Icelanders has been moulded by the ever-present ocean throughout the centuries. In the early 20th century almost 90% of the national income came directly from the sea in the form of fish and products thereof. This illustrates the richness of the surrounding waters. The currents of ocean water laden with nutrients hit an obstacle in the form of sub-oceanic ridges forcing them up towards the sunlight which, in the summer months lasts often 20 hours a day. This enables algae to bloom in enormous quantities, and thus form nutrients upon which the whole ecosystem thrives, a multitude of species of zooplankton convert these to food for ever larger organisms, weather it be fish, whales or birds. In the pages following this one, a few of the most important fish species of Iceland will be discussed. In all about 320 species have been recorded within the Icelandic economical zone, many, of course, are rare vagrants, others are deepwater species which only occasionally come into the hands of humans, the number of these has risen in later years due to ever more effective fishing gear, the fishing grounds are expanding to ever deeper water and marine research gets more extensive with each year. The two main species forming the base of the icelandic economy throughout the 20th century were Cod and Herring, but in the latter part of this period as the herring stocks diminished Capelin became very important and now in the last years of the century the annual catches can reach over a million tons. Altogether only about 30 species of fish can be said to have a role to play in Icelandic fisheries but the number will most likely rise slightly in the future as one seeks new ways profiting from the ocean and most of today's stocks are strictly managed by an effective quota system. The most resent species of fish caught commercially by Icelandic fishermen is the Tuna, but the future will determine weather this will become a steady source of work and income.
http://www.iww.is/default.asp