The main goal of the project is to actively restore birch woodlands in the vicinity of Hekla, and expand old woodland fragments in the area. Thereby protect agricultural areas from future soil erosion that follows tephra deposition from Hekla and other nearby volcanos.
This project is supported by Amalur Forest, a nonprofit entity focused on degraded boreal forest areas that have a great environmental value and are not sufficiently present in collective minds.
Location. This project is located in the northeast side of mount Hekla.
The global project will take decades. On a regular basis, seedlings are planted in groves or woodland islets, so that the new trees will reforest the nearby area in a naturally way.
According to that, this is a very important project for the region due to its location, as the wind blows from NE to SW and can speed up the reforestation process.
Nursery. Seeds of native trees are harvested by local volunteers, then selected taking into account the higher germination and adaptation rates to the project site, and finally planted and grown in a local nursery.
Treeplanting and fertilization. Seedlings are planted both manually by local volunteers and automatically by a planting machine where possible. Each seedling is then enriched with bonemeal fertilizer.
Iceland