Editing Hekla (section)

==Flora and fauna==
[[File:Flower near Hekla.jpg|thumb|right|[[Sea Campion]] colonising ground close to Hekla]]
[[File:Hekluhraun stereocaulonvesuvianum.jpg|thumb|right|The lichens ''[[Stereocaulon]] [[Stereocaulon vesuvianum|vesuvianum]]'' and moss ''[[Racomitrium]] [[Racomitrium ericoides|ericoides]]'' on lava originating from Hekla.]]
The Hekla area was once forested. Forest and some grasses are much more resilient to ash and pumice fall than low vegetation, but the combined effect of human habitation and the volcanic activity has left an unstable surface very susceptible to erosion. [[Hekluskógar]], a {{convert|90000|ha|abbr=on}} [[reforesting]] project is attempting to restore the [[birch]] and [[willow]] woodland to the slopes of Hekla, starting with soil fertilisation and grass sowing. This would stabilize the large areas of [[volcanic ash]], help to reduce wind erosion of the [[frost heave]]d surface, slow drainage rates and hence [[water erosion]], and ultimately increase [[biodiversity]]. It is the largest reforestation of its type in Europe.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://hekluskogar.is/index_ensk.html |title=The Hekluskogar idea |access-date=14 January 2008 |work=Heklaforests |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090207155745/http://hekluskogar.is/index_ensk.html |archive-date=7 February 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://hekluskogar.is/Skjol/Heklubaekl%20enska2.pdf |title=The Hekla Forest Project |access-date=14 January 2008 |work=Heklaforests |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081219173904/http://hekluskogar.is/Skjol/Heklubaekl%20enska2.pdf |archive-date=19 December 2008}}</ref> After an eruption, almost all of the 'safe sites' on new lava flows are colonised by [[moss]]es within 20 years<ref name="JOVS">{{cite journal |author1=Cutler N.A. |author2=Belyea L.R. |author3=Dugmore A.J. |year=2008|title=Spatial patterns of microsite colonisation on two young lava flows on Mount Hekla, Iceland |journal=Journal of Vegetation Science |pages=277–286 |doi=10.3170/2008-8-18371 |volume=19 |issue=2|bibcode=2008JVegS..19..277C |s2cid=85164299 }}</ref> expanding to a homogeneous layer up to {{convert|20|cm|abbr=on}} thick typically within 50 years.<ref name="HLVD">{{Cite thesis|url=http://www.geos.ed.ac.uk/homes/s0455078/Thesis_abstract.pdf |title=High-latitude vegetation dynamics: 850 years of vegetation development on Mt Hekla, Iceland |access-date=16 August 2008 |author=Cutler, Nick |publisher=PhD thesis, University of Edinburgh, School of GeoSciences |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081219173901/http://www.geos.ed.ac.uk/homes/s0455078/Thesis_abstract.pdf |archive-date=19 December 2008 }}</ref>

Past eruptions have been associated with death of birds and live-stock related to either the high fluoride content of the tephra, [[carbon dioxide]] suffocation or toxic [[carbon monoxide]] gas release,<ref name=Ilyinskaya2015/>{{rp|p=81}} and must have had local die back in the ecosystems. Local plant succession on the lava fields after eruptions has been better studied and there are four broad stages of natural succession with importantly the potential for regression:<ref name=Vilmundardóttir2018>{{cite journal|last1 =Vilmundardóttir|first1 =O.K.|last2 =Sigurmundsson|first2 =F.S.|last3 =Møller Pedersen|first3 =G.B.|last4 =Belart|first4 =J.M.C.|last5 =Kizel|first5 =F.|last6 =Falco|first6 =N.|last7 =Benediktsson|first7 =J.A.|last8 = Gísladóttir|first8 =G.|year =2018|title =Of mosses and men: Plant succession, soil development and soil carbon accretion in the sub-Arctic volcanic landscape of Hekla, Iceland|journal =Progress in Physical Geography: Earth and Environment|volume= 42|issue =6|pages =765–791|doi =10.1177/0309133318798754|bibcode =2018PrPG...42..765V|hdl =20.500.11815/969|hdl-access =free}}</ref>
#In first 70 years colonization and cover coalescence of moss ''[[Racomitrium lanuginosum]]'' and the [[Stereocaulon]] mosses 
#Moss secondary colonization to Racomitrium lanuginosum dominance which can take between 170 and 700 years
#After 600 years vascular plant dominance evolving towards the birch wood land climax ecosystem in Iceland if no disturbance
#Highland conditions/retrogression after tephra deposition which had occurred up to 860 years after the initial lava flow
Local factors and other disturbances influence these rates but the 1991 laval flow first stage was completed in 24 years.<ref name=Vilmundardóttir2018/> The basaltic volcanic soil development is typical for Iceland.<ref name=Vilmundardóttir2018/> Vegetation height prior to a tephra fall is the single most important factor for vascular plant survival so the presence of a woodland before a further large tephra deposit enhances regrowth.<ref name=Vilmundardóttir2018/>