Editing Iceland (section)

====Plants====
[[Phytogeographically]], Iceland belongs to the Arctic province of the [[Circumboreal Region]] within the [[Boreal Kingdom]]. Plantlife consists mainly of grassland, which is regularly grazed by livestock. The most common tree native to Iceland is the northern birch (''[[Betula pubescens]]''), which formerly formed forests over much of Iceland, along with aspens (''[[Populus tremula]]''), rowans (''[[Sorbus aucuparia]]''), common junipers (''[[Juniperus communis]]''), and other smaller trees, mainly willows.

When the island was first settled, it was extensively forested, with around 30% of the land covered in trees. In the late 12th century, [[Ari the Wise]] described it in the [[Íslendingabók]] as "forested from mountain to sea shore".<ref name="Dirt">{{cite book |author=David R. Montgomery |title=Dirt: The Erosion of Civilisations |publisher=University of California Press |year=2007 |pages=224–225 }}</ref> Permanent human settlement greatly disturbed the isolated ecosystem of thin, volcanic soils and limited [[species richness|species diversity]]. The forests were heavily exploited over the centuries for firewood and timber.<ref name="wildlife"/> [[Deforestation]], climatic deterioration during the [[Little Ice Age]], and overgrazing by sheep imported by settlers caused a loss of critical topsoil due to [[erosion]]. Today, many farms have been abandoned. Three-quarters of Iceland's {{convert|100,000|km2|mi2}} is affected by soil erosion; {{convert|18000|km2|abbr=on}} is affected to a degree serious enough to make the land useless.<ref name="Dirt"/> Only a few small birch stands now exist in isolated reserves. The Icelandic Forest Service and other forestry groups promote large-scale reforestation in the country. Due to the reforestation efforts, the forest cover of Iceland increased six-fold since the 1990s. This helps to offset carbon emissions, prevent sand storms and increase the productivity of farms.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Todd |first1=Sarah |title=Iceland is bringing back the forests razed by Vikings |url=https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/07/iceland-forests-vikings-trees |website=World Economic Forum |access-date=26 July 2022 |archive-date=26 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220726062432/https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/07/iceland-forests-vikings-trees |url-status=live }}</ref> The planting of new forests has increased the number of trees, but the result does not compare to the original forests. Some of the planted forests include [[introduced species]].<ref name="wildlife" /> The tallest tree in Iceland is a [[sitka spruce]] planted in 1949 in [[Kirkjubæjarklaustur]]; it was measured at {{convert|25.2|m|ft|abbr=on}} in 2013.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.skogur.is/um-skograekt-rikisins/frettir/nr/1882 |title=Fyrsta tréð á Íslandi til að rjúfa 25 metra múrinn |language=is |trans-title=The first tree in Iceland to break the 25 meter barrier |author=Pure Oskarsson |date=26 February 2013 |publisher=Iceland forest service |access-date=25 March 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130304121114/http://www.skogur.is/um-skograekt-rikisins/frettir/nr/1882 |archive-date=4 March 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
Algae such as ''[[Chondrus crispus]]'', ''[[Phyllphora truncata]]'' and ''Phyllophora crispa'' and others have been recorded from Iceland.<ref>Dixon, P.S. and Irvine, L.M. 1977 ''Seaweeds of the British Isles Volume 1 Rhodophyta Part 1 Introduction, Nemaliales, Gigartinales''. British Museum (Natural History){{ISBN|0 565 00781 5}}</ref>