Paper short abstract:

This presentation will focus on an ongoing project on human ecodynamics in the Myvatn area of northeastern Iceland for the period AD 1700 to 1950. The project is highly interdisciplinary, and draws on data and approaches from the natural and the social sciences.

Paper long abstract:

This presentation will focus on human ecodynamics in the context of farming practices in the Myvatn area of northeastern Iceland. The research is highly interdisciplinary, and draws on approaches from the natural sciences, including climatology, biology, and geology, and also environmental humanities/social sciences in the fields of history, literary and manuscript studies, social anthropology, and folklore studies. Primary data are drawn from documentary sources and the archaeological record. Myvatn is named for the lake of the same name, meaning literally "Midgewater". In 1978, the area was placed on the RAMSAR list of wetlands of international importance. The area may have been one of the first to be settled in Iceland (in the late ninth century) and is unique in the way that it has remained sustainable overall since then. The rich natural resources of the area are undoubtedly part of the reason for this. However, the sustainability of individual farms varied greatly. An important objective of the project is thus to examine socio-ecological relationships and resource-management decisions. In this regard, information is being gathered on aspects such as: numbers of livestock; the amount of hay gathered each season; the sizes and productivity of hay fields; the importance of winter foraging by sheep; the dependence on outlying hay fields; and the supplementary harvesting of wetland sedges and grasses. It is foreseen that the integration and synthesis of different lines of information will ultimately provide answers to the reasons for long-term sustainable or failed economies in the Myvatn region.