Forum AddressesSoils, Society & Global Change 9

• Main Authors: Dr. Ólafur, Ragnar Grímsson
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: Iceland
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.421.6899; http://inweh.unu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Iceland_Proceedings_Part2_Addresses.pdf

It is with profound pleasure and excitement that I salute your conference and thank the distinguished experts and leaders for making the journey to Iceland. We meet at a time when the erosion of soil and vegetation poses the world with more complex and more difficult challenges than ever before. Of course, my knowledge of soil science is somewhat limited and I am ready to admit that I have not entirely ploughed through the enormous Encyclopaedia of Soil Science Professor Rattan Lal presented to me when he first came to Iceland. But the Encyclopaedia is still on my table in the Presidential Library, not to be missed by anyone who attends the many meetings I host there, indicating to my visitors the importance for all of us, whatever our position or responsibilities, to understand the science of the soil. Iceland is indeed a fitting location for our dialogue. Throughout the centuries the harsh natural conditions made life here a struggle for survival, often against impossible odds and all-powerful forces which eventually created the largest desert in Europe. Medieval Icelandic literature describes how the country was covered with woods from the sea to the mountains, but the following centuries were a story of desertification due partly to overgrazing and exploitative chopping of the woods. The settlers cleared the trees for pastures, used them for firewood and charcoal. Within the first few centuries, about 80 % of the original woodland had been cleared and the grasslands of the interior became the desert we can see today. The soil was