New Approaches to Modelling Wilderness Quality in Iceland
Much of Europe’s remaining wilderness areas are found in Iceland, yet few are formally protected despite ongoing threats from renewable energy exploitation and 4 × 4 usage. Robust and repeatable approaches are required to map wilderness landscape qualities in support of developing policy on designat...
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2023
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:29688343dd34464eafc097ae00a470d4 2023-05-15T16:44:15+02:00 New Approaches to Modelling Wilderness Quality in Iceland Steve Carver Sif Konráðsdóttir Snæbjörn Guðmundsson Ben Carver Oliver Kenyon 2023-02-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.3390/land12020446 https://doaj.org/article/29688343dd34464eafc097ae00a470d4 EN eng MDPI AG https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/12/2/446 https://doaj.org/toc/2073-445X doi:10.3390/land12020446 2073-445X https://doaj.org/article/29688343dd34464eafc097ae00a470d4 Land, Vol 12, Iss 446, p 446 (2023) wilderness quality wilderness character Iceland Central Highlands Agriculture S article 2023 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.3390/land12020446 2023-02-26T01:29:32Z Much of Europe’s remaining wilderness areas are found in Iceland, yet few are formally protected despite ongoing threats from renewable energy exploitation and 4 × 4 usage. Robust and repeatable approaches are required to map wilderness landscape qualities in support of developing policy on designations that meet international standards. We present an approach to mapping wilderness that is based on internationally recognised methods and customised to suit the unique nature of Icelandic landscapes. We use spatially explicit models of wilderness attributes that measure human impact from vehicular access, land use and visible human features rather than relying on proxy measures such as buffer zones. Seventeen wilderness areas are identified across the Central Highlands and surrounding areas, totalling some 28,470 km 2 . These are compared to existing mapping projects. The character of these areas is described using additional spatial data models on openness, ruggedness and accessibility from settlements, together with information on mobile phone coverage and grazing patterns. This is the most detailed mapping of wilderness in Iceland to date and an important step towards the formal definition of boundaries of wilderness areas meeting IUCN Category 1b and Wild Europe Working Definition in Iceland. Article in Journal/Newspaper Iceland Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Land 12 2 446 |
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Open Polar |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
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ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
wilderness quality wilderness character Iceland Central Highlands Agriculture S |
spellingShingle |
wilderness quality wilderness character Iceland Central Highlands Agriculture S Steve Carver Sif Konráðsdóttir Snæbjörn Guðmundsson Ben Carver Oliver Kenyon New Approaches to Modelling Wilderness Quality in Iceland |
topic_facet |
wilderness quality wilderness character Iceland Central Highlands Agriculture S |
description |
Much of Europe’s remaining wilderness areas are found in Iceland, yet few are formally protected despite ongoing threats from renewable energy exploitation and 4 × 4 usage. Robust and repeatable approaches are required to map wilderness landscape qualities in support of developing policy on designations that meet international standards. We present an approach to mapping wilderness that is based on internationally recognised methods and customised to suit the unique nature of Icelandic landscapes. We use spatially explicit models of wilderness attributes that measure human impact from vehicular access, land use and visible human features rather than relying on proxy measures such as buffer zones. Seventeen wilderness areas are identified across the Central Highlands and surrounding areas, totalling some 28,470 km 2 . These are compared to existing mapping projects. The character of these areas is described using additional spatial data models on openness, ruggedness and accessibility from settlements, together with information on mobile phone coverage and grazing patterns. This is the most detailed mapping of wilderness in Iceland to date and an important step towards the formal definition of boundaries of wilderness areas meeting IUCN Category 1b and Wild Europe Working Definition in Iceland. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Steve Carver Sif Konráðsdóttir Snæbjörn Guðmundsson Ben Carver Oliver Kenyon |
author_facet |
Steve Carver Sif Konráðsdóttir Snæbjörn Guðmundsson Ben Carver Oliver Kenyon |
author_sort |
Steve Carver |
title |
New Approaches to Modelling Wilderness Quality in Iceland |
title_short |
New Approaches to Modelling Wilderness Quality in Iceland |
title_full |
New Approaches to Modelling Wilderness Quality in Iceland |
title_fullStr |
New Approaches to Modelling Wilderness Quality in Iceland |
title_full_unstemmed |
New Approaches to Modelling Wilderness Quality in Iceland |
title_sort |
new approaches to modelling wilderness quality in iceland |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3390/land12020446 https://doaj.org/article/29688343dd34464eafc097ae00a470d4 |
genre |
Iceland |
genre_facet |
Iceland |
op_source |
Land, Vol 12, Iss 446, p 446 (2023) |
op_relation |
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/12/2/446 https://doaj.org/toc/2073-445X doi:10.3390/land12020446 2073-445X https://doaj.org/article/29688343dd34464eafc097ae00a470d4 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3390/land12020446 |
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Land |
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446 |
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1766034550817816576 |