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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Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute
2023
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ftmdpi:oai:mdpi.com:/2073-445X/12/2/446/ 2023-08-20T04:07:19+02:00 New Approaches to Modelling Wilderness Quality in Iceland Steve Carver Sif Konráðsdóttir Snæbjörn Guðmundsson Ben Carver Oliver Kenyon agris 2023-02-09 application/pdf https://doi.org/10.3390/land12020446 EN eng Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute https://dx.doi.org/10.3390/land12020446 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Land; Volume 12; Issue 2; Pages: 446 wilderness quality wilderness character Iceland Central Highlands Text 2023 ftmdpi https://doi.org/10.3390/land12020446 2023-08-01T08:43:24Z 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 km2. 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. Text Iceland MDPI Open Access Publishing Land 12 2 446 |
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Open Polar |
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MDPI Open Access Publishing |
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ftmdpi |
language |
English |
topic |
wilderness quality wilderness character Iceland Central Highlands |
spellingShingle |
wilderness quality wilderness character Iceland Central Highlands 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 |
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 km2. 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 |
Text |
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 |
Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3390/land12020446 |
op_coverage |
agris |
genre |
Iceland |
genre_facet |
Iceland |
op_source |
Land; Volume 12; Issue 2; Pages: 446 |
op_relation |
https://dx.doi.org/10.3390/land12020446 |
op_rights |
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3390/land12020446 |
container_title |
Land |
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12 |
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2 |
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446 |
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1774718873485967360 |