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You can volunteer to join the front lines of the “Lupine-Wars”, and get to know Reykjanes peninsula 4837

13. mar 2023 20:34

Conservation activists on Reykjanes are organizing two walks in Reykjanes peninsula to keep the invasive Nootka lupine in check in the area. The first walk will be held on May 24, and aims at clearing a historic walking path between the villages of Vogar and Njarðvíkur on the north coast of the peninsula. Uncontrolled growth of lupine is threatening to swallow the path and suffocate more delicate native vegetation.

Read more:  Reykjanes Geopark: A volcanic wonderland less than an hour’s drive from Reykjavík

Þorvaldur Örn Árnason, a spokesman for the conservationists, told the local newspaper Fréttablaðið that the lupine can play an important role in stopping erosion and helping with reforestation, but that it had to be controlled. “In my view the lupine is a destructive plant,”  Þorvaldur tells Fréttablaðið.

Read more: The war on the lupine plant continues

In late June the group will organize a two day campaign with volunteers and municipal work groups to destroy lupine plants in wilderness areas in Reykjanes. Þorvaldur hopes the project will bring them one step closer to containing the invader. “We have been doing this for five years in areas where the lupine was becoming dominant. And the problem seems to be under control.”

A useful ally and a dangerous invader
The Nootka lupine which grows in Iceland is not native to the country as it was imported from North America in 1945 to combat topsoil loss, which had been a serious problem since the 19th century. The lupine has a tendency to create monocultures which both prevent other plants from growing and can suffocate more delicate flora.

Although there are still large areas in Iceland which have been victims to erosion and desertification many feel the lupine has become too aggressive and needs to be stopped. It is especially feared that the lupine will spread into the Central highlands, permanently transforming the local flora.

Conservation activists on Reykjanes are organizing two walks in Reykjanes peninsula to keep the invasive Nootka lupine in check in the area. The first walk will be held on May 24, and aims at clearing a historic walking path between the villages of Vogar and Njarðvíkur on the north coast of the peninsula. Uncontrolled growth of lupine is threatening to swallow the path and suffocate more delicate native vegetation.

Read more:  Reykjanes Geopark: A volcanic wonderland less than an hour’s drive from Reykjavík

Þorvaldur Örn Árnason, a spokesman for the conservationists, told the local newspaper Fréttablaðið that the lupine can play an important role in stopping erosion and helping with reforestation, but that it had to be controlled. “In my view the lupine is a destructive plant,”  Þorvaldur tells Fréttablaðið.

Read more: The war on the lupine plant continues

In late June the group will organize a two day campaign with volunteers and municipal work groups to destroy lupine plants in wilderness areas in Reykjanes. Þorvaldur hopes the project will bring them one step closer to containing the invader. “We have been doing this for five years in areas where the lupine was becoming dominant. And the problem seems to be under control.”

A useful ally and a dangerous invader
The Nootka lupine which grows in Iceland is not native to the country as it was imported from North America in 1945 to combat topsoil loss, which had been a serious problem since the 19th century. The lupine has a tendency to create monocultures which both prevent other plants from growing and can suffocate more delicate flora.

Although there are still large areas in Iceland which have been victims to erosion and desertification many feel the lupine has become too aggressive and needs to be stopped. It is especially feared that the lupine will spread into the Central highlands, permanently transforming the local flora.