Recently, I have been reading more and more articles saying that Alaskan lupines (Lupinus nootkatensis) are hindering the growth of trees in Iceland. Unfortunately, however, I could not find any valid reasons why this is so? The story goes that in 1945, the then director of the forest service brought two spoonfuls of seeds from Alaska to amfortify the nutrient-poor Icelandic soil, stop erosion in Iceland and prevent sandstorms. After all I know, lupines draw nitrogen from the air and store it in the soil. So why is that not good for native tree species, such as birch or larch?
Thank you very much for your insights as an islander. 🙏🏼 Very interesting! Do you know what kind of trees there are growing now? And were you able to observe a natural decline of lupines, provided that in one place the soil was supplied with enough nitrogen at some point, so that other plants could repress the lupines?
The government is currently funding a huge reforestation project around the country. The goal is to plant only native species such as birch, larch, poplar and different species of pine trees. You can find more information about the project at skogur.is.