Anth 360 – Environmental Change & Culture – Fall 2022

Assignment 4 – Modern/Historic Deforestation – due 9/13, wiki signup by 9/8

For your work, remember to type, use full sentences, and if you submit paper, make sure to have your name, class
number, and assignment number.
Part I:
Sign-up in the wiki on Blackboard (by 9/8, 5 p.m.) for a culture/part of the world with current or recent (past 200
years) deforestation. The only places to avoid: Haiti and Paraguay (since we already have articles on these areas).
This is just do that not everyone does the same culture/place. You can change your topic after the initial signup
(of course, you should check to make sure no one else has claimed the area and officially post your new topic in
the sign up wiki).

Part II:
Use at least two sources for your chosen place/culture that suffered deforestation. You can use web resources,
news articles, more standard scholarly resources or a combination--just try to pick sources with sufficient detail
and ones that seem reliable to you. Type up answers to address the following issues:
1. What part of the world and what culture is/was involved and when?
Fossil evidence shows that that Iceland was heavily forested millions of years ago. Nearly 1150 years

ago is when human settlement began on the arctic island. Around this time, “birch forest and

woodland covered 25-40% of Iceland’s land area” (Skógræktin, N/D).

2. What caused the deforestation? Briefly retell the story of what happened (what trees were lost, how,
when and why).
Once the people, most likely Vikings, settled on the island, they needed resources to keep their

people alive. The birch trees were the most vulnerable due to their large numbers. They started

cutting down the forests to create grazing space for their livestock as well as make room for crops.

Sheep were a very important recourse for the Icelanders because of their wool, and they eventually

became a staple food source. The grazing sheep made it difficult for the woodlands to regenerate.

Other possible causes for the decline are the little ice age and volcanic eruptions however this is hard

to guarantee.

3. Who benefitted from this deforestation, how, and for how long?
The Icelanders benefitted from the deforestation because of the many uses the Birch wood had. They

used birch as a source of fuel, building materials, and livestock fodder. However, “the most important

forest product was charcoal, needed to smelt iron and make iron tools” (Skógræktin, N/D). Once iron

tools began to be imported in the late 19 th century, the need for charcoal dwindled, but the overall

need for wood was still prominent as it was still used for fuel as late as the 1940s.
 4. Who suffered from the deforestation, how, and for how long?
It is hard to say who exactly suffered from the deforestation, however, it is seen that today, Icelanders

are trying to reforest their natural land. “Forests now only cover 0.5% of the islands surface” (Richard,

2019). The lack of forests has led to soil erosion and the quality of water has been declining. Iceland is

slowly leading to desertification, despite their northern location. Today, Icelanders are doing what

they can to restore the natural forest, and it seems as though the warming temperatures are making

it easier for the trees to grow taller than they ever did before. “Since 2015, between 3-4 million trees

have been planted in Iceland” (Richard, 2019).

5. Are there any aspects of class, gender, ethnicity, race, or privilege at work in terms of who has been
impacted by the deforestation (for better or worse)?
There was no evidence of those being impacted more than others. After researching the topic more, it

seemed as though the whole island has been suffering, not a select number of people.

Works Cited –

Debanjan. “How Iceland Is Regrowing Forests Destroyed by the Vikings.” DGB Group, Dutch Green
Business Group, 18 Mar. 2021, https://www.dgb.earth/carbon-offset-blog/iceland-regrowing-
forests-destroyed-vikings.

Richard, Jeremie. “Iceland Tries to Bring Back Trees Razed by the Vikings.” Phys.org, Phys.org, 17 July
2019, https://phys.org/news/2019-07-iceland-trees-razed-vikings.html.

Skógræktin. “History of Forests in Iceland.” Skógræktin, https://www.skogur.is/en/forestry/forestry-in-a-

treeless-land/history-of-forests-in-iceland.

Please make the written portion (Part II) about 1 or 2 pages long, typed, and double spaced. Content is more
important than length, so try to address all 5 points, listed above.
Part III:
Either on paper or in a computer file with your typed answers to Part II, draw a deforestation diagram. For this
diagram, I would like you to have arrows and boxes that list all the positive and negative impacts you can imagine
from any given deforestation episode, no matter where it is in the world. For example (here’s a start, but keep
going and making the chart bigger and more complex – it should cover a page at least). (If you cannot upload,
turn in paper with your name and I will scan it): completed on paper

deforestation erosion of soil silt in rivers

more agricultural
pressure on soil fewer fish

fewer bears less food for bears

and people

Part IV:
We will do an in-class activity including information from your report and the Haiti and Paraguay readings in class.
If you miss class, a substitute for Part IV would be for you to take your diagram from Part III and use it to make a
second diagram that includes relationships you noted for your study area, and add more arrows and items that
you encountered in the Paraguay and Haiti examples.
Grading: 1 pt for timely and unique signup, 5 pts for written report, 2 pts for part III diagram, and 2 pts for part IV