Presented in October 2014 at the 4th ISOFAR Scientific Conference 'Building Organic Bridges' at the Organic World Congress 2014 in Istanbul, Turkey. The original report is online at Organic e-prints http://orgprints.org/22897/

1. Wild Collection and Cultivation
of Native Species in Iceland
C. W. Whitney1,2,*, J. Gebauer1, M. Anderson3
1 Faculty of Life Sciences, Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences,
Marie-Curie-Straße 1, 47533 Kleve, Germany
2 PhD Candidate, University Kassel, Witzenhausen, Germany *contact:
cory.whitney@hsrw.eu, +49 2821 80673 +664
3 Partridge Chair, College of the Atlantic, Bar Harbor, Maine, United States

2. Introduction
• Iceland is an important ‘cold spot’ of
biodiversity (Kassam 2008)
• Disturbed from landnám (Íslendingabókar and
Landnámabók) (Benediktsson 1968)
• Soil degradation & basalt deserts (Arnalds &
Gisladottir 2000)
• Conservation-minded Icelanders with
sustainable use of native species

3. Research Aims
Describe the ethnobotany of Iceland
• Determine the extent, composition and function
of uses of plants, as well as fungi and marine
algae, in the region
• Determine the associated conservation practices
of plant, fungi and marine algae uses

4. Materials & Methods
• Fieldwork summer of
2010 with 67 informants
in Iceland
• Surveys with chefs,
Organic farmers,
gardeners, and herbalists
sought through botanical,
horticultural, and other
networks
• Observation, walk-in-
the-woods, freelisting Where NC=number of use
categories, u=uses, i=informant,
and N=total number of informants

5. View From Dettifoss
Typical Icelandic Landscape

6. Results
Ethnobotany of 91 species
URs in quantitative ethnobotany analysis cultural importance index (Tardio
& Pardo-de-Santayana 2008)
Table 1. Descriptive Statistics for Quantitative Ethnobotany
Scores on 91 Species in Iceland
D=standard deviation, VAR=variance, CV=coefficient of variation NU=number of uses, FC=frequency of
citation, UR=use reports, CI=cultural importance.
NU FC UR CI index
Total 90 420 527 7.99
Mean 4 20 25 0.38
Min 1 8 10 0.15
Max 10 42 66 1.00
SD 2.19 11.16 15.69 0.24
CV 0.51 0.56 0.63 0.63
VAR 5 125 246 0.06
1
Where NC=number of use
categories, u=uses, i=informant,
and N=total number of informants

7. Angelica sp.
Betula sp.
Cetraria islandica
Leccinum scabrum
Ascophyllum nodosum

9. Discussion & Conclusions
• Respondents using living natural resources in a
landscape with greatly diminished biodiversity
• Outstanding species to serve as cultural keystones
in conservation efforts
• Edibility and nutrition paramount for cultural
significance
• Use of native plants, fungi, and marine algae raises
awareness of local ecology / supports conservation
efforts e.g. in situ and political action to both
conserve and utilize native species

10. Future Research
• The role that Icelanders play in the conservation
of native species to guide local food and
conservation movements
• Determine the socio-economic and influences
on CI index scores / exact biodiversity
implications of native species uses
• Analysis of the ecological distribution of utilized
species / time and volume of harvest

11. Acknowledgements
Financial support of the Partridge Foundation through the Trans
Atlantic Partnership with the Organic Centre in the UK, College
of the Atlantic in the US, and the University of Kassel,
Witzenhausen, in Germany.
Special thanks to the many chefs, gardeners, and farmers of
Iceland, especially of Egilsstaðir Organic Farm as well as the
Horticultural Society of Iceland, Rekyavik Botanical Garden,
Icelandic Institute of Natural History, Icelandic Horticultural
College, Iceland Slow Food, New Nordic Kitchen, Iceland Food
Not Bombs, Náttúran.is, and Vottunarstofan Tún.

12. Literature
1. Kassam, K. A. Diversity as if Nature and Culture Matter:
Bio-Cultural Diversity and Indigenous Peoples. The
International Journal of Diversity in Organisations,
Communities & Nations, 8(2) (2008).
2. Benediktsson, J. Íslendingabók. Landnámabók, Íslenzk Fornrit 1
(Hid Íslenzka Fornritafélag, Reykjavík, 1968).
3. Arnalds, O. & Gisladottir, F. O. S., H. Sandy deserts of
Iceland: An overview. Journal of Arid Environments 47, 359-371
(2000).
4. Tardio, J., & Pardo-de-Santayana, M. Cultural importance
indices: A comparative analysis based on the useful wild
plants of Southern Cantabria (Northern Spain). Economic
Botany 62, 24-39 (2008).