A Volcanic Eruption is Reforesting Iceland - here’s how

In this video, we want to tell you a really unique story of how an eruption and a mysterious phenomenon known as a mast year were perfectly timed together to create a new forest in Iceland.

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💪 OUR PARTNERS IN THIS VIDEO
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The Icelandic Forest Service

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With us, you will restore nature and fight climate change every month
🌲 Plant native trees to capture carbon
🐺 Rewild habitats to support biodiversity
🐉 Support underfunded species and ecosystems

⏱️TIMESTAMPS⏱️
0:00 Intro
1:06 History
2:11 Hike to forest
5:17 How a volcano made a forest

🧐 ABOUT THIS VIDEO
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This summer we started planting trees in Iceland. But what does an Icelandic forest look like? This set us on course to Bæjarstaðaskógur, the closest thing you can get to an ancient Icelandic forest.

Some quick research and a chat with our Icelandic partners, Skógræktin, uncovered a fascinating tale. It was the story of how an eruption and a mysterious phenomenon known as a Mast year synced together perfectly to create a huge area of new-growth forest, on the glacial outwash plains in the south of Iceland.

[kokonutbae]

I've lived in Iceland my whole life and to see a non-Icelandic person healing my country is makes me first of all ask "Why is he doing this?". Because you don't have to yet, here you are. I have great appreciation for your project and what you are doing. Loved this video :3

[TheJoshSouthy]

I was in Iceland during that eruption as a geography student in high school.

I can't believe how it has affected the biodiversity and geography going forward

[shirokuro]

As a native Icelandic speaker, you're doing fantastic at pronouncing the place names! We never expect 'perfect', we just really appreciate it when people actually make an attempt to listen to the sounds and do their best at mimicking, since it's unfortunately very common for people to just 'jokingly' attempt it or straight up not try at all!

[bergurpall]

I usually drive through the new forest in Skeiðarársandur at least once every summer on my way to visit family and it's always a highlight of the journey to see how much the forest has grown since I saw it last. I think I noticed it first in 2014 and since then I've been enamored by it and the fact that it's been growing completely without human intervention.

[tiagodezoeten]

I always find it interesting how many layers of knowledge and understanding can be peeled away for any given landscape and natural process. Without this information the patterns you see just wouldn't make any sense. Amazing story and video team, well done!

[arkfied]

someday if im an adult that has a job, I'll definitely buy the mossy earth membership. i love what yall do and I wanna support it 😎👍 right now im doing what i can to help, which is watching these videos from start to end without skipping, and sharing it to my friends

i know ive said this before but this channel restores my faith and gives hope for this fricked up world

[ClassicGreenery]

Hey! and Icelandic forestry student here :) Nowadays most specialist here in Iceland agree on that the forest cover used to be at the very most 25% and not 40. Otherwise great video! :)

[geoffreyrichardson]

Mother Nature is a wonderful force as long as you don’t take her for granted.

[brianmcnamara]

Of course, to say 96/97 was pure luck is only valid in the context of our lifetime. Obviously, anything happening every ten years will eventually line up with such an event when given enough time. On an evolutionary scale this is nearly inevitable which is why nature is so amazing.

[BeautifulEarthJa]

Being from Jamaica my first instinct indeed was 'take a dip in the waterfall' but then my brain kicked in and reminded me 'artic stream' lol

[thorinhelmersen]

So happy to have gotten my membership it’s not only amazing to see the progress so thoroughly covered but to have such a closeness to it with the membership really does feel great. Keep up the amazing work!

[JacobafJelling]

An Icelandic forest truly is something rare. Knowing how slow trees grow in the long and harsh winter, it makes it such a special thing. And a really interesting thing to me. All the best to the kinfolk in Iceland. Greetings from a Dane 🇩🇰

[DuartedeZ]

I think this is such a great example of nature finding a way :)

[sharonmoore]

The fact that all the birch trees decide together to flood the forest with seeds is not pure chance. Trees communicate with each other and it would not be surprising if they knew the conditions were perfect for planting a year after the flood.
A great book to read is
The Secret Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben

[kimrocksthetrees]

I would love to see another update for this area in 2024.

[SolviKaaber]

The water you bathed in at 8:00 is located in the ravine called Réttargil. I work in Skaftafell, which as you said, includes the Morsárdalur valley area which has the Bæjarstaðarskógur forest.

[adriennefloreen]

It would be nice if you'd take a video of all the plant species that grow under those trees, there's a possibility some might be growing from seed from formerly extinct plants that were frozen in the glacier. Please get a video of every single plant and take at least one sample of each plant to propagate elsewhere in case the volcano erupts again and wipes out the forest.

[LeaveCurious]

Iceland is just so beautiful. Captivating video and a well told story Mossy Earth!

[timozkurt]

A great story that shows some amazingly intertwined processes and outcomes! How cool for the researchers who connected the dots on this.

[thaifreeburma]

It was wonderful to see the impact of that old-growth(?) Birch forest on the fine narrator - his enjoyment/appreciation was palpable 😄