Iceland

Demonstration Site

Why this site?

Iceland has significant information gaps in the distribution and dynamics of marine biodiversity, and there is an urgent need to increase the capacity for mapping and monitoring biodiversity to answer international commitments. Strategic methods to prioritize areas for conservation and restoration have not been implemented. It is a complex area with collective pressures and different management requirements. Defining representative areas of high biological importance on large scale as well as at regional basis is highly needed.

Geographical Area

Large scale area: The whole EEZ of Iceland will be under evaluation for large scale assessment both for definition of representative areas for biodiversity but also to map and monitor biodiversity and invasive species. The marine area (EEZ) is 758.000 km2 comprising diverse topographic areas with multiple seascapes: canyons, ridges, moraines, iceberg scars, hydrothermal vents.

Dynamic hydrography, with coastal shelves are strongly influenced by oceanic inputs while there is decadal variation in the cold/warm front. Large differences in environmental settings result on a diversity of habitats and species.

Regional scale: The Westfjords region (NW of Iceland) will be included in the implementation of the public participatory mapping. This site is subjected to different types of pressures including aquaculture, fisheries, maerl extraction, each of which represent a set of distinct management challenges, stakeholder interests which probably need some adaptive solutions. There are already local management measures including size restrictions on fishing vessels and gear types.

Ecosystem Characteristics

The area around Iceland is a highly productive ecosystem, with over 25 commercially exploited stocks of fish and marine invertebrates.  The bulk of the catch occurs at depths down to 500m.  There has been an overall reduction in fishing effort since 2005.
Changes in near-bottom temperatures resulted in changes in spatial distribution and abundance of cold-water species and increasing occurrence of warm-water species.
Threatened and declining habitats: Cold-water coral reefs, deep-sea sponge aggregations, coral gardens, Maerl beds, and others are found within the area.
Main human activities: fishing, coastal development, aquaculture.
Main pressures: selective extraction of species, abrasion, substrate loss and smothering.
Corridor for invasive species to enter the Arctic Ocean, transported through human activities or naturally across the ridge due to climate change.
22 invasive species listed.

Challenges

Significant information gaps in the distribution and dynamics of marine biodiversity.
Urgent need to increase the capacity for mapping and monitoring biodiversity to fulfil international commitments.
Need for strategic methods to prioritize areas for conservation and restoration.

What will be Demonstrated

How improved autonomous annotations of images will advance mapping of biodiversity. 
How cost-efficient autonomous eDNA sampler will efficiently inform the spatiotemporal dimension needed for MSP to map and monitor biodiversity and invasive species, and to inform MPS.
How eDNA samples collected from ballast waters in ships entering harbours can improve detection and monitoring of invasive species.
How the application of SCP will contribute to improved management of MPAs for long-term protection and restoration of biodiversity.

Demo Site Activities

Large Scale Area

Deploying multi-scale Systematic Conservation Planning
Forecasting climate change effects and climate refugia
Automatic analyses of underwater imagery
Analysis of socio-economic impacts
Citizen science eDNA sampling
Sampling and metabarcoding of eDNA
Mapping of human activities and risks
Analysing ecosystem effects of MSPs
Evaluating CO2 emissions of fishing vessels

Regional Scale Area

Extensive Stakeholder engagement – CoP especially at the local scales focused on MSP and conservation.
Public Participatory Mapping & PPGIS