rel="nofollow" href="#u16e7c486-36bd-5bab-9561-fafd8d9e3380">Chapter 8) reviews the North Atlantic insect fauna data revealing the effect of climate change and their early immigration to the islands but emphasizing the importance of the arrival of Europeans in the North Atlantic region in terms of introduction of species to the region but also the biological impact that they have had on the fauna.
Section III picks up on this key theme of human impact on the islands. Edwards et al. (Chapter 9) use the archaeological and palaeoecological records to examine the impact of Landnám and the North Atlantic flora. The review highlights the fact that the impacts of landnám on vegetation were broadly similar across that region, but that there are subtle differences in the Norse ‘footprint’ when examined at finer spatial scales which varied according to the interplay of the climatic, pedogenic, topographic and anthropogenic factors at each location.
Petersen and Olsen (Chapter 10) review the status of the bird fauna of Iceland and Faroe and discuss its colonization and Mainland and Harland (Chapter 11) explore the profound impact of farming on North Atlantic vertebrate biota, reviewing evidence for the introduction of domesticated faunas and rapid and widespread changes to the island landscapes and environments as a result of pastoralism and the exploitation of marine resources. The former (Chapter 10) characterizes the patterns in bird dispersal and extinctions and extirpations and its conservation significance of the avian fauna, while the latter (Chapter 11) presents comprehensive evidence showing that farming and fishing were vital to subsistence and trade as well as being core to island and community identity in the past, roles they continue to play out to the current day.
The prospects for the future environmental systems of the region is addressed in Section IV. Ogilvie et al. (Chapter 12) use a rich historical dataset to provide an elegant perspective on the significance and importance of sea ice patterns and flows to both historical and contemporary communities. Fosaa (Chapter 13) returns to a biodiversity theme and reviews the influence of both climate change and direct human impact on the flora of Faroe, including the threats posed by introduced species pointing to elements in Faroese flora that are of some conservation concern. The policy and legislative frameworks for biodiversity and conservation in Iceland under a changing climate is evaluated in considerable detail by Hauksson (Chapter 13). Johnsen and Heide‐Jørgensen (Chapter 14) examine the natural environment and its biodiversity in Greenland during the present climate change, presenting observations of the biological response related to an increasing greenhouse effect and stratospheric ozone depletion with an emphasis on terrestrial plant ecology.
It is appropriate that we conclude this introduction with a tribute to one of the region's leading scientists for whom this volume was conceived. Professor Paul C. Buckland blended his early (doctoral) training from the related fields of archaeology and geology, work on tephrochronology of East Africa lakes, a detailed evaluation of the value of insect fossils in the interpretations of archaeological deposits across the world, into a unique, innovative and complementary skillset for examining the biological conundrum that was (and to some extent still is) the biogeography of the North Atlantic. Like many researchers and colleagues (several authors of chapters in this volume), both editors of this book have been small cogs in this body of research and benefitted greatly from Paul Buckland's supervision and tutorage as doctoral researchers. Having developed a love for the environments, plants, animals and people of the North Atlantic region in a research career spanning some four decades, this book and contributions within it are a fitting tribute to his unique contribution to our understanding of the biogeography of the region.
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