Climate Resilience & Community Adaptation 

Jóhanna Gísladóttir

Jóhanna’s research focuses on how small and remote Arctic communities adapt to climate-related hazards. Her work highlights the importance of place attachment—the emotional and cultural bonds people form with their environment—and how these bonds influence resilience strategies.

• Avalanche risk and comfort: Communities in Iceland facing avalanche threats often perceive their environment not as dangerous, but as comforting and familiar.
• Everyday adaptation: Climate change adaptation is not just about policy—it’s embedded in daily life, routines, and local knowledge.
• Agricultural subsidies: Jóhanna also examines how policy instruments like subsidies shape rural resilience and land use.

Selected articles

• Climate change adaptation as a part of everyday life: a practice theoretical approach to prevention and preparedness in remote communities
• “You talk of threat, but we think of comfort”: the role of place attachment in small remote communities in Iceland that experience avalanche threat | Regional Environmental Change
• Place Attachment and Climate-Related Hazards in Small Remote Communities in the Nordic Countries | Regional Environmental Change

Reports on agricultural subsidies (in Icelandic)

• Rit_LbhI_169.pdf
• Rit_LbhI_178.pdf

Soil Carbon & Wetland Dynamics 

Susanne Claudia Möckel 

Susanne studies the transformation of wetland soils in volcanic and cold regions, focusing on carbon dynamics and long-term environmental change. 

• Peatlands and volcanic ash: How windborne tephra and hydrological shifts affect organic matter in Arctic soils. 

• Hydropower impacts: Investigating the carbon consequences of reservoir flooding. 

• New land formation: Studying soil development on newly emerged land in Iceland. 

Recent Articles 

• The drowned soil: effects of an Icelandic hydropower reservoir on the soil carbon resource after 24 years of flooding 

• The geochemical evolution of basalt Enhanced Rock Weathering systems quantified from a natural analogue 

• Effect of mineral soil constituents on carbon characteristics of peatlands in aeolian environments of Iceland 

Urban Sustainability & Climate Adaptation 

Harpa Stefánsdóttir 
Harpa’s research bridges urban planning, livability, and climate adaptation in Nordic cities.  

Harpa Stefánsdóttir’s research examines how perceptions of the built environment influence behaviour and subjective well-being, with particular emphasis on their implications for sustainable urban planning in the Nordic context. Her work explores how the physical and aesthetic qualities of urban spaces stimulate pleasure and livability, shaping everyday experiences and mobility choices. A central theme concerns the relationship between urban structure and non-motorised travel, linking urban form, walking, cycling, and public health. She has advanced mixed-method approaches that integrate qualitative and quantitative insights. Another strand of her research addresses place attachment and climate adaptation in second-home contexts, offering new perspectives on how experiential and emotional dimensions of place affect use patterns in response to climate change. 

• Walkability: How small Nordic cities should be developed to promote and encourage walking.

• Aesthetics and mobility: The meaning of aesthetics and urban atmosphere for active transport and city life.

• Second homes and climate change: The interplay between multi-dwelling lifestyles, climate impacts, and the planning and use of second homes.

• Urban structure and travel behaviour: How residential location influences daily travel behaviour, activity participation, and physical activity.

Relevant Articles 

• Perceived walkability and daily walking behaviour in a “small city context”: The case of Norway 

• The role of aesthetic quality in urban spaces to influence use of active transport modes  

• The potential use pattern of second homes in response to climate change: The role of place attachment  

• Residential Location and Travel in the Reykjavik Capital Region  

• Built environment, non-motorized travel and overall physical activity  

• The role of urban atmosphere for none work activity locations  

Cold Ecosystems & Climate Warming 

Alejandro Salazar Villegas 
AUI leads long-term warming experiments in Iceland’s highlands, contributing to the International Tundra Experiment (ITEX)—a global network studying climate change impacts on Arctic ecosystems. 

• Biocrusts and warming: Research shows increased biological activity in Iceland’s highlands under warming conditions. 

• Legacy of ITEX in Iceland: AUI continues managing sites established by Prof. Ingibjörg Svala Jónsdóttir, ensuring continuity in Arctic ecological monitoring. There are dozens of ITEX sites in the Arctic, sub-Arctic and alpine ecosystems. This research is key to understanding the responses of cold ecosystems to climate change. 

Relevant Articles 

• Increased biocrust cover and activity in the highlands of Iceland after five growing seasons of experimental warming 

• Environmental change alters nitrogen fixation rates and microbial parameters in a subarctic biological soil crust 

• Faster nitrogen cycling and more fungal and root biomass in cold ecosystems under experimental warming: a meta-analysis 

Arctic Agriculture & Food Security 

 Anna Guðrún Þórðardóttir 

GABAR Project – Genetic Adaptation of Barley to Extreme Environments 

AUI researchers study how Spring Barley adapts to sub-Arctic environments, supporting food security and sustainable agriculture. 

• Genetic trials: Using data from three decades of field trials across Iceland.  

• Breeding for resilience: Identifying barley varieties suited for cold climates and low-input systems. 

Borealization & Herbivory Networks 

Isabel C Barrio and her team 

NordBorN & Herbivory Network 
AUI is a key contributor to Arctic ecological networks that explore vegetation shifts and herbivore dynamics. 

The biome boundary between the boreal forest and tundra is rapidly shifting due to ongoing climate warming and changes in land use. As a result, many species typical of the forest are expanding into the tundra, a process known as borealization. These shifts in the forest-tundra biome boundary will have important consequences for the functioning of terrestrial Nordic ecosystems and ultimately, for their ability to provide valuable ecosystem services. 

• Borealization: Defining how warming shifts Arctic ecosystems toward boreal characteristics. 

• Herbivory research priorities: Contributing to ICARP IV and shaping future Arctic science agendas. 

Isabel is also involved as co-Editor in Chief of the journal Arctic Science (https://cdnsciencepub.com/do/10.1139/news.2025.09.12/full/) 

Icelandic Nordscape Lab 

Ivan Juarez, Daniele Stefano, Helena Guttormsdóttir 

The Icelandic Nordscape Lab is a dynamic platform for research, education, and creative practice in landscape architecture, rooted in the unique ecological and cultural context of Iceland. Based at the Agricultural University of Iceland and centered around the living lab of Andakíll, the Lab explores the intersection of academic inquiry and design experimentation. Through collaborative projects, educational ecologies, and international engagements, the Lab fosters interdisciplinary dialogue and innovation in landscape thinking. Our work spans from site-specific explorations to global exhibitions, including participation in the Venice Biennale, and aims to cultivate new understandings of landscape through both research and practice. 

Nature Based Solutions in the Nordics 

Daniele Stefano 

Daniele is a co-author of the newly published Guide: A guide for Nature-based solutions in the Nordics : Implementing NbS to solve societal challenges in different ecosystems. This project explores the transformative potential of Nature-based Solutions (NbS) in addressing interconnected societal challenges such as biodiversity loss, climate change, and human well-being. Grounded in the Nordic context, the initiative showcases practical applications across six ecosystem types — coastal, cultural landscapes, forests, mountains, urban, and freshwater environments. Through restoration, sustainable management, and adaptive design, NbS are implemented to enhance ecological resilience, food security, health, and social equity. The guide also emphasises the importance of context-specific planning, monitoring, and evaluation, aligning with global standards and frameworks such as the IUCN and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. 

High Latitude Dust & Arctic Engagement 

Pavla Dagsson Waldhauserová 

This initiative investigates High Latitude Dust (HLD) as a significant climate forcer and air pollutant, with implications for human health, safety, and land degradation. Through research, education, and stakeholder engagement, the project raises awareness of dust-related atmospheric processes in Arctic and sub-Arctic regions. Activities include: 

• Arctic Forum: AUI students engage directly with Arctic stakeholders to enhance awareness and improve services. 

• Polar Winter School: Educational outreach focused on Arctic climate and environmental dynamics. 

• UArctic Involvement: Participation in Thematic Networks and student-led initiatives. 

• Global Collaboration: Contributions to the UN Sand and Dust Storm Coalition and potential involvement in the Copernicus Atmospheric Monitoring Service to improve air quality awareness and data accessibility in Iceland. 

The project is supported by peer-reviewed research highlighting Iceland’s episodic role in atmospheric ice-nucleating particles and the vertical distribution of aerosols during Arctic dust storms. 

Recent Articles 

• Iceland is an episodic source of atmospheric ice-nucleating particles relevant for mixed-phase clouds 

• Newly identified climatically and environmentally significant high latitude dust sources 

• Vertical distribution of aerosols in dust storms during the Arctic winter 

Forests, Trees & Time: Dendrochronology and Paleoecology 

Ólafur Eggertsson 

Ólafur is an Associate Professor at the Agricultural University of Iceland and a researcher at Land and Forest, Iceland, who focuses on the intricate relationships between trees, climate, and ecosystems over time. His work spans dendrochronology, wood anatomy, forestry, and paleoecology, using tree rings and wood structure to reconstruct environmental histories and understand forest dynamics in high-latitude regions. His recent publications explore the role of boreal forests in carbon cycling, the anatomical traits of trees under changing climates, and long-term ecological shifts in Northern Europe. 

Recent Articles 

• Growth form and leaf habit drive contrasting effects of Arctic amplification in long-lived woody species 

• Predicted sea-ice loss will terminate Iceland's driftwood supply by 2060 CE 

• Braided motivations for Iceland’s first wave of mass emigration to North America after the 1875 Askja eruption