Unfortunately, unlike the soils in Norway and Sweden, the soils in Iceland and Greenland are derived from volcanic eruptions. They removed stands of trees to create the pastures, and cut peat and drained bogs to irrigate their fields. As they had done in Scandinavia, the Norse moved their livestock to summer pastures from May to September, and to individual farms in the winters. Norse farmers practicing landnám (an Old Norse word roughly translated as "land take") brought large numbers of grazing livestock, cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, and horses. The direct transplant of inappropriate farming methods is widely considered responsible for the environmental degradation of Iceland and, to a lesser degree, Greenland. When the Vikings established farms in the 9th and 10th centuries in Iceland and Greenland, they used the same practices they had used at home in Scandinavia. We can learn a lot from the mistakes of the past as well. Thjodveldisbaerinn is a reconstructed traditional viking-era farmhouse in the Thjorsardalur valley, Iceland.
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