Icelandic foresters were recently welcomed to one of Land and Forestry Scotland's national forests to gain an insight into the management of oak trees, which could become more commonplace within the forests of Iceland.

The group of foresters from Land og skógur (Land and Forest Iceland) paid a visit to Glen Nant National Nature Reserve, which is home to many oak trees.

Oak trees are not native to Iceland and are fairly rare across the island; however with today's warming climate, it has become easier for oak to grow in areas where once it could not.

Pétur Halldórsson, who is a promotion manager with Land og skógur, said: "Iceland used to be much more heavily forested with downy birch forests and shrubs, but much of it was felled in the early days of Viking settlement.

"Due to livestock grazing, the forest had no chance of regenerating but now we are trying to both reclaim our lost native woodlands and create diverse forests for timber yields, carbon sequestration, shelter, and recreation."

Oak

Oak trees is one of the species that is being incorporated on a very small scale within Icelandic woodlands, with the first grove of 50 English oak trees being planted in Iceland back in 2017.

Commenting on the trip, Halldórsson said: "Seeing a magnificent oak forest like that in Glen Nant was really inspirational and it was great that we were allowed to take some acorns away with us to add to our efforts back home.

"It is obviously a long-term process but our intention is that one day mixed forests will be a far more common sight across Iceland, with occasional oak groves or hopefully even oakwoods like we saw in Glen Nant."