Every summer, a plant that was introduced in Iceland since 1945 to stop erosion and prepare the soil for new forests, turns broad area purple. Its name is Alaskan Lupin.
Yes.. it stopped soil degradation, but recent genetic studies reveal that its “overuse” created a population that is now invasive, diverse and difficult to contain. The species is really threatening the native flora in poor soils and could expand much more to the center of the country because of climate change.
Why Iceland turned to Alaskan lupins
Alaskan lupin (Lupinus nootkatensis), also called Nootka lupin, is actually originally from the northwestern coast in North America, and a study found that it arrived for the first time in Iceland as an ornamental plant in 1885.
In 1945 the country started a soil recovery campaign that lasted many and many years. For example in 1975 systematic methods were developed, seed collection fields were set up in 1986, and mass sowing campaigns happened in the 90s (and these last ones stayed active until 2018).
But what was so attractive about this flower? It is not just a pretty flower… It actually fixes atmospheric nitrogen, enriches poor soil, and helps the vegetation to stay strong, where it previously seemed impossible.
The ecological repair began changing native habitats
But it was not until the problem started that this plant started to became a new enemy. When the dense Iupin populations started to grow in severely degraded sites, plant diversity in heathland and woodland was reduced and the species in the heathland went drastically down as the Iupin presence incresed. A 2018 field study definitely showed how alarming the numbers and comparisons were.
However, all these ecological losses were different depending on the habitat. In the case of grassland diversity, the declines were not the same. This plant started to be called by scientists as an “ecosystem engineer” because, with all these examples, it can be clearly seen how it is capable of changing the conditions around it. What is interesting about this whole story is actually how something that started as a way to repair ended up replacing and invading.
Climate change could open the Central Highlands
A 2018 distribution model estimated that 13.3 percent of Iceland was climatically suitable for the lupin under baseline conditions. In the model that included roads, estimates for 2061 to 2080 ranged from 39.1 percent to 61.7 percent. But remember… These are projections not guarantees.
The distance to the closest road represented 72.3 percent of the contribution of the predictor in that model. The seeds and soil can travel from machinery and human activity, but in warmer conditions, they could eventually allow the Iupinos to go to colder areas with less dependence on the roads. Time, in other words, could move faster than containment efforts.
Why the lupin debate is not simply good or bad
Iceland’s Natural Science Institute says that this species, the Nootka lupin, is the most invasive plant, and that it can alter ecosystems and threaten biodiversity. That does not mean that the flower no longer has value, because it is beautiful and because it plays a very important role in damaged soils where not so many other plants can easily grow.
But now the idea is not that every field that has this plant should be removed. What scientists recommend is not to eradicate them on a large scale, but yes where they are, they need to be contained.
Iceland’s purple fields carry a wider warning
Restoration projects tend to bring conflict and different opinions (mostly in the first years). With Iceland, we can see why it is really needed to monitor, check biodiversity, and control things such as climate projections before a useful resource becomes a new ecological problem.
At the end of the day, the lupin is not bad or good. It is mostly about how humans then deal with the powerful consequences of it. That is why it is very important to have a high standard of control if this species is going to be raised. Remember, being beautiful does not mean that it is harmless!
