Iceland's Deserts Are Turning Purple – here's why



In this video, we are putting the Icelandic Lupin debate under the microscope to try and find out the good and the bad about this invasive species.

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⏱️TIMESTAMPS⏱️
0:00 Intro
1:04 Ecology
2:05 History
3:38 Debate

🧐 ABOUT THIS VIDEO
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Lupinus Nootkatensis was introduced to Iceland in 1945 and since then it has been a source of debate for the Icelandic people. Is it an Invasive species? Yes. Should it be removed? This is where it gets a little more complicated…and it’s this question that we want to explore in this video.

Lupin has both positive and negative consequences in Iceland and it’s important to analyse both sides of the story to get a better grip on the truth. Lupin can be used as a tool for reforestation but it can also have severe consequences on the land. So what are your thoughts on this fascinating plant?

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50 thoughts on “Iceland's Deserts Are Turning Purple – here's why”

  1. It's also worth noting that Blue isn't a common colour in nature at ALL, so the fact this plant is thriving in the barren deserts of Iceland is cooler as shit knowing "blue" was the last colour it could've turned
    (edit: these look either blue or purple depending on the light)

    Reply
  2. Austral steppes will disappear anyway because of climate change.

    So instead of clinging to blueberries, better to accept that at least one plant thrives and brings vegetation in its trail. Many countries won't have that luck.

    Reply
  3. A question about the Lupine! How is it behaving in areas of older growth, both of existing plant life and in areas where the lupine has been for a considerable amount of time? Is the lupine giving way to other species? Is it invading existing forest and choking out desired species? In the video, he mentioned blueberries and another plant which those birds eat. Is lupine actually causing those plants to propagate less?

    Reply
  4. i live in florida, US and we’ve had issues with several invasive species. florida is a great environment for many plants because it’s warm basically all year around. if florida was like iceland i’d probably want a species like that to fertilize but it’s important to keep an eye out regardless. we have things like cogongrass, brazilian peppertrees, lionfish, burmese pythons etc. there was actually a brazilian peppertree growing outside of my house, i got a video one day from my friend (he worked for my dad at the time) and they tied the tree to my dads truck and ripped it out lol. they destroyed mangroves in my area. i also live by the port and if you catch a lionfish one of the restaurants will cook it for you. they have many projects to decrease peppertree and lionfish populations. pythons have seriously wrecked the everglades. it’s really terrifying. there are tons of youtubers that have “ranches” in fl and if they’re from south fl (mostly if they handle reptiles) they probably have a video of them trying to catch a python or actually catching one. jacob feder definitely has & blake’s exotic animal ranch might’ve too.

    Reply
  5. Where there was nothing, there now is something. All thanks to the Sand Lupin, or purple lupin.
    "Invasive" is such a negatively loaded word, yes there are numerous cases of non-native plants and animals
    destroying habitat for native plants and animals. But at the same time there are many examples where "invasive"
    species contribute and makes the ecosystem better, as a sort of "medication" for the effect we humans have
    on the ecosystem(s).

    This debate is, and boils down to, just what you ended this upload with: a careful management job to let the plant do a important job of returning nutrition to the soil, where it came from doesn't matter.

    Reply
  6. The idea of invasive species is weird. How long does a species have to live in one place to be native? Are all species supposed to stay in a small geographic area? Is there a date at which any incoming species considered invasive? If this plant is helping, let it help.

    Reply
  7. let them flourish, especially in the desert areas, however , also have areas that are already green protected from them to some degree so that native species can flourish.. ….use the beautiful violet flower to make icleand green again and plant trees in those now green areas that were once barren, 💟

    Reply
  8. I think the idea that Lupine is turned to food is a very good strategy especially in the modern society because there are more and more consumers in the market each year!, thus, with the abundance of the invasive species means more lupine thus more food source of such kind as well as it can be distributed worldwide as it becomes a demand internationally

    Reply
  9. Clearly the lupinus growns uncontrolled, so I am curious what negatives will arise 20 years into the future. also don't iceland follow the EU regarding environmental legalislation like the NOx limits ?

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  10. The new foreign plants are needed to turn the barren land to flourish and the local flora didn’t. Sometime something new is required. I don’t think that’s not bad. The man’s action made it happen, but things change and that’s how it is. If the Iceland’s environment was not right fit, the plant didn’t succeed this much. The plant helps the soil to rejuvenate and also feed the local birds. Then other plants can starts to grow in the better soil. This change may slow for human.

    Reply
  11. i love this question! i think its our responsibility as stewards of the land to chip in when we can to help the earth with our capacity to plan and organize. in this case i think the approach of allowing it to habilitate some lands but set people to combat its spread to protect the ecosystem reliant on the desert landscape is a good idea. but i think thats a short term solution and unsustainable. in terms of long term planning to achieve our main two goals of protecting the native species there and teaming up with lupine to rehabilitate the soil, the effort should extend to doing research on which native species can compete with lupin and kind of allow them to duke it out under supervision in nature and see if the native plant can be used to create boundaries for the lupine rehabilitation areas so the human supervision could wean off. eventually ideally the soil will be fixed and fertile enough for new native plants to take root and due to the new juicy soil, the lupine will die back (because it prefers the desert). if native species are seeded strategically, the lupine can be crowded in by new growth and juicy soil and die back, leaving mostly native plants and some good good earth, and then hopefully it’ll even out in the long run! this is definitely a multigenerational endeavor that requires a lot of maintenance and dedication but if the right time and energy is invested in it, it could be really cool model for future bio rehabilitation projects in the future. def shouldn’t be a private venture or yalls exclusive responsibility, i feel like this is a public interest project that the icelandic govt should dedicate some resources too.

    Reply

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