“As much as 40% of Iceland’s surface area was covered by forest before permanent settlers arrived in the ninth century.”
From 7,000 hectares in 1990 to 45,000 now. Sixfold sounds great until you see the total is just over 2 percent of the country. Settlers cut down forests that once covered as much as 40 percent, and their sheep made sure nothing grew back. It took a thousand years to wreck and will take centuries to undo.