the condition of lichen grounds has been deteriorating for over the past two decennia due to the high level of reindeer herd grazing this has also other negative impacts on the alpine flora and fauna including the deterrence of regrowth of mountain birch forest after autumn moth outbreaks other pressures on alpine habitats include tourism and offroad traffic the disturbances by tourism in alpine areas can indudethe trampling and resultant erosion of vegetative cover ahokumpu etai this is of concern as alpine ecosystems are often fragile and this can cause loss of resilience towards natural hazards such as landslides avalanches erosion and insect outbreaks in iceland most alpine habitats are seriously degraded