Vegetation History And Cultural Landscapes

This book focuses on the vegetation history of the cultural landscape in southwestern Slovakia, which was established and adopted by mankind and has since constantly evolved in response to ongoing changes (in environmental conditions, biodiversity, land use, etc.). The book analyses four dominant ecosystems typical for the cultural landscape and affected by humans: woodlands, wetlands, grasslands and agricultural land. Each ecosystem is discussed in separate chapters. The chapters include (a) basic information, general aspects, development processes, trends and interpretations, (b) a published or non-published case study based on the author’s own research, and (c) an extensive bibliography. A set of maps on the vegetation history and indices of geographical names and plants names serve to round out the coverage. The work provides an essential point of departure for describing the typical regional characteristics of the cultural landscape, with an eye to its future preservatio n.

The Cultural Landscape - Past, Present and Future considers different aspects of man's intervention with natural vegetation and the landscape resulting from a long equilibrium of co-existence. These landscapes are not stable, and the recent and ever accelerating changes in technology and life-style have increasingly affected many ancient landscapes, as old land-use practices are abandoned and traditions forgotten. The papers in this book describe and trace the development of cultural landscapes in different climatic and biogeographical regions in Europe. Remnants of traditional land-use still remaining are described, particularly from Western Norway, where traditions have lingered because the rugged topography of the region is inimicable to high-technology. Each chapter is by an expert in the field. The topics cover the documentation of present cultural landscapes, their maintenance and restoration, and the history of the development of cultural landscapes from the Stone Age onwards, linking the intensity of landscape utilization with population dynamics and technological attainments. The disciplines involved include vegetation science, vegetation history, ecology, palaeoecology, archaeology, sociology, geography and history.

The Cultural Landscape - Past, Present and Future considers different aspects of man's intervention with natural vegetation and the landscape resulting from a long equilibrium of co-existence. These landscapes are not stable, and the recent and ever accelerating changes in technology and life-style have increasingly affected many ancient landscapes, as old land-use practices are abandoned and traditions forgotten. The papers in this book describe and trace the development of cultural landscapes in different climatic and biogeographical regions in Europe. Remnants of traditional land-use still remaining are described, particularly from Western Norway, where traditions have lingered because the rugged topography of the region is inimicable to high-technology. Each chapter is by an expert in the field. The topics cover the documentation of present cultural landscapes, their maintenance and restoration, and the history of the development of cultural landscapes from the Stone Age onwards, linking the intensity of landscape utilization with population dynamics and technological attainments. The disciplines involved include vegetation science, vegetation history, ecology, palaeoecology, archaeology, sociology, geography and history.

This major new text provides an introduction to the interaction of culture and society with the landscape and environment. It offers a broad-based view of this theme by drawing upon the varied traditions of landscape interpretation, from the traditional cultural geography of scholars such as Carl Sauer to the 'new' cultural geography which has emerged in the 1990s. The book comprises three major, interwoven strands. First, fundamental factors such as environmental change and population pressure are addressed in order to sketch the contextual variables of landscapes production. Second, the evolution of the humanised landscape is discussed in terms of processes such as clearing wood, the impact of agriculture, the creation of urban-industrial complexes, and is also treated in historical periods such as the pre-industrial, the modern and the post-modern. From this we can see the cultural and economic signatures of human societies at different times and places. Finally, examples of landscape types are selected in order to illustrate the ways in which landscape both represents and participates in social change. The authors use a wide range of source material, ranging from place-names and pollen diagrams to literature and heritage monuments. Superbly illustrated throughout, it is essential reading for first-year undergraduates studying historical geography, human geography, cultural geography or landscape history.

Landscape today is no longer just a cultural aspect, intended as an elitist phenomenon, but emerges as an essential element in the definition and the application of a modern approach in sustainable development. Historical locally adapted distinctive and ingenious combinations of management practices have contributed and continue to contribute tremendously to the biodiversity of the world, resulting not only in outstanding aesthetic beauty, but, in the sustained provision of multiple goods and services, food and livelihood security and quality of life. The development of policies to preserve and manage landscape resources, has to face both the degradation of cultural landscape due to socio-economic development and the need to develop appropriate methods and approaches. This book presents different methodologies developed to analyse, manage and plan landscape resources. It reports recent research findings and case studies from Europe and North America, suggesting also the revision of some orientations and views of the current policies concerning forestry, rural development and nature conservation, often contributing to degrade cultural landscapes.

The aim of this book is to elucidate the role of forests as part of a landscape in the life of people. Most landscapes today are cultural landscapes that are influenced by human activity and that in turn have a profound effect on our understanding of and identification with a place. The book proposes that a better understanding of the bond between people and forests as integrated part of a landscape may be helpful in landscape planning, and may contribute to the discussion of changes in forest cover which has been motivated by land use changes, rural development and the global climate debate. To this end, people’s perception of forest landscapes, the reasons for different perceptions, and future perspectives are discussed. Given the wide range of forest landscapes, and cultural perspectives which exist across the world, the book focuses on Europe as a test case to explore the various relationships between society, culture, forests and landscapes. It looks at historical evidence of the impacts of people on forests and vice versa, explores the current factors affecting people’s physical and emotional comfort in forest landscapes, and looks ahead to how changes in forest cover may alter the present relationships of people to forests. Drawing together a diverse literature and combining the expertise of natural and social scientists, this book will form a valuable reference for students and researchers working in the fields of landscape ecology and landscape architecture, geography, social science, environmental psychology or environmental history. It will also be of interest to researchers, government agencies and practitioners with an interest in issues such as sustainable forest management, sustainable tourism, reserve management, urban planning and environmental interpretation.

The Mediterranean region has been shaped by human activity and maintained by traditional practices of land use for centuries. This has affected the distribution of plants and the landscape, which can be considered as part of the European cultural landscape. This book details the rapid changes that have taken place in the vegetation of the Mediterranean in the last half-century, a period in which major socio-economic development greatly affected the cultural and physical landscape.

The conservation and management of cultural landscapes, interpreted as the result of the interrelationships among economic, social and environmental factors through time and space, emerges as essential components in the definition and application of a modern approach to sustainable development. Cultural landscapes are the result of management practices and knowledge accumulated in human history and contribute not only to the cultural heritage of the world, but also to biodiversity and aesthetic beauty, providing also multiple goods and services for the development of rural areas. However, landscapes are severely endangered not only by some effects of the socioeconomic development, but also by inappropriate policies in agriculture, forestry and nature conservation. This interdisciplinary book presents a range of different methods developed to analyse, restore and manage cultural landscapes, reporting a number of case studies from Europe and north America, but raising some questions about the need for a revision of some past orientations.