Historical Ecology combines theory, methods, regional case studies and syntheses to provide a complete up-to-date overview of historical ecology. Beginning with the crucial role of time and inference from observed patterns, the book critically reviews the main methodological approaches, including monitoring of permanent plots, analysis of old maps, repeat photography, remote sensing, soil analysis, charcoal analysis, botanical indicators, and combinations of these methods applied to forest ecosystems.
A series of case studies from various biomes shows how historical ecology can help in understanding today’s socio-ecosystems, such as mainland and island forests, orchards, tundra and coastal dunes. The book concludes by showing how historical ecology can answer timely fundamental research questions and provide science-based evidence for landscape and ecosystem management.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 A General Introduction to Historical Ecology 1
Guillaume DECOCQ
1.1 The roots of historical ecology 2
1.2 A multidisciplinary approach of socio-ecosystems 3
1.3 Recent trends in historical ecology 4
1.4 The way forward 6
1.5 References 7
Chapter 2 Historical Resurveys Reveal Causes of Long-term Ecological Change 11
Donald M WALLER
2.1 Serious ecological changes are pervasive 11
2.2 Anthropogenic drivers of ecological change 12
2.2.1 The missing baseline problem 12
2.2.2 Ecological communities are complex 13
2.3 Kinds of ecological change 14
2.3.1 Natural community dynamics 14
2.3.2 Anthropogenic drivers of ecological change 14
2.4 Understanding the forces driving ecological change 18
2.4.1 Natural experiments 18
2.4.2 Metrics of change 19
2.4.3 Can functional traits reveal drivers of change? 19
2.4.4 Vectors of change - ordination 20
2.5 Conclusion 22
2.6 References 22
Chapter 3 Getting the Right Answer Can Take a While: Long-term Ecological Field Studies as Historical Ecology 27
Frank S GILLIAM
3.1 Introduction 27
3.2 Fernow Experimental Forest 29
3.2.1 Background 29
3.2.2 Site description 30
3.2.3 Field design 30
3.3 Long-term studies at Fernow Experimental Forest, West Virginia 32
3.3.1 Effects of acidification on soil fertility and herb layer cover and foliar nutrients 32
3.3.2 Effects of N addition on soil N dynamics 34
3.3.3 Effects of N addition on herb layer composition and diversity 35
3.3.4 The N homogeneity hypothesis 37
3.3.5 A look at the future: declines in the atmospheric deposition of N 40
3.4 Conclusion 40
3.5 References 41
Chapter 4 Gaps and Cracks in Land Cover Mapping for Historical Ecology 45
Francesca Di PIETRO, Roger COLY, Clémence CHAUDRON, Samuel LETURCQ
4.1 Introduction 45
4.2 Three main steps of past land cover mapping 46
4.3 Land cover in the 19th century: the old cadasters 47
4.4 Land cover in the 20th century: aerial photographs 50
4.5 Present land cover: modern databases 52
4.6 From different sources to one land cover typology 53
4.7 Conclusion 55
4.8 References 55
Chapter 5 The Use of Repeat Photography in African Historical Ecology 57
Michael Timm HOFFMAN and Rick F ROHDE
5.1 Repeat photography as an emerging tool in African historical ecology 57
5.2 Repeat photography and landscape change in Africa 58
5.2.1 Early contributions 58
5.2.2 Ethiopia 58
5.2.3 Southern Africa 59
5.3 Long-term change in plant populations as revealed by repeat photography 62
5.4 Strengths and limitations 64
5.5 Future directions 65
5.6 References 66
Chapter 6 Remote Sensing for Historical Ecology 71
Pierre-Alexis HERRAULT and David SHEEREN
6.1 Introduction 71
6.2 Landscape spatio-temporal changes as a proxy of biodiversity 72
6.3 Mapping landscapes at different dates 73
6.3.1 Airborne laser scanning data 73
6.3.2 Historical maps 74
6.3.3 Old aerial photographs 75
6.3.4 Satellite images 76
6.4 Modeling the effects of spatio-temporal changes on present-day biodiversity 77
6.4.1 Structural spatio-temporal metrics 77
6.4.2 Functional spatio-temporal metrics 79
6.5 References 81
Chapter 7 Soil Archives: Where Soilscape History Meets Present-day Ecosystems 85
Boris BRASSEUR, Damien ERTLEN and Vincent ROBIN
7.1 Introduction 85
7.2 Mechanisms of soil archiving and the associated dynamics 86
7.2.1 Pedoturbations of biological and physical origins 86
7.2.2 Eluviation-Illuviation 86
7.2.3 Anthropogenic factors 88
7.2.4 Effects of geomorphological processes on soil archives 88
7.3 Examples of soil archives and their influence on current ecosystems 90
7.3.1 Chemical archives, witnesses of progressive soil transformations 90
7.3.2 Physical archives: reading the soil pit profile and microtopographic features 92
7.3.3 Soil organic matter 93
7.3.4 Botanical remains 94
7.4 Conclusion 95
7.5 References 95
Chapter 8 Continuous and Nested Time in Historical Ecology: Application to Soil Studies 99
Damien ERTLEN
8.1 Interdisciplinarity and time in historical ecology 99
8.2 Continuous time 100
8.3 Nested time 102
8.4 Different disciplines, different tools 103
8.5 Examples of nested and continuous time: soils and strata 105
8.6 Conclusion 107
8.7 References 108
Chapter 9 The Analysis of Relic Charcoal Kilns for the Assessment of Forest Trajectories 111
Vincent ROBIN, Alexa DUFRAISSE and Claudia OLIVEIRA
9.1 Introduction 111
9.2 Looking at the platform of the kiln 112
9.2.1 Looking at the dimensions of the kiln platforms 112
9.2.2 Platform inventory 113
9.3 Looking at the charcoal pieces 115
9.3.1 Sampling 115
9.3.2 Taxonomic identification 115
9.3.3 Dendro-anthracology 117
9.4 Looking at the ages 117
9.5 Conclusion 119
9.6 References 119
Chapter 10 Ancient Trees and Botanical Indicators as Evidence for Change and Continuity in Landscape Evolution 123
Ian D ROTHERHAM
10.1 Introduction 123
10.2 What is ancient woodland? Questions of woods versus old-growth forest, and of continuity versus antiquity 124
10.3 The value of ancient woods 124
10.4 Methodology 125
10.4.1 Evidencing ancient woodlands and the use of indicators 125
10.4.2 Tree form and growth as evidence of antiquity and continuity 128
10.4.3 The importance of ancient and veteran trees in woodland 129
10.4.4 Soils and sediments 130
10.5 An emerging woodland paradigm 131
10.6 A simple new conceptual framework 131
10.7 Conclusion 133
10.8 References 133
Chapter 11 Towards a Methodological Framework for Investigating the Hidden History of Woodland Covers 135
Damien MARAGE, Catherine FRUCHART, Isabelle JOUFFROY-BAPICOT, Olivier GIRARDCLOS, Vincent BALLAND
11.1 Why talk about hidden history when studying forest vegetation? 135
11.2 From recent forests: a synecological point of view 136
11.3 From the walls: ancient documents and maps 136
11.4 From the wood: dendrochronology 139
11.5 From the ground: palynology 140
11.6 From the air: LiDAR 142
11.7 Discussion 143
11.8 References 146
Chapter 12 The Gate to the Forest is in its History 151
Keith J KIRBY
12.1 Introduction 151
12.2 The ancient woodland idea 152
12.3 Legacies of woodland management 153
12.4 Seeing the trees, not the woods 154
12.5 Exploring the distant past 155
12.6 Trees and woods from the past to the future 157
12.7 References 158
Chapter 13 Plant Assemblages and Ecosystem Functioning, a Legacy of Long-term Interactions with Large Herbivores 163
Christophe BALTZINGER and Anders MÅRELL
13.1 Introduction 163
13.2 Large herbivores are ecosystem dominant interactors 164
13.2.1 Large herbivores as ecosystem engineers 164
13.2.2 Large herbivores and plant assemblages 166
13.3 Long-term effects and methodological changes 167
13.3.1 Paleoecological records 167
13.3.2 Modern data 167
13.4 Plant-herbivore interactions over the long-term 168
13.4.1 Quaternary communities of large herbivores and associated flora 168
13.4.2 The forest in the early Holocene 169
13.5 Modern vegetation trajectories driven by large herbivores 170
13.5.1 Herbivory effects 170
13.5.2 Temporal trajectories 170
13.6 Perspectives, rewilding and ecosystem restoration 172
13.7 References 173
Chapter 14 A Historical Ecology of the Compiègne Forest (N France) 177
Jérôme BURIDANT, Boris BRASSEUR, Hélène HOREN, Emilie GALLET-MORON and Guillaume DECOCQ
14.1 Introduction 177
14.2 The ancient forest: an intensively managed agricultural landscape? 178
14.3 The Medieval forest: a woodland (re)birth or a savanna-like ecosystem? 184
14.4 The contemporary forest (19th century onward): a closed-canopy multifunctional woodland 188
14.5 Conclusion 190
14.6 References 191
Chapter 15 The Chestnut Orchards in the Bolognese Apennines: A Vanishing Socio-ecological Habitat 195
Giovanna PEZZI, Fabrizio FERRETTI, Alberto MALTONI, Patrik KREBS, Marco CONEDERA and Giorgio MARESI
15.1 Introduction 195
15.2 The traditional chestnut orchards 197
15.3 The chestnut groves of the Bolognese Apennines 198
15.4 A changing world: abandonment, diseases and other problems 199
15.5 The turning point of the 1980s 199
15.6 Current constraints and future perspectives 200
15.7 References 203
Chapter 16 Claudius’ Coin in the Forest - Niche Construction and Strategies by Early Colonizers of Boreal Inlands in Central Scandinavia 207
Ove ERIKSSON and Karl-Johan LINDHOLM
16.1 Introduction 207
16.2 Concepts and theoretical framework 210
16.3 A historical overview of the colonization 211
16.4 A structured landscape 212
16.4.1 Constructing the environment 212
16.4.2 Managing livestock 213
16.4.3 Shielings (secondary farms) 214
16.5 Concluding remarks 216
16.6 References 217
Chapter 17 Recent History of Vegetation Changes in the Arctic 221
Antoine BECKER-SCARPITTA, Bastien PARISY and Tomas ROSLIN
17.1 Introduction 221
17.2 The Arctic tundra biome 222
17.3 The Arctic historical ecological archive 222
17.3.1 Remote sensing over time 223
17.3.2 Field-based records 223
17.4 Changes over time in tundra vegetation 225
17.4.1 Changes in vegetation productivity 225
17.4.2 Changes in vegetation phenology 226
17.4.3 Changes in plant community structure, composition and diversity 227
17.5 Synthesis and perspectives 229
17.6 References 230
Chapter 18 Reconstructing the Impact of Humans on Aotearoa New Zealand’s Biodiversity 233
Nicolas J RAWLENCE, Alexander J.F VERRY, Karen GREIG, Justin J MAXWELL, Lara D SHEPHERD and Richard WALTER
18.1 Introduction 233
18.2 Archaeological evidence for anthropogenic impact in New Zealand 234
18.3 Paleovegetation change in pre- and post-European contact New Zealand 237
18.4 Utilizing Aotearoa’s natural resources: Māori cultivation and translocation of flora and fauna 239
18.5 Evolutionary consequences of Polynesian and European arrival 240
18.6 Conclusion 243
18.7 References 243
Chapter 19 Historical Ecology of the Coastal Aeolian Sedimentary Systems of the Canary Islands 247
Aarón Moisés SANTANA-CORDERO, Antonio Ignacio HERNÁNDEZ-CORDERO, Néstor MARRERO-RODRÍGUEZ, Leví GARCÍA-ROMERO, Elisabet FERNÁNDEZ-CABRERA, Carolina PEÑA-ALONSO, Emma PÉREZ-CHACÓN ESPINO and Luis HERNÁNDEZ-CALVENTO
19.1 Introduction 247
19.2 Study sites 248
19.3 Historical evolution of the coastal aeolian sedimentary systems of the Canary Islands 251
19.3.1 19th century: territorial consolidation and spread of the agrarian socioeconomic system 252
19.3.2 20th century to the present day: the tourism transformation 253
19.4 Conclusion 255
19.5 References 256
Chapter 20 Historical Forest Microclimates 259
Emiel DE LOMBAERDE, Karen DE PAUW, Pallieter DE SMEDT, Jonathan LENOIR, Camille MEEUSSEN, Thomas VANNESTE, Kris VERHEYEN, Florian ZELLWEGER and Pieter DE FRENNE
20.1 Drivers of microclimate at the plot, forest and landscape scale 261
20.2 Methods to infer microclimate from the past and predict into the future 265
20.3 Why do historical microclimates matter? Impacts on biodiversity from the plot to landscape scale 268
20.4 Conclusion 270
20.5 References 270
Chapter 21 Causes and Consequences of Extinction Debts: Perspectives for Historical Ecology and Biological Conservation 273
Grégoire BLANCHARD and François MUNOZ
21.1 Introduction 273
21.2 Causes and processes entailing extinction debts 274
21.3 Studying and detecting extinction debts from ecosystem history 276
21.4 Implications for biodiversity conservation and management 280
21.5 Conclusion 281
21.6 References 282
Chapter 22 Historical Ecology for the Past and the Future: Organizing at Local and Regional Scales 285
Carole L CRUMLEY
22.1 Introduction 285
22.2 Founding IHOPE 286
22.3 Integrating the social sciences and humanities 287
22.4 Historical ecology 288
22.5 Conclusion 290
22.6 References 291
List of Authors 295
Index 301
