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"land-use history"
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Present conditions may mediate the legacy effect of past land-use changes on species richness and composition of above- and below-ground assemblages
In forest ecosystems, the influence of landscape history on contemporary biodiversity patterns has been shown to provide a convenient framework to explain shifts in plant assemblages. However, very few studies have controlled for present human‐induced activities when analysing the effect of forest continuity on community structures. By cutting and removing trees, foresters substantially change stand ecological conditions, with consequences on biodiversity patterns. Disentangling the effect of past and present human activities on biodiversity is thus crucial for ecosystem management and conservation. We explored the response of plant and springtail species richness and composition to forest continuity (ancient vs. recent) in montane forests, while controlling for stand maturity (mature vs. overmature). We established 70 sites in landscapes dominated by unfragmented ancient forests where we surveyed plants and assessed springtails by analysing environmental DNA. Neither plant nor springtail species richness was influenced by forest continuity or by stand maturity. Instead, site‐specific characteristics, especially soil properties and canopy openness, were of major importance in shaping above‐ and below‐ground richness. For plant and springtail species composition, the effect of forest continuity was mediated by stand maturity. Thus, both plants and springtails showed a convergence in assemblage patterns with the increasing availability of overmature stand attributes. Moreover, soil and stand‐scale factors were evidently more important than landscape‐scale factors in shaping above‐ and below‐ground species composition. Synthesis. We clearly demonstrated that biodiversity patterns are more strongly influenced by present human‐induced activities than by past human‐induced activities. In the Northern Alps where our study sites were located, the colonization credit of most species has been paid off and the transient biodiversity deficit usually related to forest continuity has moved towards equilibrium. These findings emphasize the necessity to better control for local‐scale factors when analysing the response of biodiversity to forest continuity; we call for more research into the effects of forest continuity in unfragmented mountain forests.
Journal Article
Landscape and Change in Early Medieval Italy
This innovative environmental history of the long-lived European chestnut tree and its woods offers valuable new perspectives on the human transition from the Roman to the medieval world in Italy. Integrating evidence from botanical and literary sources, individual charters and case studies of specific communities, the book traces fluctuations in the size and location of Italian chestnut woods to expose how early medieval societies changed their land use between the fourth and eleventh centuries, and in the process changed themselves. As the chestnut tree gained popularity in late antiquity and became a valuable commodity by the end of the first millennium, this study brings to life the economic and cultural transition from a Roman Italy of cities, agricultural surpluses and markets to a medieval Italy of villages and subsistence farming.
eBook
Homogenization of forest plant communities and weakening of species-environment relationships via agricultural land use
1 Disturbance may cause community composition across sites to become more or less homogenous, depending on the importance of different processes involved in community assembly. In north-eastern North America and Europe local (alpha) diversity of forest plants is lower in forests growing on former agricultural fields (recent forests) than in older (ancient) forests, but little is known about the influence of land-use history on the degree of compositional differentiation among sites (beta diversity). 2 Here we analyse data from 1446 sites in ancient and recent forests across 11 different landscapes in north-eastern North America and Europe to demonstrate decreases in beta diversity and in the strength of species-environment relationships in recent vs. ancient forests. 3 The magnitude of environmental variability among sites did not differ between the two forest types. This suggests the difference in beta diversity between ancient and recent forests was not due to different degrees of environmental heterogeneity, but rather to dispersal filters that constrain the pool of species initially colonizing recent forests. 4 The observed effects of community homogenization and weakened relationships between species distributions and environmental gradients appear to persist for decades or longer. The legacy of human land-use history in spatial patterns of biodiversity may endure, both within individual sites and across sites, for decades if not centuries.
Journal Article
Builders and planners : a history of land-use and infrastructure planning in the Netherlands
This book looks at the intersection of Dutch infrastructure builders and Dutch spatial planners, both of whom have historically desired to order Dutch space. From the professionalization of builders and planners in the 1920s, when they first sought to leave their mark on the design of the land, to the subsequent transition from urban to regional and national spatial planning, and the groups' increasingly public roles in the 1950s and '60s, Builders and Planners is a story of collaboration and conflict, of coalitions and opposition between two expert groups working in the Dutch space. Also including case studies of particular construction projects that shed light on the difficult path from plan to completion, as well as offering insight into the unique nature of planning in the Netherlands through detailed comparison with Belgium, Builders and Planners provides new and fascinating perspectives on the history of Dutch planning and planners.
Book
350-year tree-ring fire record from Białowieża Primeval Forest, Poland: implications for Central European lowland fire history
1. Fires are nowadays small, yet frequent, in temperate Central European conifer forests, but little is known about the fire history in this region. This is likely due to the lack of intact forests that contain old trees and dead wood from which fire history may be reconstructed. An exception is the Białowieża Primeval Forest (BPF) in Poland for which we were able to reconstruct the fire history in detail. 2. From 886 tree ring samples collected in a 13-ha conifer-dominated area, we reconstructed fire events and tree establishment back to the mid 1600s. From 1653 to the late 1700s fires were very frequent, with mean point (single tree) fire intervals of 18 years and mean stand scale fire intervals of 6 years. After 1781, the intervals between the fires increased dramatically, and since 1874 no major fire was recorded. 3. Tree establishment underwent substantial changes, closely tracking shifts in fire frequency. When fires were frequent, Pinus sylvestris establishment occurred only sporadically. Later, less frequent fires promoted massive establishment of both P. sylvestris and Picea abies. At present, only P. abies and a few deciduous trees regenerate. 4. Synthesis. We present the first high-resolution fire history in the Central European temperate lowland forest area. The discovery of old P. sylvestris trees and stumps with fire scars in many conifer-dominated parts of BPF show that fire was a major component in the past dynamics of this forest. We also show that historically, fires were recurring at very close intervals, supporting an open, Pinus-dominated forest. These result contrasts with the written history of BPF, which focus on a few, large fires from the past. Human influence on the fire regime was probably substantial, although the disentangling of climatic and human impacts needs further studies. We propose that fire should be increasingly taken into consideration in models of disturbance, vegetation development and forest openness in the whole Central European lowland forest region.
Journal Article
Paradise planned : the garden suburb and the modern city
\"From the same team that produced the monumental five-volume architectural history of New York comes the definitive work on the development of the garden suburb, a phenomenon that first emerged in England in the 1830s and still dominates residential architecture today\"-- Provided by publisher.
Book
Fire‐regime complacency and sensitivity to centennial‐through millennial‐scale climate change in Rocky Mountain subalpine forests, Colorado, USA
Key uncertainties in anticipating future fire regimes are their sensitivity to climate change, and the degree to which climate will impact fire regimes directly, through increasing the probability of fire, versus indirectly, through changes in vegetation and landscape flammability. We studied the sensitivity of subalpine forest fire regimes (i.e. fire frequency, fire severity) to previously documented climate variability over the past 6000 years, utilizing pollen and macroscopic charcoal from high‐resolution lake‐sediment records in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado. We combined data from the four lakes to provide composite records of vegetation and fire history within a 200 km² study area. Rates of forest burning were relatively complacent to millennial‐scale summer cooling and decreased effective moisture. Mean return intervals between fire episodes, defined over 500‐year periods, generally varied between 150 and 250 years, consistent with tree‐ring‐based estimates spanning recent centuries. Variability around these long‐term means, however, was significantly correlated with variability in summer moisture (i.e. more burning with drier summers), inferred from existing lake‐level and supporting palaeoenvironmental records. The most pronounced change in fire regimes was in response to decreased subalpine forest density ca. 2400 cal. year BP, itself a response to regional cooling. This indirect impact of climate was followed by a decrease in charcoal production per fire, a proxy for crown‐fire severity, while the long‐term rate of burning remained unchanged. Over the last 1500 years, increased summer evaporation and drought frequency were associated with increased fire severity, highlighting a direct link between fire and climate. Synthesis. Subalpine forest fire history reveals complacency and sensitivity of fire regimes to changing vegetation and hydroclimate over the past 6000 years. Complacency is highlighted by non‐varying fire frequency over millennia. Sensitivity is evident through changes in biomass burned per fire (and inferred fire severity), in response to climate‐induced changes in forest density and, more recently, increased summer drought. Overall, the palaeo record suggests that (i) fire severity may be more responsive to climate change than fire frequency in Rocky Mountain subalpine forests and (ii) the indirect impacts of climate on vegetation and fuels are important mechanisms determining fire‐regime response to climate change.
Journal Article