New Perspectives on People and Forests

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 orenvironmental 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.

List of contents

Preface
Content
About the authors
Contributors
PART I
1 Introduction - The crooked timber of humanity
Dainis Dauksta
2 Forests in landscapes - The myth of untouched wilderness
Eva Ritter
2.1 People and forests in prehistoric times
2.1.1 Hunter-gatherers in Europe
2.1.2 The mid-Holocene elm decline
2.1.3 The Great Transition
2.1.4 Early agricultural impacts on forests
2.2 Forest development in historical times
2.2.1 The great deforestation of the Ancient World
2.2.2 Impacts on forests in Northern and Central Europe
2.2.3 Forest protection and forest expansion
2.3 Conclusion
3 Overcoming Physicophobia - Forests as the sacred source of our human origins
Roy Jackson
3.1 The forest as nothing more than useful
3.2 Rousseau: Friend of the forest
3.2.1 The demystification of the forest
3.2.2 The "Savage Man"
3.3 Nietzsche and the sacredness of nature
3.3.1 Nietzsche's criticism of modernity
3.3.2 Nietzsche's "religious" experience
3.4 Conclusion
PART II
4 Royal forests - Hunting and other forest use in Medieval England
Della Hooke
4.1 Forests as game reserves
4.1.1 The location of forests
4.1.2 Forest rights and administration
4.2 Medieval hunting
4.2.1 Anglo-Saxon hunting and game reserves
4.2.2 Medieval hunting methods
4.2.3 Hunting iconography in medieval literature
4.3 The use of other forest resources
4.3.1 Forest pasture
4.3.2 Other forest products
4.4 The decline of the forests
4.5 Hunting in post-medieval times
4.6 Conclusion
5 Forests as commons - Changing traditions and governance in Europe
ChristopherShort
5.1 Introduction to the commons
5.2 History of forests as commons in Europe
5.2.1 Northwestern Europe and the Alps
5.2.2 Southern Europe
5.2.3 United Kingdom
5.3 How the role and use of forests is changing
5.4 The relationship between people and forest commons
5.5 Conclusion
6 New forest owners - Small scale forestry and changes in forest ownership
Áine Ní Dhubháin
6.1 What is small-scale forestry?
6.2 Characteristics of small-scale forests
6.3 Owners of small-scale forests
6.3.1 Ownership structure
6.3.2 Objectives of small-scale forest owners
6.4 Nature of small-scale forests
6.5 Consequences of the changing ownership structure
6.5.1 Forest fragmentation
6.5.2 Recreation and access
6.5.3 Timber production
6.5.4 Nature conservation
6.6 Conclusion

7 Forest and recreation - New functions of afforestation as seen in Denmark
Carla K. Smink
7.1 Forest recreation: a policy perspective
7.2 Forest use in Denmark
7.3 Afforestation: creation of recreation opportunities
7.4 Conclusion
PART III
8 From post to pillar - The development and persistence of an arboreal metaphor
Dainis Dauksta
8.1 The wooden post in prehistory and the growth of symbols
8.1.1 Timber circles
8.1.2 Celtic and La Tène sites
8.2 The layering of connected symbols
8.2.1 The anthropomorphic tree
8.2.2 The lopped tree, the axe and the thunder god
8.2.3 The Maypole
8.3 The Classical column
8.4 Two modern vestiges of the sacred pillar
8.5 Conclusion
9 Landscape painting and the forest - The influence of cultural factors in the depiction of trees and forests
Dainis Dauksta
9.1 Medieval symbolic and factual landscapes
9.1.1Symbols of Christ, crucifixion and redemption
9.1.2 Perspective,

Summary

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 orenvironmental 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.

Additional text

From the reviews:
“The book is the exploration of the cultural, biological, spiritual, economic, and emotional components of the forested landscape of northern Europe from the earliest records of interactions between humans and forests to the present day. … This volume should certainly be considered as part of the literature of landscape ecology, as it considers throughout the interactions between humans, forests, and forested landscapes. … For those with a humanistic or philosophical bent, it is likely a worthwhile read … .” (Ralph E. J. Boerner, Landscape Ecology, Vol. 27, 2012)

Report

From the reviews:
"The book is the exploration of the cultural, biological, spiritual, economic, and emotional components of the forested landscape of northern Europe from the earliest records of interactions between humans and forests to the present day. ... This volume should certainly be considered as part of the literature of landscape ecology, as it considers throughout the interactions between humans, forests, and forested landscapes. ... For those with a humanistic or philosophical bent, it is likely a worthwhile read ... ." (Ralph E. J. Boerner, Landscape Ecology, Vol. 27, 2012)

Product details

• Assisted by: Dauksta (Editor), Dauksta (Editor), Dainis Dauksta (Editor), Dainis Daukstra (Editor), Ev Ritter (Editor), Eva Ritter (Editor)
• Publisher: Springer Netherlands
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 24.01.2011
• EAN: 9789400711495
• ISBN: 978-94-0-071149-5
• No. of pages: 250
• Weight: 562 g
• Illustrations: XVIII, 250 p.
• Series: World Forests; World Forests
• Subjects: Natural sciences, medicine, IT, technology > Biology > Ecology; B, Geography, Cultural Studies, Nature, Urban Planning, Environment, Social & cultural history, Nature & the natural world: general interest, Environmentalist thought & ideology, Social, group or collective psychology, Community and Environmental Psychology, Community Psychology, Cultural Heritage, Regional & area planning, Environmental Psychology, Biomedical and Life Sciences, Environmental Sciences, Landscape Ecology, Landscape/Regional and Urban Planning, Regional planning, Popular Science in Nature and Environment