Historical Ecology

Guillaume Decocq is a professor of plant sciences at the University of Picardy Jules Verne, France, where he leads a multidisciplinary research group on forest dynamics. He created the historical vegetation ecology working group of the International Association for Vegetation Science.

• Chapter 1 A General Introduction to Historical Ecology 1Guillaume DECOCQ1.1 The roots of historical ecology 21.2 A multidisciplinary approach of socio-ecosystems 31.3 Recent trends in historical ecology 41.4 The way forward 61.5 References 7Chapter 2 Historical Resurveys Reveal Causes of Long-term Ecological Change 11Donald M WALLER2.1 Serious ecological changes are pervasive 112.2 Anthropogenic drivers of ecological change 122.2.1 The missing baseline problem 122.2.2 Ecological communities are complex 132.3 Kinds of ecological change 142.3.1 Natural community dynamics 142.3.2 Anthropogenic drivers of ecological change 142.4 Understanding the forces driving ecological change 182.4.1 Natural experiments 182.4.2 Metrics of change 192.4.3 Can functional traits reveal drivers of change? 192.4.4 Vectors of change – ordination 202.5 Conclusion 222.6 References 22Chapter 3 Getting the Right Answer Can Take a While: Long-term Ecological Field Studies as Historical Ecology 27Frank S GILLIAM3.1 Introduction 273.2 Fernow Experimental Forest 293.2.1 Background 293.2.2 Site description 303.2.3 Field design 303.3 Long-term studies at Fernow Experimental Forest, West Virginia 323.3.1 Effects of acidification on soil fertility and herb layer cover and foliar nutrients 323.3.2 Effects of N addition on soil N dynamics 343.3.3 Effects of N addition on herb layer composition and diversity 353.3.4 The N homogeneity hypothesis 373.3.5 A look at the future: declines in the atmospheric deposition of N 403.4 Conclusion 403.5 References 41Chapter 4 Gaps and Cracks in Land Cover Mapping for Historical Ecology 45Francesca Di PIETRO, Roger COLY, Clémence CHAUDRON, Samuel LETURCQ4.1 Introduction 454.2 Three main steps of past land cover mapping 464.3 Land cover in the 19th century: the old cadasters 474.4 Land cover in the 20th century: aerial photographs 504.5 Present land cover: modern databases 524.6 From different sources to one land cover typology 534.7 Conclusion 554.8 References 55Chapter 5 The Use of Repeat Photography in African Historical Ecology 57Michael Timm HOFFMAN and Rick F ROHDE5.1 Repeat photography as an emerging tool in African historical ecology 575.2 Repeat photography and landscape change in Africa 585.2.1 Early contributions 585.2.2 Ethiopia 585.2.3 Southern Africa 595.3 Long-term change in plant populations as revealed by repeat photography 625.4 Strengths and limitations 645.5 Future directions 655.6 References 66Chapter 6 Remote Sensing for Historical Ecology 71Pierre-Alexis HERRAULT and David SHEEREN6.1 Introduction 716.2 Landscape spatio-temporal changes as a proxy of biodiversity 726.3 Mapping landscapes at different dates 736.3.1 Airborne laser scanning data 736.3.2 Historical maps 746.3.3 Old aerial photographs 756.3.4 Satellite images 766.4 Modeling the effects of spatio-temporal changes on present-day biodiversity 776.4.1 Structural spatio-temporal metrics 776.4.2 Functional spatio-temporal metrics 796.5 References 81Chapter 7 Soil Archives: Where Soilscape History Meets Present-day Ecosystems 85Boris BRASSEUR, Damien ERTLEN and Vincent ROBIN7.1 Introduction 857.2 Mechanisms of soil archiving and the associated dynamics 867.2.1 Pedoturbations of biological and physical origins 867.2.2 Eluviation–Illuviation 867.2.3 Anthropogenic factors 887.2.4 Effects of geomorphological processes on soil archives 887.3 Examples of soil archives and their influence on current ecosystems 907.3.1 Chemical archives, witnesses of progressive soil transformations 907.3.2 Physical archives: reading the soil pit profile and microtopographic features 927.3.3 Soil organic matter 937.3.4 Botanical remains 947.4 Conclusion 957.5 References 95Chapter 8 Continuous and Nested Time in Historical Ecology: Application to Soil Studies 99Damien ERTLEN8.1 Interdisciplinarity and time in historical ecology 998.2 Continuous time 1008.3 Nested time 1028.4 Different disciplines, different tools 1038.5 Examples of nested and continuous time: soils and strata 1058.6 Conclusion 1078.7 References 108Chapter 9 The Analysis of Relic Charcoal Kilns for the Assessment of Forest Trajectories 111Vincent ROBIN, Alexa DUFRAISSE and Claudia OLIVEIRA9.1 Introduction 1119.2 Looking at the platform of the kiln 1129.2.1 Looking at the dimensions of the kiln platforms 1129.2.2 Platform inventory 1139.3 Looking at the charcoal pieces 1159.3.1 Sampling 1159.3.2 Taxonomic identification 1159.3.3 Dendro-anthracology 1179.4 Looking at the ages 1179.5 Conclusion 1199.6 References 119Chapter 10 Ancient Trees and Botanical Indicators as Evidence for Change and Continuity in Landscape Evolution 123Ian D ROTHERHAM10.1 Introduction 12310.2 What is ancient woodland? Questions of woods versus old-growth forest, and of continuity versus antiquity 12410.3 The value of ancient woods 12410.4 Methodology 12510.4.1 Evidencing ancient woodlands and the use of indicators 12510.4.2 Tree form and growth as evidence of antiquity and continuity 12810.4.3 The importance of ancient and veteran trees in woodland 12910.4.4 Soils and sediments 13010.5 An emerging woodland paradigm 13110.6 A simple new conceptual framework 13110.7 Conclusion 13310.8 References 133Chapter 11 Towards a Methodological Framework for Investigating the Hidden History of Woodland Covers 135Damien MARAGE, Catherine FRUCHART, Isabelle JOUFFROY-BAPICOT, Olivier GIRARDCLOS, Vincent BALLAND11.1 Why talk about hidden history when studying forest vegetation? 13511.2 From recent forests: a synecological point of view 13611.3 From the walls: ancient documents and maps 13611.4 From the wood: dendrochronology 13911.5 From the ground: palynology 14011.6 From the air: LiDAR 14211.7 Discussion 14311.8 References 146Chapter 12 The Gate to the Forest is in its History 151Keith J KIRBY12.1 Introduction 15112.2 The ancient woodland idea 15212.3 Legacies of woodland management 15312.4 Seeing the trees, not the woods 15412.5 Exploring the distant past 15512.6 Trees and woods from the past to the future 15712.7 References 158Chapter 13 Plant Assemblages and Ecosystem Functioning, a Legacy of Long-term Interactions with Large Herbivores 163Christophe BALTZINGER and Anders MÅRELL13.1 Introduction 16313.2 Large herbivores are ecosystem dominant interactors 16413.2.1 Large herbivores as ecosystem engineers 16413.2.2 Large herbivores and plant assemblages 16613.3 Long-term effects and methodological changes 16713.3.1 Paleoecological records 16713.3.2 Modern data 16713.4 Plant–herbivore interactions over the long-term 16813.4.1 Quaternary communities of large herbivores and associated flora 16813.4.2 The forest in the early Holocene 16913.5 Modern vegetation trajectories driven by large herbivores 17013.5.1 Herbivory effects 17013.5.2 Temporal trajectories 17013.6 Perspectives, rewilding and ecosystem restoration 17213.7 References 173Chapter 14 A Historical Ecology of the Compiègne Forest (N France) 177Jérôme BURIDANT, Boris BRASSEUR, Hélène HOREN, Emilie GALLET-MORON and Guillaume DECOCQ14.1 Introduction 17714.2 The ancient forest: an intensively managed agricultural landscape? 17814.3 The Medieval forest: a woodland (re)birth or a savanna-like ecosystem? 18414.4 The contemporary forest (19th century onward): a closed-canopy multifunctional woodland 18814.5 Conclusion 19014.6 References 191Chapter 15 The Chestnut Orchards in the Bolognese Apennines: A Vanishing Socio-ecological Habitat 195Giovanna PEZZI, Fabrizio FERRETTI, Alberto MALTONI, Patrik KREBS, Marco CONEDERA and Giorgio MARESI15.1 Introduction 19515.2 The traditional chestnut orchards 19715.3 The chestnut groves of the Bolognese Apennines 19815.4 A changing world: abandonment, diseases and other problems 19915.5 The turning point of the 1980s 19915.6 Current constraints and future perspectives 20015.7 References 203Chapter 16 Claudius’ Coin in the Forest – Niche Construction and Strategies by Early Colonizers of Boreal Inlands in Central Scandinavia 207Ove ERIKSSON and Karl-Johan LINDHOLM16.1 Introduction 20716.2 Concepts and theoretical framework 21016.3 A historical overview of the colonization 21116.4 A structured landscape 21216.4.1 Constructing the environment 21216.4.2 Managing livestock 21316.4.3 Shielings (secondary farms) 21416.5 Concluding remarks 21616.6 References 217Chapter 17 Recent History of Vegetation Changes in the Arctic 221Antoine BECKER-SCARPITTA, Bastien PARISY and Tomas ROSLIN17.1 Introduction 22117.2 The Arctic tundra biome 22217.3 The Arctic historical ecological archive 22217.3.1 Remote sensing over time 22317.3.2 Field-based records 22317.4 Changes over time in tundra vegetation 22517.4.1 Changes in vegetation productivity 22517.4.2 Changes in vegetation phenology 22617.4.3 Changes in plant community structure, composition and diversity 22717.5 Synthesis and perspectives 22917.6 References 230Chapter 18 Reconstructing the Impact of Humans on Aotearoa New Zealand’s Biodiversity 233Nicolas J RAWLENCE, Alexander J.F VERRY, Karen GREIG, Justin J MAXWELL, Lara D SHEPHERD and Richard WALTER  18.1 Introduction 23318.2 Archaeological evidence for anthropogenic impact in New Zealand 23418.3 Paleovegetation change in pre- and post-European contact New Zealand 23718.4 Utilizing Aotearoa’s natural resources: Māori cultivation and translocation of flora and fauna 23918.5 Evolutionary consequences of Polynesian and European arrival 24018.6 Conclusion 24318.7 References 243Chapter 19 Historical Ecology of the Coastal Aeolian Sedimentary Systems of the Canary Islands 247Aarón 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-CALVENTO19.1 Introduction 24719.2 Study sites 24819.3 Historical evolution of the coastal aeolian sedimentary systems of the Canary Islands 25119.3.1 19th century: territorial consolidation and spread of the agrarian socioeconomic system 25219.3.2 20th century to the present day: the tourism transformation 25319.4 Conclusion 25519.5 References 256Chapter 20 Historical Forest Microclimates 259Emiel DE LOMBAERDE, Karen DE PAUW, Pallieter DE SMEDT, Jonathan LENOIR, Camille MEEUSSEN, Thomas VANNESTE, Kris VERHEYEN, Florian ZELLWEGER and Pieter DE FRENNE20.1 Drivers of microclimate at the plot, forest and landscape scale 26120.2 Methods to infer microclimate from the past and predict into the future 26520.3 Why do historical microclimates matter? Impacts on biodiversity from the plot to landscape scale 26820.4 Conclusion 27020.5 References 270Chapter 21 Causes and Consequences of Extinction Debts: Perspectives for Historical Ecology and Biological Conservation 273Grégoire BLANCHARD and François MUNOZ21.1 Introduction 27321.2 Causes and processes entailing extinction debts 27421.3 Studying and detecting extinction debts from ecosystem history 27621.4 Implications for biodiversity conservation and management 28021.5 Conclusion 28121.6 References 282Chapter 22 Historical Ecology for the Past and the Future: Organizing at Local and Regional Scales 285Carole L CRUMLEY22.1 Introduction 28522.2 Founding IHOPE 28622.3 Integrating the social sciences and humanities 28722.4 Historical ecology 28822.5 Conclusion 29022.6 References 291List of Authors 295Index 301