Agriculture has been the major driver of deforestation in Europe in the last 1000 years. In the past, forests were also exploited for charcoal production; however, the spatial scale/extent of this activity and its impact are unknown. LIDAR data can be used as a noninvasive tool to investigate the small-scale diversity of the land relief, including forested areas. These data can reveal the extent anthropogenic modifications of topography present-day as well as in the past. One of the activities that can be analyzed based on LIDAR data is spatial distribution of charcoal production. A preliminary LIDAR data analysis indicated the intensity of this practice and its potential impact on the natural environment. This prompted us to analyze the environmental impact of charcoal hearths in northern Poland. As it turned out, this topic exceeded the scope of earth sciences and became a transdisciplinary one. In this work, we will use the research methods typical of biogeography, dendroecology, paleoecology, soil science, biology, botany, history, onomastics, as well as art history, in order to thoroughly understand not only the natural consequences but also the social and economic consequences of charcoal production. This paper presents the assumptions of our project, the research methodology, and the preliminary results. We have identified using LIDAR data more than 73 thousand relief forms which can be remnants of charcoal hearths. Our preliminary results confirmed large scale impact of past human activity related to charcoal production and suitability of the methods used for detecting and reconstructing charcoal hearths as well as determining the distribution and magnitude of past forest use for charcoal production in NW Poland.
In this work, we studied the course of climatic fluctuations at the beginning of the Preboreal period using multiproxy analyses (Chironomidae, pollen, diatoms, Cladocera, stable isotopes, macrocharcoal, microlithofacial) combined with varve chronology of sediments. The results showed a decrease in the mean July temperature and stronger continentalism followed by climate wetting at the start of the Preboreal period. This was reflected in the remodeling of the vegetation cover from birch forests to more open spaces with grass vegetation dominance, as well as that of the species composition of Cladocera and diatoms, and the high variability of isotopic composition. In addition, the results showed the impact of local conditions (fires and relict permafrost) on the amplification of environmental responses due to climate cooling. The environmental transformations presented here correspond temporally to the changes that are well documented in other parts of Europe as the Preboreal Oscillation.
The quantification of human impacts on past forest ecosystems becomes more challenging as one goes deeper into the past. This is primarily due to a scarcity of appropriate source material. It is well known that the inclusion of the Polish lands in the zone of economic ties with Western Europe at the end of the 15th century enabled intensive export of cereal and forest products. In this paper, we have used place names established before 1600 to demonstrate how ancient forests were exploited. By analyzing the naming material, we distinguished three basic types of names related to logging, industrial production, and beekeeping. In addition, we have included several theoretical considerations related to the environmental consequences of forest exploitation. Thus, our article provides a strong basis for further research into the environmental effects of past landscape changes.
The quantification of human impacts on past forest ecosystems becomes more challenging as one goes deeper into the past. This is primarily due to a scarcity of appropriate source material. It is well known that the inclusion of the Polish lands in the zone of economic ties with Western Europe at the end of the 15th century enabled intensive export of cereal and forest products. In this paper, we have used place names established before 1600 to demonstrate how ancient forests were exploited. By analyzing the naming material, we distinguished three basic types of names related to logging, industrial production, and beekeeping. In addition, we have included several theoretical considerations related to the environmental consequences of forest exploitation. Thus, our article provides a strong basis for further research into the environmental effects of past landscape changes.
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