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Today, most ecosystems show some degree of human modification, ranging from subtle influences to complete remodeling and reshaping into anthropogenic ecosystems. In the first issue of the journal Ecosystems, the field of historical ecology, which focuses on the historical development of ecosystems, was prominently positioned with the papers of Foster and others (Ecosystems 1:96-119, 1998) and Fuller and others (Ecosystems 1:76-95, 1998). Starting from these two contributions, we (1) discuss how anthropogenic activities affect ecosystems and their development, (2) outline how land use can be assessed in ecosystem research, and we (3) discuss what the consequences of a historical perspective for our understanding of ecosystems are. We conclude by stating that whereas land-use intensity over time is an ecologically highly relevant parameter to grasp, the availability, quality, and characteristics of historical sources often restrict the analyses. In order to make optimal use of the sources and methods available and to strengthen this field of research and also increase its societal relevance, we suggest building interdisciplinary teams from a very early project phase on. Core task for these teams will be to jointly define research questions considering source availability, and including and merging modeling and experimental approaches in the study design. We propose that adopting a landscape perspective in historical ecology would provide a helpful framework and valuable background for such novel integrated analyses.

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Human activities that involve land-use change often cause major transformations to community and ecosystem properties both aboveground and belowground, and when land use is abandoned, these modifications can persist for extended periods. However, the mechanisms responsible for rapid recovery vs. long-term maintenance of ecosystem changes following abandonment remain poorly understood. Here, we examined the long-term ecological effects of two remote former settlements, regularly visited for -300 years by reindeer-herding Sami and abandoned -100 years ago, within an old-growth boreal forest that is considered one of the most pristine regions in northern Scandinavia. These human legacies were assessed through measurements of abiotic and biotic soil properties and vegetation characteristics at the settlement sites and at varying distances from them. Low-intensity land use by Sami is characterized by the transfer of organic matter towards the settlements by humans and reindeer herds, compaction of soil through trampling, disappearance of understory vegetation, and selective cutting of pine trees for fuel and construction. As a consequence, we found a shift towards early successional plant species and a threefold increase in soil microbial activity and nutrient availability close to the settlements relative to away from them. These changes in soil fertility and vegetation contributed to 83% greater total vegetation productivity, 35% greater plant biomass, and 23% and 16% greater concentrations of foliar N and P nearer the settlements, leading to a greater quantity and quality of litter inputs. Because decomposer activity was also 40% greater towards the settlements, soil organic matter cycling and nutrient availability were further increased, leading to likely positive feedbacks between the aboveground and belowground components resulting from historic land use. Although not all of the activities typical of Sami have left visible residual traces on the ecosystem after 100 years, their low-intensity but long-term land use at settlement sites has triggered a rejuvenation of the ecosystem that is still present. Our data demonstrates that aboveground-belowground interactions strongly control ecosystem responses to historical human land use and that medium- to long-term consequences of even low-intensity human activities must be better accounted for if we are to predict and manage ecosystems succession following land-use abandonment.

Retention forestry (RF) is a modified form of clear-cutting that has been introduced recently in several countries. It is intended to integrate the conservation of biodiversity with timber production and to maintain the provision of other ecosystem services by retaining important forest qualities, habitats and structures. In this study we seek to identify forces driving the conceptual development, acceptance and implementation of RF in Sweden by describing and investigating the RF debate among foresters and environmental NGOs from 1968 to 2003. Specifically, we seek to elucidate when RF was first proposed, the arguments for and against it, and pivotal trends in the debate. Our study is based on thorough systematic analysis of articles published in journals issued by two non-profit associations. Our data show that the development of RF in Sweden was driven by several interacting factors and we distinguish critical time periods, from strong debates and conflicts during the 1970s until the breakthrough of forestry certification at the turn of the millennium. We argue that historical analysis of the forces driving changes in forestry management is important for elucidating why changes occur and the dynamic nature of perceptions and uses of forest ecosystems in modern societies.