Historical perspectives on forestry science and monocultures: Ideas of rationality in Sweden during the early twentieth century

Abstract

This study aims to broaden our historical knowledge about ideas of rationalism and monocultures in forestry science and rational forest management. Empirically, it focuses on the writings of Swedish forestry scientist Henrik Hesselman, active in the early twentieth century. The texts were analyzed using the method of historical contextualization. The study indicates that monocultures historically have been subjected to debates richer than what previous research gives credit for. Besides a rationalist technology, monocultures have been conceptualized as an example of non-rational forestry failing to deliver sustainable yields. Moreover, instead of only simplifications, one-size-fits-all solutions, and top-down reforms, historical forestry science representatives have also at times understood rational forest management as a quest for complexity, site-specific solutions, and bottom-up approaches. It is argued that our understanding of forest use and society–environment relations, more generally, benefit from more historical contextualization.