Historical ecology: past, present and future

Abstract

The term 'historical ecology' has been used with various meanings since the first half of the 20th century. Studies labelled as historical ecology have been produced in at least four academic disciplines: history, ecology, geography and anthropology. Although all those involved seem to agree that historical ecology concerns the historical interconnectedness of nature and human culture, this field of study has no unified methodology, specialized institutional background and common publication forums. Knowledge of the development of historical ecology is also limited. As a result, the current multitude of definitions of historical ecology is accompanied by divergent opinions as to where the origins of the field are to be sought. In this review, I follow the development of historical ecology from the 18th century to the present. In the first part, I briefly describe some early examples of historical ecological investigations, followed by a description of the various scientific strands in the 20th century that contributed to the formation of historical ecology. In the second part, I discuss the past five decades of historical ecological investigations in more detail, focusing mostly (but not exclusively) on works that their respective authors identified as historical ecology. I also examine the appearance and interconnectedness of the two main trends (ecological and anthropological) in historical ecological research. In the last part, I attempt to outline the future of historical ecology based on common features in existing research. It appears that at present historical ecology is at a crossroads. With rapidly growing interest in historical ecological research, it may move towards institutionalization or remain an umbrella term.

Contrasting vegetation states do not diverge in soil organic matter storage: evidence from historical sites in tundra

“…, Stark et al. ), but are the first to show this relationship in a historical ecological context (sensu Balée , Szabó ). Supporting that soil microbial processes under historical and existing reindeer densities could be highly similar, the enhanced P limitation in the HMGs agreed with the findings from similar vegetation transition studies with existing high reindeer densities (Stark and Väisänen , Sitters et al.…”

“…Historical ecological studies have generally demonstrated a high importance of historical legacies on present‐day ecosystem structures and processes (Balée , Kardol et al. , Szabó , Valls Fox et al. ).…”

Linking historical ecology and invasion biology: some lessons from European rabbit introductions into the new world before the nineteenth century

“…Historical approaches are increasingly used to better understand the structure and function of contemporary ecosystems and landscapes that have been affected by human activities for centuries or millennia (Swetnam et al 1999). The discipline that addresses this historical relationship between human beings and the biosphere at different scales is usually known as ''historical ecology'' (Szabó 2015; but see also Balée 2006). Almost all the definitions of historical ecology emphasize the interconnectedness of humans and nature in the past, as well as the fact that influences and feedback mechanisms are active in both directions (reviewed in Szabó 2015).…”

“…The discipline that addresses this historical relationship between human beings and the biosphere at different scales is usually known as ''historical ecology'' (Szabó 2015; but see also Balée 2006). Almost all the definitions of historical ecology emphasize the interconnectedness of humans and nature in the past, as well as the fact that influences and feedback mechanisms are active in both directions (reviewed in Szabó 2015). Therefore, historical ecology encompasses studies that aim either to understand more about human history with the help of nature phenomena or about nature with the help of history (Szabó 2010).…”

“…1). In the twentieth century, historical ecology for the most part focused on the interactions between humans and vegetation, usually forest (Szabó 2015). However, recently zoologists have also begun to contribute to this field; for example, historical information has been used recently to describe changes in wildlife species' distribution ranges (Clavero and Delibes 2013;Li et al 2015).…”