Using Branch Age and Diameter to Identify Woodland Management: New Developments

Out, Welmoed A.; Hänninen, Kirsti; Vermeeren, C.

doi:10.1080/14614103.2017.1309805

Cited by 11 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…The field of dendrochronology offers millennia-long and annually resolved data yielding extensive information on forest composition, structure and possible management as well as anthropogenic species selection, felling activities, timber transport, wood technology and climate (e.g., Kuniholm, 2001;Baillie, 2002;Briffa and Matthews, 2002;Tegel and Vanmoerkerke, 2014;Billamboz et al, 2017;Ljungqvist et al, 2018;Haneca et al, 2020;Muigg et al, 2020). Age/diameter models, also suitable for young individuals with few tree rings, might contribute additional information on forest management (Out et al, 2018). Palynological studies provide vast amounts of data for previous forest vegetation and innovative models for spatio-temporal landscape development on local to supra-regional scales (Waller et al, 2012;Lindbladh et al, 2013;Marquer et al, 2017;Roberts et al, 2018).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Forest History—New Perspectives for an Old Discipline

Muigg

Tegel

2021

Front. Ecol. Evol.

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The scientific field of forest history studies the development of woodlands and their interrelationship with past human societies. During the last decades, the subject has experienced a constant decrease of importance, reflected in the loss of representation in most universities. After 200 years of existence, an insufficient theoretical basis and the prevalence of bibliographical and institutional studies on post-medieval periods have isolated the field and hindered interdisciplinary exchange. Here we present possible new perspectives, proposing wider methodological, chronological, thematic, and geographical areas of focus. This paper summarizes the development of the field over time and recommends content enhancement, providing a specific example of application from Roman France. Furthermore, we introduce a topical definition of forest history. Following the lead of other fields of the humanities and environmental sciences focussing on the past, forest history has to adapt to using other available archives in addition to historical written sources. In particular, historical and archeological timber as well as pollen are essential sources for the study of past forests. Research into forest history can substantially add to our understanding of relevant issues like societal responses to climate change and resource scarcity in the past and contribute to future scenarios of sustainability.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Forest History—New Perspectives for an Old Discipline

Muigg

Tegel

2021

Front. Ecol. Evol.

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“…The model assumes that, due to management practices, the wood of managed trees grows relatively fast and displays an abrupt end to the age distribution, resulting in a horizontally orientated data cloud in a scatterplot. The model has been tested with roundwood age/diameter analysis of modern unmanaged, pollarded and coppiced trees of several taxa in NL and DK, including ash (78 trees, 2227 measurements) [ 9 , 32 ]. Testing the model for oak with the analysis of modern oak ( Q. robur ) from NL, DK and Germany is ongoing.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The model and its limitations are described in detail in Out et al [ 9 , 32 ]. Until now, the method has only been applied to roundwood, but in this study it was also applied to construction wood derived from roundwood, i.e., radially split wood and posts of which some annual rings may be missing.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evidence of Woodland Management at the Eneolithic Pile Dwellings (3700–2400 BCE) in the Ljubljansko Barje, Slovenia?

Out

Hänninen²,

Merela

et al. 2023

Plants

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It is assumed that people practiced woodland management, i.e., coppicing and pollarding, in prehistory, but details are poorly known. This study aims for a better understanding of woodland exploitation through time in the wetland basin of the Ljubljansko barje, Slovenia, from 3700–2400 BCE (Before Common Era). To do so, uncarbonized, waterlogged wood from 16 Eneolithic pile dwellings situated in two geographical clusters that cover a time span of c. 1300 years were subjected to age/diameter analysis. It is the first time that age/diameter analysis has been applied to multiple sites from the same region. The investigated posts represent a wide range of taxa, but oak (Quercus sp.) and ash (Fraxinus sp.) represent 75% of the total, indicating selective use of wood for this purpose. Diameter selection of ash may have taken place as well. At both site clusters, the age/diameter data do not reveal any unequivocal evidence for woodland management. Only at the youngest sites do the data possibly show some gradually changing practices. The outcomes are discussed within the framework of recent discussions about woodland management in Europe.

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“…This could be accomplished by reducing harvest of whole trees and intensifying management techniques, such as coppicing and pollarding, in which trees produce greater biomass over long periods of time by maintaining a large, healthy root system (Altman et al, 2013;Halstead, 1998). While there is no direct evidence that coppicing was applied at Çamlıbel Tarlası, future tree-ring-width analysis may make such a determination possible (Deforce and Haneca, 2015;Out et al, 2018;Wright, 2018); such a study would focus on difference in oak ring widths between phases ÇBT III and IV.…”

Section: Wood Harvesting Practicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental reconstruction and wood use at Late Chalcolithic Çamlıbel Tarlası, Turkey

Marston

Kováčik

Schoop

2021

Quaternary International

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Çamlıbel Tarlası is a short-lived, mid 4 th millennium BCE Chalcolithic archaeological site in northern central Anatolia, modern Turkey, with evidence for both intensive metallurgy and permanent occupation. Analysis of a wood charcoal assemblage from the site, totaling 2815 charcoal fragments, is the first from this period and region. Anthracological analysis indicates that the primary fuel wood used was deciduous oak, which comprised nearly 90% of identifiable fragments. We find little evidence of differences in wood species used for different functions or over time; however, a significant trend towards the increased use of large-diameter branch or trunk wood over time is noted both for oak and other minor taxa. We reconstruct a dense oakdominated woodland in the vicinity of the site at the time of first use, with increased forest clearance over time, due to either diminished fuel availability or agricultural expansion, or a combination of the two. An intensification in metallurgical activity in later periods of occupation may have increased demand specifically for large-diameter wood.

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Using Branch Age and Diameter to Identify Woodland Management: New Developments

Cited by 11 publications

References 5 publications

Forest History—New Perspectives for an Old Discipline

Forest History—New Perspectives for an Old Discipline

Evidence of Woodland Management at the Eneolithic Pile Dwellings (3700–2400 BCE) in the Ljubljansko Barje, Slovenia?

Environmental reconstruction and wood use at Late Chalcolithic Çamlıbel Tarlası, Turkey

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