The Cultural Landscape
Past, Present and Future

Considers different aspects of man's intervention with natural vegetation and the landscape resulting from a long equilibrium of co-existence.

Hilary H. Birks (Edited by), H. J. B. Birks (Edited by), Peter Emil Kaland (Edited by), Dagfinn Moe (Edited by)

9780521617031, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 16 December 2004

540 pages
24.7 x 19 x 3 cm, 0.954 kg

The Cultural Landscape - Past, Present and Future considers different aspects of man's intervention with natural vegetation and the landscape resulting from a long equilibrium of co-existence. These landscapes are not stable, and the recent and ever accelerating changes in technology and life-style have increasingly affected many ancient landscapes, as old land-use practices are abandoned and traditions forgotten. The papers in this book describe and trace the development of cultural landscapes in different climatic and biogeographical regions in Europe. Remnants of traditional land-use still remaining are described, particularly from Western Norway, where traditions have lingered because the rugged topography of the region is inimicable to high-technology. Each chapter is by an expert in the field. The topics cover the documentation of present cultural landscapes, their maintenance and restoration, and the history of the development of cultural landscapes from the Stone Age onwards, linking the intensity of landscape utilization with population dynamics and technological attainments. The disciplines involved include vegetation science, vegetation history, ecology, palaeoecology, archaeology, sociology, geography and history.

Part I. Present and Future
Part II. Past
Part III. Abstracts.

Subject Areas: Ecological science, the Biosphere [PSAF]