The aim of this book is to elucidate the role of forests as part of a landscape in the life of people. Most landscapes today are cultural landscapes that are influenced by human activity and that in turn have a profound effect on our understanding of and identification with a place. The book proposes that a better understanding of the bond between people and forests as integrated part of a landscape may be helpful in landscape planning, and may contribute to the discussion of changes in forest cover which has been motivated by land use changes, rural development and the global climate debate. To this end, people's perception of forest landscapes, the reasons for different perceptions, and future perspectives are discussed.

Given the wide range of forest landscapes, and cultural perspectives which exist across the world, the book focuses on Europe as a test case to explore the various relationships between society, culture, forests and landscapes. It looks at historical evidence of the impacts of people on forests and vice versa, explores the current factors affecting people's physical and emotional comfort in forest landscapes, and looks ahead to how changes in forest cover may alter the present relationships of people to forests.

Drawing together a diverse literature and combining the expertise of natural and social scientists, this book will form a valuable reference for students and researchers working in the fields of landscape ecology and landscape architecture, geography, social science, environmental psychology or environmental history. It will also be of interest to researchers, government agencies and practitioners with an interest in issues such as sustainable forest management, sustainable tourism, reserve management, urban planning and environmental interpretation.

Inhalt

Preface

Content

About the authors

Contributors

PART I

1 Introduction The crooked timber of humanity

Dainis Dauksta

2 Forests in landscapes The myth of untouched wilderness

Eva Ritter

2.1 People and forests in prehistoric times

2.1.1 Hunter-gatherers in Europe

2.1.2 The mid-Holocene elm decline

2.1.3 The Great Transition

2.1.4 Early agricultural impacts on forests

2.2 Forest development in historical times

2.2.1 The great deforestation of the Ancient World

2.2.2 Impacts on forests in Northern and Central Europe

2.2.3 Forest protection and forest expansion

2.3 Conclusion

3 Overcoming Physicophobia Forests as the sacred source of our human origins

Roy Jackson

3.1 The forest as nothing more than useful

3.2 Rousseau: Friend of the forest

3.2.1 The demystification of the forest

3.2.2 The Savage Man

3.3 Nietzsche and the sacredness of nature

3.3.1 Nietzsche's criticism of modernity

3.3.2 Nietzsche's religious experience

3.4 Conclusion

PART II

4 Royal forests Hunting and other forest use in Medieval England

Della Hooke

4.1 Forests as game reserves

4.1.1 The location of forests

4.1.2 Forest rights and administration

4.2 Medieval hunting

4.2.1 Anglo-Saxon hunting and game reserves

4.2.2 Medieval hunting methods

4.2.3 Hunting iconography in medieval literature

4.3 The use of other forest resources

4.3.1 Forest pasture

4.3.2 Other forest products

4.4 The decline of the forests

4.5 Hunting in post-medieval times

4.6 Conclusion

5 Forests as commons Changing traditions and governance in Europe

ChristopherShort

5.1 Introduction to the commons

5.2 History of forests as commons in Europe

5.2.1 Northwestern Europe and the Alps

5.2.2 Southern Europe

5.2.3 United Kingdom

5.3 How the role and use of forests is changing

5.4 The relationship between people and forest commons

5.5 Conclusion

6 New forest owners Small scale forestry and changes in forest ownership

Áine Ní Dhubháin

6.1 What is small-scale forestry?

6.2 Characteristics of small-scale forests

6.3 Owners of small-scale forests

6.3.1 Ownership structure

6.3.2 Objectives of small-scale forest owners

6.4 Nature of small-scale forests

6.5 Consequences of the changing ownership structure

6.5.1 Forest fragmentation

6.5.2 Recreation and access

6.5.3 Timber production

6.5.4 Nature conservation

6.6 Conclusion

7 Forest and recreation New functions of afforestation as seen in Denmark

Carla K. Smink

7.1 Forest recreation: a policy perspective

7.2 Forest use in Denmark

7.3 Afforestation: creation of recreation opportunities

7.4 Conclusion

PART III

8 From post to pillar The development and persistence of an arboreal metaphor

Dainis Dauksta

8.1 The wooden post in prehistory and the growth of symbols

8.1.1 Timber circles

8.1.2 Celtic and La Tène sites

8.2 The layering of connected symbols

8.2.1 The anthropomorphic tree

8.2.2 The lopped tree, the axe and the thunder god 8.2.3 The Maypole...