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- Josefsson, Torbjörn, et al.
(författare)
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Long-term human impact and vegetation changes in a boreal forest reserve : implications for the use of protected areas as ecological references
- 2009
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Ingår i: Ecosystems (New York. Print). - New York : Springer-Verlag New York. - 1432-9840 .- 1435-0629. ; 12:6, s. 1017-1036
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Northern boreal forest reserves that display no signs of modern forest exploitation are often regarded as pristine and are frequently used as ecological reference areas for conservation and restoration. However, the long-term effects of human utilization of such forests are rarely investigated. Therefore, using both paleoecological and archaeological methods, we analyzed temporal and spatial gradients of long-term human impact in a large old-growth forest reserve in the far north of Sweden, comparing vegetational changes during the last millennium at three sites with different land use histories. Large parts of the forest displayed no visible signs of past human land use, and in an area with no recognized history of human land use the vegetation composition appears to have been relatively stable throughout the studied period. However, at two locations effects of previous land use could be distinguished extending at least four centuries back in time. Long-term, but low-intensity, human land use, including cultivation, reindeer herding and tree cutting, has clearly generated an open forest structure with altered species composition in the field layer at settlement sites and in the surrounding forest. Our analysis shows that past human land use created a persistent legacy that is still visible in the present forest ecosystem. This study highlights the necessity for ecologists to incorporate a historical approach to discern underlying factors that have caused vegetational changes, including past human activity. It also indicates that the intensity and spatial distribution of human land use within the landscape matrices of any forests should be assessed before using them as ecological references. The nomenclature of vascular plants follows Krok and Almquist (Svensk flora. Fanerogamer och ormbunksvaxter, 2001).
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| 2. |
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| 3. |
- Josefsson, Torbjörn, et al.
(författare)
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The Transformation of a Norway Spruce Dominated Landscape Since Pre-Industrial Times in Northern Sweden: the Influence of Modern Forest Management on Forest Structure
- 2009
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Ingår i: Silva Fennica. - : Finnish Society of Forest Science. - 0037-5330 .- 2242-4075. ; 43, s. 783-797
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Logging history and the study of reference conditions in Scandinavian boreal forests has tended to focus on Scots pine dominated ecosystems. This paper presents a regional study of pre-industrial forest conditions and examines the effects of the industrial exploitation of ecosystems dominated by Not-way spruce in northern Sweden. Historical records covering a period which preceded industrial logging in the study area (1917-1927) were used to obtain quantitative data on forest structure and influence of forest fires. These data were compared with a modern data set (2003) to analyse changes due to the industrial transformation of the forest. The early 20th century landscape was dominated by old, multi-cohorted spruce forests and mixed coniferous forests. It was found that fire affected both the structure and composition of the landscape. In post-burnt areas, even-aged forests dominated by deciduous species were the principal forest type. Between the early and modern data sets, profound changes in tree-species composition and age structure were documented. While the total volume of deciduous species increased substantially, the coverage of forests dominated by deciduous species decreased. There was also a significant increase in pine-dominated forests and in the total volume of pine. The industrial transformation of the studied landscapes has had profound effects oil the structure of spruce forests, but much less so oil deciduous forests. The study concludes that the present forest structure is a function of past management regimes, and that future transformations of the landscape will continue, thus affecting the natural variability and biodiversity of the forests.
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| 4. |
- Östlund, Lars, et al.
(författare)
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Samisk byggnadskultur : timrade kåtor och exemplet Bläckajaure
- 2009
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Ingår i: Arkeologi i Norr. - 0284-558X. ; 11, s. 115-143
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Tidskriftsartikel (populärvet., debatt m.m.)abstract
- The first known records of permanent forest Sami buildings were written by priests working in northern Sweden in the 17th century. This article discusses the development of timber-framed Sami buildings in the Pite Sami area (Pite lappmark) and describes the excavation of a Sami hut from an area north of Lake Tjeggelvas in Arjeplog. The vegetation in this area largely consists of old coniferous forests, with large numbers of culturally marked trees. The eight-sided hut was built with walls made of logs that were not jointed; a unique feature of Sami buildings. Instead, the timber was supported and held together by stones placed on the outside of the building, against its corners. The frame of the ceiling consisted of four straight poles (ådnårisa) connected by a ridge beam, similar to the arrangements described by Linné during his famous trip to Lapland 1732, and was covered by cloven logs, planks and birch bark. According to dates obtained by examining artefacts and dendrochronology (supported by dendrochronological datings of culturally marked trees in the surrounding forest), the hut seems to have been built during the latter part of the 18th century and repaired during the latter part of the 19th century. In the 19th century four-cornered timbered huts were the most common types of dwellings for groups of Sami living in the coniferus forest, although the traditional use of six- or eight-sided timbered huts survived to some degree among the mountain Sami groups in the north-easthern part of Arjeplog
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