From antiquity until today, trees and woods have inspired artists, writers and scientists; they have shaped cultures and reverberated through belief systems. Yet worldwide forest cover has declined dramatically over the last 1,000 years. Now, primeval forests are only to be found at a few sites unreachable by humans, and even then they are affected by climate change, atmospheric pollution and species extinctions.
Nonetheless, ancient woods, trees and forests are at the core of many global landscapes. Understanding the vital resources that they provide requires genuinely multidisciplinary research. With contributions from major authorities in the field such as Oliver Rackham, Frans Vera, Elisabeth Johann, George Peterken and Melvyn Jones among others, this timely volume reflects on the importance of our oldest trees from a range of perspectives and varied geographical locations.
Individual chapters consider eco-cultural heritage, the archaeology of trees, landscape history, forest rights, tree management, saproxylic insects, the importance of deadwood, practical conservation and monitoring, biodiversity, wood-pasture and more. Fresh insights are provided from across Europe as far as Turkey. Given the urgent need to understand, conserve and restore ancient woodlands and trees, this book will do much raise awareness, foster enthusiasm and inspire wonder.
1. Ancient woodland in concept and practice
George Peterken
2. The cultural heritage of woods and forests
Ian D. Rotherham
3. Archaeology of trees, woodland and wood-pasture
Oliver Rackham
4. Ancient rights in ancient forests
Graham Bathe
5. The importance of an open-grown tree: from seed to ancient
Ted Green
6. Ancient and other trees of special interest: indicators of old-growth
biodiversity and heritage
Jill Butler
7. Worked trees and ecological indicators in wooded landscapes
Ian D. Rotherham
8. Ancient forests in Germany: distribution, importance for maintaining
biodiversity, protection and threats
Monika Wulf
9. Tree abundance, density and age structure: the key factors that determine
species richness in saproxylic invertebrates
Keith N.A. Alexander
10. Old growth and deadwood as key factors for nature conservation in managed
forests
Harald Schaich, Thomas A.M. Kaphegyi, Rudolf Lühl, Nicole Schmalfuß, Mattias Rupp,
Thomas Waldenspuhl and Werner Konold
11. The diversity of ancient woodlands in Austria: historical developments and
contemporary social importance
Elisabeth Johann
12. Wood-pasture: for food, wood and biodiversity
Frans Vera
13. The ancient woodland concept as a practical conservation tool: the Turkish
experience
Simay Kırca, Alper H. Çolak and Ian D. Rotherham
14. Using pollen data and models to assess landscape structure and the role of
grazers in pre-agricultural Denmark
Anne Brigitte Nielsen
15. Tanneries and treescapes: the influence of the tanning industry on woodland
management
Christine Handley and Ian D. Rotherham
16. A hidden treasure in Turkey: old oaks of unique value
Nicklas Jansson, Ogün Ç. Türkay and Mustafa Avcı
17. Antiquity of ancient woodlands and cultures: the example of Sandras
Mountain, Turkey
Alper H. Çolak, Simay Kırca and Ian D. Rotherham
18. Woods and trees in England’s Anglo-Saxon countryside
Della Hooke
19. Ancient and modern: the conservation of ancient woods and trees in a
changing world
Keith Kirby
20. Walls, woodbanks and woodwards: the protection of coppice woods from
trespassers, thieves and grazing animals
Melvyn Jones
21. The natural character of ancient woodland
Tom Williamson
22. European woodland history and management: some concluding thoughts
Ian D. Rotherham, Alper Çolak and Simay Kırca
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