Conserving idealized landscapes: past history, public perception and future management in the New Forest (UK)
Conserving idealized landscapes: past history, public perception and future management in the New Forest (UK)
The New Forest is one of the most visited regions of Britain. It has recently been designated a National Park in recognition of its unique wood pasture ecosystems, a traditional land-use system, its magnificent scenery and recreational potential, and its biodiversity importance. The Forest's highly prized Ancient and Ornamental (A&O) woodlands are a result of complex interactions among human activities of several kinds and the ecology of the dominant species-beech and oak-under the climate conditions of the last one to two millennia. Major changes in management practices over the 20th century, combined with the historical imprint of previous centuries of use, have set the A&O woodlands on a trajectory that means their nature and appearance will inevitably change over the coming decades. When the potential stresses that will be imposed by 21st century climate change are also considered, it will be challenging to find a management strategy to maintain A&O woodlands in their present form. Beech, which owes its current dominance largely to human disturbances of the woodland ecosystem, will be particularly stressed under future conditions. Future conservation policies, and hence management strategies, must be flexible as to the species composition and structure of future woodlands. However, the wide range of users and their different values add further complexity to forest management, and managers must also focus on issues of public perception. For example visitors idealize current landscapes, and this exerts a pressure to maintain the status quo as far as appearance is concerned that will be hard to achieve in practice. Management strategies will be greatly constrained unless conflicts about values and uses are resolved.
new forest, wood pasture, nature conservation, fagus, forest management
551-562
Grant, Michael J.
56dae074-d54a-4da8-858a-2bf364a5a550
Edwards, Mary E.
4b6a3389-f3a4-4933-b8fd-acdfef72200e
September 2008
Grant, Michael J.
56dae074-d54a-4da8-858a-2bf364a5a550
Edwards, Mary E.
4b6a3389-f3a4-4933-b8fd-acdfef72200e
Grant, Michael J. and Edwards, Mary E.
(2008)
Conserving idealized landscapes: past history, public perception and future management in the New Forest (UK).
Vegetation History and Archaeobotany, 17 (5), .
(doi:10.1007/s00334-007-0100-3).
Abstract
The New Forest is one of the most visited regions of Britain. It has recently been designated a National Park in recognition of its unique wood pasture ecosystems, a traditional land-use system, its magnificent scenery and recreational potential, and its biodiversity importance. The Forest's highly prized Ancient and Ornamental (A&O) woodlands are a result of complex interactions among human activities of several kinds and the ecology of the dominant species-beech and oak-under the climate conditions of the last one to two millennia. Major changes in management practices over the 20th century, combined with the historical imprint of previous centuries of use, have set the A&O woodlands on a trajectory that means their nature and appearance will inevitably change over the coming decades. When the potential stresses that will be imposed by 21st century climate change are also considered, it will be challenging to find a management strategy to maintain A&O woodlands in their present form. Beech, which owes its current dominance largely to human disturbances of the woodland ecosystem, will be particularly stressed under future conditions. Future conservation policies, and hence management strategies, must be flexible as to the species composition and structure of future woodlands. However, the wide range of users and their different values add further complexity to forest management, and managers must also focus on issues of public perception. For example visitors idealize current landscapes, and this exerts a pressure to maintain the status quo as far as appearance is concerned that will be hard to achieve in practice. Management strategies will be greatly constrained unless conflicts about values and uses are resolved.
Text
grant_and_edwards_2008_corr_proof.pdf
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More information
Published date: September 2008
Keywords:
new forest, wood pasture, nature conservation, fagus, forest management
Organisations:
Geology & Geophysics
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 158383
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/158383
ISSN: 0939-6314
PURE UUID: e88989d5-7d92-45f2-a52e-8801cc637523
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Date deposited: 21 Jun 2010 08:19
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 03:00
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