Role of historical slash and burn cultivation in the development of cultural landscapes and forest vegetation in south Estonia
| dc.contributor.advisor | Sepp, Kalev | |
| dc.contributor.advisor | Bunce, Robert Gerald Henry | |
| dc.contributor.author | Tomson, Pille | |
| dc.contributor.department | Institute of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences | eng |
| dc.contributor.other | Lindbladh, Matts (opponent) | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2018-09-12T09:44:06Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2018-09-12T09:44:06Z | |
| dc.date.defensed | 2018-10-24 | |
| dc.date.issued | 2018 | |
| dc.description | A Thesis for applying for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Environmental protection | eng |
| dc.description.abstract | The objective of this PhD thesis was to estimate the effects of historical rotational slash and burn cultivation on the formation of southern Estonian cultural landscapes and forest vegetation. Slash and burn cultivation was practised in Northern and Central Europe until the 20th century. With regard to Estonia, previous studies have suggested that slash and burn cultivation resulted in soil depletion, podsolization and the formation of species-poor forest habitats. This research was based on land use maps drawn in Livonian governorate in the 19th century. These maps depict the areas that were regularly used for slash and burn cultivation (buschlands in Baltic-German). Study areas were located in six protected areas across south-eastern Estonia. Map analysis demonstrated that in the studied areas buschlands used to cover 35-45% of total farmlands. The hilly landscapes of south-eastern Estonia, comprising Albeluvisols and Haplic Albeluvisols in moraines, were particularly suitable for slash and burn cultivation. Buschlands should be regarded as a specific category of land, which does not correspond to modern land cover or land use units. By the end of the 20th century, 78% of these lands had become afforested. The most common forest site type in former buschlands is Oxalis. The field research observed the forests grown in both former buschlands and areas mapped as forest in the 19th century. Different uni- and multivariate statistical methods were applied. The differences in vegetation occurred due to postponed forest development in buschlands, not due to fire. The analysis could not identify any fire-prone species or vegetation composition, which would reveal the changes in soil properties. The registered chemical properties of soil likewise did not differ across buschlands and former forest sites. Today, buschlands comprise secondary forests with impoverished ground vegetation, rather than semi-natural habitats that would require special management. Macroscopic fragments of soil charcoal were found in 97% of the observed sites. Slash and burn cultivation have therefore been an important factor in forming the soil charcoal deposits in boreal forests. The depth of charcoal can be associated with land use history. The charcoal fragments collected from the humus layer of buschlands dated from 1566 to 1805 calAD. At the footslopes of buschlands, slash and burn cultivation created characteristic field banks which consist of humus with dispersed charcoal. Similar banks were found in 22% of forest sites, which indicates that slash and burn cultivation was practised in larger areas than shown in the 19th century maps. The results demonstrate that the role of slash and burn cultivation in the formation of landscapes has previously been underestimated, while the effects on forest vegetation have been overestimated. | eng |
| dc.description.abstract | Doktoritöö eesmärk oli välja selgitada ajaloolise regulaarse aletamise mõju Lõuna-Eesti maastike ja metsakoosluste kujunemisele. Alepõletamine oli Põhja- ja Kesk-Euroopas kasutusel kuni 20. sajandi keskpaigani. Eestis on seni arvatud, et aletamine soodustas muldade leetumist ja väljakurnamist ning liigivaeste metsakoosluste teket. Töö alusena kasutati 19. sajandil Liivimaa kubermangus koostatud maakasutuse kaarte, kus on märgitud regulaarseks aletamiseks kasutatud alad (Balti-Saksa buschland). Uurimisalad paiknesid Kagu-Eesti kuuel kaitsealal. Kaardianalüüsi abil selgus, et Kagu-Eesti kuppelmaastikel moodustas buschland 35-45% talumaadest. Happeliste muldadega künklik moreenmaastik oli aletamiseks eriti sobilik. Buschlandi tuleb käsitleda iseseisva spetsiifilise kasutusega maakategooriana, mida ei saa paigutada tänapäeval tuntud maakatte- ega maakasutusklasside alla. 20. sajandi lõpuks 78% buschlandist metsastus, moodustades suurima osa tänapäeva sekundaarsetest metsadest. Kõige levinumad on jänesekapsa kasvukohatüüpi metsad. Välitööde käigus uuriti võrdlevalt metsakooslusi, mis olid 19. sajandil kaardistatud kas buschlandina või metsamaana. Andmeid töödeldi ühe- ja mitmemõõtmeliste statistiliste meetodite abil. Taimkatte erinevuste iseloom näitas, et need on tingitud pigem aletatud alade hilisemast metsastumisest, mitte tule kasutamist. Buschlandi ja ajaloolise metsamaa võrdlemisel erinevusi mulla praegustes keemilistes omadustes ei leitud. Buschlandile on kasvanud vaesunud liigikoosseisuga sekundaarsed metsad, mitte spetsiifilist majandamist nõudvad poollooduslikud kooslused. Uuritud aladelt 97% leiti mullast makroskoopilist sütt. Aletamine on seega olnud oluline tegur mulla söesisalduse kujunemisel. Söe sügavus mullas seostus maakasutuse ajalooga. Buschlandi huumuskihist leitud söetükid dateeriti vahemikku 1566–1805 calAD. Nõlvade jalamile moodustus aletamise tulemusel erodeerunud, hajutatud süsi sisaldavast huumusest künniperv. Selliseid pervi leiti ka 22% 19. sajandil metsana kaardistatud kohas, mis näitab, et aletamine on toimunud varem mõnevõrra laialdasemalt, kui on märgitud 19. sajandi kaartidel. Töö tulemused näitavad, et maastike uurimisel on aletamise mõju seni alahinnatud, taimestiku ajaloo kirjeldamisel aga pigem ülehinnatud. | est |
| dc.description.sponsorship | Publication of this dissertation is supported by the Estonian University of Life Sciences and by the Doctoral School of Earth Sciences and Ecology created under the auspices of European Social Fund. | eng |
| dc.identifier.isbn | 978-9949-629-43-5 | |
| dc.identifier.issn | 2382-7076 | |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/10492/4463 | |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://doi.org/10.15159/emu.33 | |
| dc.publisher | Eesti Maaülikool | est |
| dc.relation.ispartofseries | Eesti Maaülikooli doktoritööd; | |
| dc.rights.uri | https://www.riigiteataja.ee/en/eli/ee/Riigikogu/act/519062017005/consolide | |
| dc.subject | dissertations | eng |
| dc.subject | dissertatsioonid | est |
| dc.subject | aleviljelus | est |
| dc.subject | agraarajalugu | est |
| dc.subject | maastikud | est |
| dc.subject | metsataimestik | est |
| dc.subject | Lõuna-Eesti | est |
| dc.subject | agrarian history | eng |
| dc.subject | forest vegetation | eng |
| dc.subject | Southern Estonia | eng |
| dc.subject | landscapes | eng |
| dc.subject | burn cultivation | eng |
| dc.title | Role of historical slash and burn cultivation in the development of cultural landscapes and forest vegetation in south Estonia | eng |
| dc.title.alternative | Ajaloolise alepõllunduse roll Lõuna-Eesti maastike ja metsataimestiku kujunemisel | est |
| dc.type | Thesis | eng |
| dc.type.qualificationname | PhD |
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