Tree rings reveal signs of Europe’s sustainable forest management long before the first historical evidence
Abstract To satisfy the increasing demand for wood in central Europe during medieval times, a new system of forest management was developed, one far superior to simple coppicing. The adoption of a sophisticated, Coppice-with-Standards (CWS) management practice created a two-storey forest structure t...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2020-12-01
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| Series: | Scientific Reports |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-78933-8 |
| _version_ | 1830176009696051200 |
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| author | Bernhard Muigg Georgios Skiadaresis Willy Tegel Franz Herzig Paul J. Krusic Uwe E. Schmidt Ulf Büntgen |
| author_facet | Bernhard Muigg Georgios Skiadaresis Willy Tegel Franz Herzig Paul J. Krusic Uwe E. Schmidt Ulf Büntgen |
| author_sort | Bernhard Muigg |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract To satisfy the increasing demand for wood in central Europe during medieval times, a new system of forest management was developed, one far superior to simple coppicing. The adoption of a sophisticated, Coppice-with-Standards (CWS) management practice created a two-storey forest structure that could provide fuelwood as well as construction timber. Here we present a dendrochronological study of actively managed CWS forests in northern Bavaria to detect the radial growth response to cyclical understorey harvesting in overstorey oaks (Quercus sp.), so-called standards. All modern standards exhibit rapid growth releases every circa 30 years, most likely caused by regular understorey management. We further analyse tree-ring width patterns in 2120 oak timbers from historical buildings and archaeological excavations in southern Germany and north-eastern France, dating between 300 and 2015 CE, and succeeded in identifying CWS growth patterns throughout the medieval period. Several potential CWS standards even date to the first millennium CE, suggesting CWS management has been in practice long before its first mention in historical documents. Our dendrochronological approach should be expanded routinely to indentify the signature of past forest management practices in archaeological and historical oak wood. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-17T18:59:20Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f9441779d5fd475e9cf9dc5e01deb393 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-17T18:59:20Z |
| publishDate | 2020-12-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scientific Reports |
| spelling | doaj.art-f9441779d5fd475e9cf9dc5e01deb3932022-12-21T21:36:09ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222020-12-0110111110.1038/s41598-020-78933-8Tree rings reveal signs of Europe’s sustainable forest management long before the first historical evidenceBernhard Muigg0Georgios Skiadaresis1Willy Tegel2Franz Herzig3Paul J. Krusic4Uwe E. Schmidt5Ulf Büntgen6Institute of Forest Sciences, Chair of Forest History, Albert-Ludwigs-University FreiburgInstitute of Forest Sciences, Chair of Sylviculture, Albert-Ludwigs-University FreiburgInstitute of Forest Sciences, Chair of Forest Growth, Albert-Ludwigs-University FreiburgBavarian State Department for Cultural HeritageDepartment of Geography, University of CambridgeInstitute of Forest Sciences, Chair of Forest History, Albert-Ludwigs-University FreiburgDepartment of Geography, University of CambridgeAbstract To satisfy the increasing demand for wood in central Europe during medieval times, a new system of forest management was developed, one far superior to simple coppicing. The adoption of a sophisticated, Coppice-with-Standards (CWS) management practice created a two-storey forest structure that could provide fuelwood as well as construction timber. Here we present a dendrochronological study of actively managed CWS forests in northern Bavaria to detect the radial growth response to cyclical understorey harvesting in overstorey oaks (Quercus sp.), so-called standards. All modern standards exhibit rapid growth releases every circa 30 years, most likely caused by regular understorey management. We further analyse tree-ring width patterns in 2120 oak timbers from historical buildings and archaeological excavations in southern Germany and north-eastern France, dating between 300 and 2015 CE, and succeeded in identifying CWS growth patterns throughout the medieval period. Several potential CWS standards even date to the first millennium CE, suggesting CWS management has been in practice long before its first mention in historical documents. Our dendrochronological approach should be expanded routinely to indentify the signature of past forest management practices in archaeological and historical oak wood.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-78933-8 |
| spellingShingle | Bernhard Muigg Georgios Skiadaresis Willy Tegel Franz Herzig Paul J. Krusic Uwe E. Schmidt Ulf Büntgen Tree rings reveal signs of Europe’s sustainable forest management long before the first historical evidence Scientific Reports |
| title | Tree rings reveal signs of Europe’s sustainable forest management long before the first historical evidence |
| title_full | Tree rings reveal signs of Europe’s sustainable forest management long before the first historical evidence |
| title_fullStr | Tree rings reveal signs of Europe’s sustainable forest management long before the first historical evidence |
| title_full_unstemmed | Tree rings reveal signs of Europe’s sustainable forest management long before the first historical evidence |
| title_short | Tree rings reveal signs of Europe’s sustainable forest management long before the first historical evidence |
| title_sort | tree rings reveal signs of europe s sustainable forest management long before the first historical evidence |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-78933-8 |
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