Europe's Changing Woods and Forests

"It is remarkable that so many topics can be covered with such scientific rigour in a single volume."

Joe Gray - , EcoForestry.uk

"This is an interesting collection of papers that will be very helpful to students and practitioners who wish to understand the historical and ecological context within which modern forestry operates across Europe."

Chartered Forester

I: Contributors
II: Preface
III: Acknowledgements

PART 1: Introduction and Overview
1.0: Overview of Europe’s woods and forests
1.1: Introduction
1.2: The current state and composition of European woods and forests
1.2.1: European forests in a global context
1.2.2: Variation in forest cover across the continent
1.2.3: Variation in forest composition
1.3: Forestry policy and cooperation at a European level 0
1.3.1: Forestry policy
1.3.2: Conservation measures
1.3.3: Landscape and amenity conservation.
1.3.4: Certification as an approach to sustainable forestry management
1.3.5: Forest research cooperation across Europe
1.4: Conclusion
1.5: References
2.0: Methods and approaches in the study of woodland history
2.1: Introduction
2.2: Oral history
2.3: Photographs and drawings
2.4: Biological indicators
2.5: Historical records
2.6: Preserved wood and dendrochronology
2.7: Lidar and GIS
2.8: Applying archaeological insights to ecological issues
2.9: Pollen and charcoal analysis
2.10: Conclusion
2.11: References
3.0: The forest landscape before farming
3.1: Where to begin?
3.2: A cold open continent
3.3: Trees spread back after the ice
3.3.1: Forming a canopy 5
3.3.2: The wood beneath the trees
3.3.3: Molecular markers for re-colonisation routes.
3.4: A holey blanket of trees
3.5: The role of large herbivores, particularly bison, wild horse and aurochs
3.6: People in the landscape: the trees in retreat
3.7: References
4.0: Evolution of modern landscapes
4.1: Introduction
4.2: The emergence of woodland management
4.3: Changes in forest extent and distribution
4.3.1: Reductions in forest cover
4.3.2: Increases as well as decreases
4.3.3: Patterns of clearance and survival
4.3.4: The ecological consequences of a patchy landscape
4.4: Changes in structure and composition through management
4.5: Deliberate modification of the tree and shrub composition of forests
4.6: Other species gains and losses
4.7: Changes to the fire regime
4.8: Changes to the forest soil
4.9: Forests and atmospheric pollution
4.10: Climate change
4.11: Conclusion
4.12: References

PART 2: The Variety of Management Across European Woods and Forests
5.0: Wood-pastures in Europe
5.1: Introduction
5.2: Wood-pasture: a multi-purpose system
5.3: Historical development of wood-pastures in Europe
5.3.1: Forest grazing and pasturing in ancient times
5.3.2: Driving the livestock out of the forest (18th-19th centuries)
5.3.4: New recognition for wood-pastures?
5.4: National inventories of wood-pastures
5.5: Wood-pastures as multi-functional landscape elements: past and present
5.6: Threats to wood-pastures
5.6.1: Management changes
5.6.2: Policy mismatch
5.6.3: Decline of old, hollowing or dying trees
5.6.4: Lack of regeneration
5.7: Conclusions
5.8: Acknowledgements
5.9: References
6.0: Coppice silviculture: from the Mesolithic to the 21st century
6.1: Introduction
6.2: The physiological and evolutionary significance of coppice
6.3: Historic development of coppice silviculture
6.4: The rise and fall of coppice as an industrial resource
6.5: Surviving and neglected coppice in Europe: the extent of the forest estate
6.6: Coppice silviculture
6.6.1: Cutting methods
6.6.2: Time of cutting
6.7: Conversion to high forest
6.7.1: Coppice versus high forest yields
6.8: Reinstating coppice management
6.9: Future drivers of change
6.10: References
7.0: High forest management and the rise of even-aged stands
7.1: Introduction
7.2: Changing from coppice to high forest systems
7.3: The need for new administrative tools
7.4: Silvicultural systems
7.5: The rise of plantations
7.6: Increased use of conifers and introduced species
7.7: How forestry is changing
7.8: Future high forest and natural forest structures
7.9: References
8.0: Close-to-nature forestry
8.1: Introduction
8.2: Roots and pre-requisites
8.3: Developments in the 20th century
8.4: Ecological implications
8.5: Conclusion
8.6: References
9.0: The impact of hunting on European woodland from medieval to modern
9.1: Introduction
9.2: Early impacts of hunting
9.3: Meat or merit?
9.4: Medieval hunting reserves
9.5: Early modern hunting parks in Europe
9.6: Hunting and the wider landscape
9.7: Modern hunting
9.7.1: The influence of driven pheasant shoots on British woodland
9.7.2: The influence of modern hunting enclosures on Spanish woodland
9.8: Conclusion
9.9: References

PART 3: How Plants and Animals Have Responded to the Changing Woodland and Forest Cover
10.0: The flora and fauna of coppice woods: winners and losers of active management or neglect
10.1: Introduction
10.2: The diversity of coppice
10.2.1: Plants
10.2.2: Birds
10.2.3: Invertebrates
10.2.4: Deadwood and associated species
10.2.5: Mammals
10.3: Impacts of deer browsing on flora and fauna in coppice
10.4: Conservation strategies
10.5: Short Rotation Coppice
10.6: Conclusion
10.7: References
11.0: The importance of veteran trees for saproxylic insects
11.1: Introduction
11.2: What are saproxylic species
11.3: Veteran trees in past and present landscapes
11.4: Important structures and associated species in old trees
11.4.1: Microhabitat diversity
11.4.2: Tree cavities and their invertebrates
11.4.3: Other microhabitats
11.5: Effects of environmental factors on the invertebrate fauna
11.5.1: Effects of tree characteristics on species assemblages
11.5.2: Effects of surrounding landscape on species assemblages
11.5.3: Catering for the needs of the adult as well as the larvae
11.5.4: Survey methods
11.6: Current situation in Europe
11.7: How to preserve the specialized saproxylic species?
11.7.1: Management for increasing habitat amount and quality
11.7.2: Management for securing spatio-temporal continuity
11.8: Future prospects
11.9: References
12.0: The changing fortunes of woodland birds in temperate Europe
12.1: Introduction
12.2: The birds of the early Holocene
12.3: The birds of the wildwood: alternative models of forest dynamics
12.3.1: Largely closed forest – ‘closed canopy’ scenario
12.3.2: Open mosaic landscape – ‘wood pasture’ scenario
12.3.3: Forest-dominated, but more varied – ‘closed but varied’ scenario
12.4: Fragmentation of the wildwood
12.5: Effects of the historical emergence of management
12.6: The age of managed pasture woods and coppice
12.7: The shift towards high forest
12.8: Woodland birds today
12.8.1: Population trends
12.8.2: Influences of agriculture
12.8.3: Forestry intensification
12.8.4: Birds and afforestation
12.9: Recent trends
12.10: Conclusions
12.11: References
13.0: Evolution and changes in the understorey of deciduous forests: lagging behind drivers of change
13.1: Introduction
13.2: Background
13.3: What sorts of plants occur in forests?
13.4: Comparing ancient and recent forests
13.5: Colonization of new forests
13.6: Dispersal and recruitment limitation
13.7: Changing ancient forests
13.7.1: Management effects
13.7.2: Effects of environmental changes
13.7.3: Effects of grazing
13.7.4: Effects of invasive non-native species
13.8: Conserving and expanding forests: does it work?
13.9: References
14.0: Gains

Keith Kirby

Keith Kirby teaches at Oxford University.

Charles Watkins

Charles Watkins is with the School of Geography, University of Nottingham.