The Historical Ecology Handbook: A Restorationist's Guide to Reference Ecosystems / Edition 2

by Dave Egan, Evelyn A. Howell, Curt Meine PhD

Overview

The Historical Ecology Handbook makes essential connections between past and future ecosystems, bringing together leading experts to offer a much-needed introduction to the field of historical ecology and its practical application by on-the-ground restorationists.

Chapters present individual techniques focusing on both culturally derived evidence and biological records, with each chapter offering essential background, tools, and resources needed for using the technique in a restoration effort. The book ends with four in-depth case studies that demonstrate how various combinations of techniques have been used in restoration projects.

The Historical Ecology Handbook is a unique and groundbreaking guide to determining historic reference conditions of a landscape. It offers an invaluable compendium of tools and techniques, and will be essential reading for anyone working in the field of ecological restoration.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781597260336
Publisher:	Island Press
Publication date:	08/12/2005
Series:	The Science and Practice of Ecological Restoration Series
Edition description:	Second Edition, Revised, Second Edition, Revised
Pages:	488
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

Evelyn A. Howell is Professor and Chairperson with the Department of Landscape Architecture, University of Wisconsin-Madison.




Curt Meine is a writer and conservation biologist. He is author of the biography Aldo Leopold: His Life and Work, editor of the collection Wallace Stegner and the Continental Vision: Essays on Literature, History, and Landscape, and coeditor with Richard L. Knight of The Essential Aldo Leopold: Quotations and Commentaries. He has served on the board of governors of the Society for Conservation Biology and sits on the editorial boards of the journals Conservation Biology and Environmental Ethics.

Table of Contents

PART I. Cultural Evidence
Chapter 1. Archaeology, Paleoecology, and Ecological Restoration
Chapter 2. The Contribution of Ethnobiology to the Reconstruction and Restoration of Historic Ecosystems
Chapter 3. The Pleasures and Pitfalls of Written Records
Chapter 4. Oral History: A Guide to Its Creation and Use
Chapter 5. Maps and Photographs
Chapter 6. Government Land Office Survey and Other Early Land Surveys

PART II. BiologicalEvidence
Chapter 7. Inferring Forest Stand History from Observational Field Evidence
Chapter 8. Using Dendrochronology to Reconstruct the History of Forest andWoodland Ecosystems
Chapter 9. Palynology: An Important Tool for Discovering Historic Ecosystems
Chapter 10. Packrat Middens as Tool for Resconstructing Historic Ecosystems
Chapter 11. Techniques for Discovering Historic Animal Assemblages
Chapter 12. Geomorphology, Hydrology, and Soils
Chapter 13. Inferring Vegetation History from Phytoliths

PART III. Synthesis: CasesStudies Using Reference Conditions
Chapter 14. Using Historical Data in Ecological Restoration: A CaseStudy from Nantucket
Chapter 15. A Multiple-scale History of Past and Ongoing Vegetation Changewithin the Indiana Dunes
Chapter 16. Implementing the Archeo-environmental Reconstruction Technique: ACase Study from the Greater Grand Canyon Region
Chapter 17. Documenting Local Landscape Change: The San Francisco AreaHistorical Project

About the Contributors
Index