Book Description Contents
Book Description

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.


Contents

Table of Contents

Part 1: 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 2: Biological Evidence
Chapter 7: Inferring Forest Stand History from Observational Field Evidence
Chapter 8: Using Dendrochronology to Reconstruct the History of Forest and Woodland Ecosystems
Chapter 9: Palynology: An Important Tool for Discovering Historic Ecosystems
Chapter 10: Packrat Middens as Tool for Reconstructing Historic Ecosystems
Chaprer 11: Techniques for Discovering Historic Animal Assemblages
Chapter 12: Geomorphology, Hydrology, and Soils
13: Inferring Vegetation History from Phytoliths

Part 3: Synthesis: Cases Studies Using Reference Conditions
Chapter 14: Using Historical Data in Ecological Restoration: A Case Study from Nantucket
Chapter 15: A Multiple-scale History of Past and Ongoing Vegetation Change within the Indiana Dunes
Chapter 16: Implementing the Archeo-environmental Reconstruction Technique: A Case Study from the Greater Grand Canyon Region
Chapter 17: Documenting Local Landscape Change: The San Francisco Area Historical Project

About the Contributors
Index