Grazing Ecology and Forest History
It is widely held that a climax of vegetation of closed forest systems covered the lowlands of Central and Western Europe before humans intervened in prehistoric times to develop pastoral agriculture. If this intervention had not taken place, it would still be there and so if left, the grassland vegetation we see today would revert to its natural closed forest state, although with a reduced number of wild species. This book challenges this view, using examples from pollen analyses and studies on tree species such as oak and hazel. It tests the hypothesis that species composition, structure and succession of vegetation was governed by herbivores and that the Central and Western European lowlands were covered in grasslands, scrub, solitary tress and groves surrounded by cover and border vegetation. Comparative information from North America is also included.
Available editions
Save this book
Save
OpenCourser helps millions of learners each year. People visit us to learn workspace skills, ace their exams, and nurture their curiosity.
Our extensive catalog contains over 50,000 courses and twice as many books. Browse by search, by topic, or even by career interests. We'll match you to the right resources quickly.
Find this site helpful? Tell a friend about us.
We're supported by our community of learners. When you purchase or subscribe to courses and programs or purchase books, we may earn a commission from our partners.
Your purchases help us maintain our catalog and keep our servers humming without ads.
Thank you for supporting OpenCourser.
