European Woods and Forests Studies in Cultural History

This edited compilation concerns the cultural factors that have led to the preservation of various European forest tracts. As outlined in an excellent introduction by Charles Watkins, the main purpose of this volume is to demonstrate techniques that have been used to develop case histories of forests of a region. The historical factors that have led to the maintenance of forested landscapes are identified through a series of case studies of the detailed history of specific forests . . . The majority of the book focuses on forests from various areas of the United Kingdom, although a single case study each from Germany, Austria, Italy, Spain and Palestine broaden the scope of issues considered. . . . This compilation . . . provides a useful pallet of the type of information that can be pieced together to understand how forest development interacts with the human cultural environment that pervades and shapes it.--The Quarterly Review of Biology