Tree rings reveal signs of Europe’s sustainable forest management long before the first historical evidence

Abstract To satisfy the increasing demand for wood in central Europe during medieval times, a new system of forest management was developed, one far superior to simple coppicing. The adoption of a sophisticated, Coppice-with-Standards (CWS) management practice created a two-storey forest structure t...

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Autores principales:	Bernhard Muigg, Georgios Skiadaresis, Willy Tegel, Franz Herzig, Paul J. Krusic, Uwe E. Schmidt, Ulf Büntgen
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Nature Portfolio 2020
Materias:	Medicine R Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/f9441779d5fd475e9cf9dc5e01deb393
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:f9441779d5fd475e9cf9dc5e01deb3932021-12-02T16:18:06ZTree rings reveal signs of Europe’s sustainable forest management long before the first historical evidence10.1038/s41598-020-78933-82045-2322https://doaj.org/article/f9441779d5fd475e9cf9dc5e01deb3932020-12-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-78933-8https://doaj.org/toc/2045-2322Abstract To satisfy the increasing demand for wood in central Europe during medieval times, a new system of forest management was developed, one far superior to simple coppicing. The adoption of a sophisticated, Coppice-with-Standards (CWS) management practice created a two-storey forest structure that could provide fuelwood as well as construction timber. Here we present a dendrochronological study of actively managed CWS forests in northern Bavaria to detect the radial growth response to cyclical understorey harvesting in overstorey oaks (Quercus sp.), so-called standards. All modern standards exhibit rapid growth releases every circa 30 years, most likely caused by regular understorey management. We further analyse tree-ring width patterns in 2120 oak timbers from historical buildings and archaeological excavations in southern Germany and north-eastern France, dating between 300 and 2015 CE, and succeeded in identifying CWS growth patterns throughout the medieval period. Several potential CWS standards even date to the first millennium CE, suggesting CWS management has been in practice long before its first mention in historical documents. Our dendrochronological approach should be expanded routinely to indentify the signature of past forest management practices in archaeological and historical oak wood.Bernhard MuiggGeorgios SkiadaresisWilly TegelFranz HerzigPaul J. KrusicUwe E. SchmidtUlf BüntgenNature PortfolioarticleMedicineRScienceQENScientific Reports, Vol 10, Iss 1, Pp 1-11 (2020)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q Bernhard Muigg Georgios Skiadaresis Willy Tegel Franz Herzig Paul J. Krusic Uwe E. Schmidt Ulf Büntgen Tree rings reveal signs of Europe’s sustainable forest management long before the first historical evidence
description	Abstract To satisfy the increasing demand for wood in central Europe during medieval times, a new system of forest management was developed, one far superior to simple coppicing. The adoption of a sophisticated, Coppice-with-Standards (CWS) management practice created a two-storey forest structure that could provide fuelwood as well as construction timber. Here we present a dendrochronological study of actively managed CWS forests in northern Bavaria to detect the radial growth response to cyclical understorey harvesting in overstorey oaks (Quercus sp.), so-called standards. All modern standards exhibit rapid growth releases every circa 30 years, most likely caused by regular understorey management. We further analyse tree-ring width patterns in 2120 oak timbers from historical buildings and archaeological excavations in southern Germany and north-eastern France, dating between 300 and 2015 CE, and succeeded in identifying CWS growth patterns throughout the medieval period. Several potential CWS standards even date to the first millennium CE, suggesting CWS management has been in practice long before its first mention in historical documents. Our dendrochronological approach should be expanded routinely to indentify the signature of past forest management practices in archaeological and historical oak wood.
format	article
author	Bernhard Muigg Georgios Skiadaresis Willy Tegel Franz Herzig Paul J. Krusic Uwe E. Schmidt Ulf Büntgen
author_facet	Bernhard Muigg Georgios Skiadaresis Willy Tegel Franz Herzig Paul J. Krusic Uwe E. Schmidt Ulf Büntgen
author_sort	Bernhard Muigg
title	Tree rings reveal signs of Europe’s sustainable forest management long before the first historical evidence
title_short	Tree rings reveal signs of Europe’s sustainable forest management long before the first historical evidence
title_full	Tree rings reveal signs of Europe’s sustainable forest management long before the first historical evidence
title_fullStr	Tree rings reveal signs of Europe’s sustainable forest management long before the first historical evidence
title_full_unstemmed	Tree rings reveal signs of Europe’s sustainable forest management long before the first historical evidence
title_sort	tree rings reveal signs of europe’s sustainable forest management long before the first historical evidence
publisher	Nature Portfolio
publishDate	2020
url	https://doaj.org/article/f9441779d5fd475e9cf9dc5e01deb393
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Tree rings reveal signs of Europe’s sustainable forest management long before the first historical evidence

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