From Haymaking to Wood Production : Past Use of Mires in Northern Sweden Affect Current Ecosystem Services and Function
Mires form a large part of the boreal Swedish landscape and are important for biodiversity and natural ecosystem processes. Historically, mires also played a key role for the expansion of agricultural practices, and later to create new forest land, but knowledge is limited on how the land use has af...
Published in: | Rural Landscapes: Society, Environment, History |
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Umeå universitet, Várdduo – Centrum för samisk forskning
2021
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Online Access: | http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-180314 https://doi.org/10.16993/rl.70 |
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ftumeauniv:oai:DiVA.org:umu-180314 2024-02-11T10:07:10+01:00 From Haymaking to Wood Production : Past Use of Mires in Northern Sweden Affect Current Ecosystem Services and Function Norstedt, Gudrun Hasselquist, Eliza Maher Laudon, Hjalmar 2021 application/pdf http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-180314 https://doi.org/10.16993/rl.70 eng eng Umeå universitet, Várdduo – Centrum för samisk forskning Rural Landscapes : Society, Environment, History, 2021, 8:1, s. 1-15 orcid:0000-0002-4438-3547 orcid:0000-0003-2152-245x orcid:0000-0001-6058-1466 http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-180314 doi:10.16993/rl.70 Scopus 2-s2.0-85101741927 info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess cultural history ditching land use legacy effects mire meadows mires Environmental Sciences Miljövetenskap Article in journal info:eu-repo/semantics/article text 2021 ftumeauniv https://doi.org/10.16993/rl.70 2024-01-24T23:36:26Z Mires form a large part of the boreal Swedish landscape and are important for biodiversity and natural ecosystem processes. Historically, mires also played a key role for the expansion of agricultural practices, and later to create new forest land, but knowledge is limited on how the land use has affected the current ecosystem services and functions of mires. In this case study from northern Sweden, we have combined historical maps with remote-sensing data to analyze the use of mires over time. Here, 22% of the mire area has been used for hay harvesting, an activity that peaked in the late 1800s. Later, about 3% was reclaimed for intensive agriculture. Drainage to enhance wood production followed in the 1940s, and about 40% of the original mire area is currently forested. The most productive mires have been relatively more affected by human measures. We suggest that this past land use has legacy effects on several ecosystem services. Haymaking likely had positive effects on biodiversity, but may have negatively influenced carbon sequestration. Reclamation led to habitat loss and likely less carbon sequestration. Drainage to promote forest growth generally lowered the ground water level, which in turn enhanced peat decomposition and subsequently released CO2. However, if tree growth outpaces peat decomposition, drainage could increase carbon sequestration. The overall carbon balance is hence influenced by past management regimes, which implies that past human use must be taken into account when considering the role of mires in providing ecosystem services. Article in Journal/Newspaper Northern Sweden Umeå University: Publications (DiVA) Rural Landscapes: Society, Environment, History 8 1 |
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Open Polar |
collection |
Umeå University: Publications (DiVA) |
op_collection_id |
ftumeauniv |
language |
English |
topic |
cultural history ditching land use legacy effects mire meadows mires Environmental Sciences Miljövetenskap |
spellingShingle |
cultural history ditching land use legacy effects mire meadows mires Environmental Sciences Miljövetenskap Norstedt, Gudrun Hasselquist, Eliza Maher Laudon, Hjalmar From Haymaking to Wood Production : Past Use of Mires in Northern Sweden Affect Current Ecosystem Services and Function |
topic_facet |
cultural history ditching land use legacy effects mire meadows mires Environmental Sciences Miljövetenskap |
description |
Mires form a large part of the boreal Swedish landscape and are important for biodiversity and natural ecosystem processes. Historically, mires also played a key role for the expansion of agricultural practices, and later to create new forest land, but knowledge is limited on how the land use has affected the current ecosystem services and functions of mires. In this case study from northern Sweden, we have combined historical maps with remote-sensing data to analyze the use of mires over time. Here, 22% of the mire area has been used for hay harvesting, an activity that peaked in the late 1800s. Later, about 3% was reclaimed for intensive agriculture. Drainage to enhance wood production followed in the 1940s, and about 40% of the original mire area is currently forested. The most productive mires have been relatively more affected by human measures. We suggest that this past land use has legacy effects on several ecosystem services. Haymaking likely had positive effects on biodiversity, but may have negatively influenced carbon sequestration. Reclamation led to habitat loss and likely less carbon sequestration. Drainage to promote forest growth generally lowered the ground water level, which in turn enhanced peat decomposition and subsequently released CO2. However, if tree growth outpaces peat decomposition, drainage could increase carbon sequestration. The overall carbon balance is hence influenced by past management regimes, which implies that past human use must be taken into account when considering the role of mires in providing ecosystem services. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Norstedt, Gudrun Hasselquist, Eliza Maher Laudon, Hjalmar |
author_facet |
Norstedt, Gudrun Hasselquist, Eliza Maher Laudon, Hjalmar |
author_sort |
Norstedt, Gudrun |
title |
From Haymaking to Wood Production : Past Use of Mires in Northern Sweden Affect Current Ecosystem Services and Function |
title_short |
From Haymaking to Wood Production : Past Use of Mires in Northern Sweden Affect Current Ecosystem Services and Function |
title_full |
From Haymaking to Wood Production : Past Use of Mires in Northern Sweden Affect Current Ecosystem Services and Function |
title_fullStr |
From Haymaking to Wood Production : Past Use of Mires in Northern Sweden Affect Current Ecosystem Services and Function |
title_full_unstemmed |
From Haymaking to Wood Production : Past Use of Mires in Northern Sweden Affect Current Ecosystem Services and Function |
title_sort |
from haymaking to wood production : past use of mires in northern sweden affect current ecosystem services and function |
publisher |
Umeå universitet, Várdduo – Centrum för samisk forskning |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-180314 https://doi.org/10.16993/rl.70 |
genre |
Northern Sweden |
genre_facet |
Northern Sweden |
op_relation |
Rural Landscapes : Society, Environment, History, 2021, 8:1, s. 1-15 orcid:0000-0002-4438-3547 orcid:0000-0003-2152-245x orcid:0000-0001-6058-1466 http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-180314 doi:10.16993/rl.70 Scopus 2-s2.0-85101741927 |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.16993/rl.70 |
container_title |
Rural Landscapes: Society, Environment, History |
container_volume |
8 |
container_issue |
1 |
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1790605322638852096 |