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Anthropological contributions to historical ecology: 50 questions, infinite prospects
- Source :
- PLoS ONE, Vol 12, Iss 2, p e0171883 (2017), PloS one, vol 12, iss 2, PLoS ONE
- Publication Year :
- 2017
- Publisher :
- Public Library of Science (PLoS), 2017.
-
Abstract
- This paper presents the results of a consensus-driven process identifying 50 priority research questions for historical ecology obtained through crowdsourcing, literature reviews, and in-person workshopping. A deliberative approach was designed to maximize discussion and debate with defined outcomes. Two in-person workshops (in Sweden and Canada) over the course of two years and online discussions were peer facilitated to define specific key questions for historical ecology from anthropological and archaeological perspectives. The aim of this research is to showcase the variety of questions that reflect the broad scope for historical-ecological research trajectories across scientific disciplines. Historical ecology encompasses research concerned with decadal, centennial, and millennial human-environmental interactions, and the consequences that those relationships have in the formation of contemporary landscapes. Six interrelated themes arose from our consensus-building workshop model: (1) climate and environmental change and variability; (2) multi-scalar, multi-disciplinary; (3) biodiversity and community ecology; (4) resource and environmental management and governance; (5) methods and applications; and (6) communication and policy. The 50 questions represented by these themes highlight meaningful trends in historical ecology that distill the field down to three explicit findings. First, historical ecology is fundamentally an applied research program. Second, this program seeks to understand long-term human-environment interactions with a focus on avoiding, mitigating, and reversing adverse ecological effects. Third, historical ecology is part of convergent trends toward transdisciplinary research science, which erodes scientific boundaries between the cultural and natural.
- Subjects :
- 0106 biological sciences
Atmospheric Science
History
010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences
Cultural anthropology
Social Sciences
lcsh:Medicine
01 natural sciences
Historical Archaeology
Spatial and Landscape Ecology
Medicine
Applied research
Arkeologi
lcsh:Science
History, Ancient
Climatology
Multidisciplinary
Ecology
Historical Article
Biodiversity
21st Century
Variety (cybernetics)
20th Century
Community Ecology
Archaeology
Research Design
Historical ecology
Medieval
Research Article
Natural History
Canada
Resource (biology)
General Science & Technology
Climate Change
Ecology (disciplines)
Crowdsourcing
History, 21st Century
010603 evolutionary biology
Ecosystems
Ancient
Cultural
Humans
Anthropology, Cultural
Ecosystem
0105 earth and related environmental sciences
Sweden
business.industry
Ecology and Environmental Sciences
lcsh:R
Biology and Life Sciences
Paleontology
Environmental ethics
History, 20th Century
15. Life on land
Historical Ecology
History, Medieval
13. Climate action
Anthropology
Earth Sciences
lcsh:Q
Paleoecology
Paleobiology
business
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 19326203
- Volume :
- 12
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- PLOS ONE
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....5379e237eaa5336798c2a9f45d3ff71c