Abstract

An interdisciplinary perspective on the 19th and 20th century landscape tranformation from heathland to woodland in Halland, southern Sweden, is presented. The physical conditions and actions behind this drastic change in land use, emphasize the need for studies which combine causal connections with human intentions. The reafforesters in Halland can be seen as representatives of the early nature conservationist movement that was guided by a perception focused on production which aimed to conserve for man. They reconstructed what was once extensive forest. However, new forests in Halland are coniferous and not deciduous as they once were. What is considered natural and what unnatural is a matter of human values, but the precise values associated with nature's landscape are not apparent. Following the historical flow of ideas it is possible to reveal when and why the idea of reafforestation was born and how it gained force as a movement across the County of Halland. Today, we experience distrust and disputes between foresters and conservationists, and nature conservationists are often guided by a philosophical perception of nature, wishing to conserve from man.

Published in

AMBIO: A Journal of the Human Environment
1993, Volume: 22, number: 8, pages: 561-567
Publisher: ROYAL SWEDISH ACAD SCIENCES

UKÄ Subject classification

Landscape Architecture
Forest Science


Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/50604