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The history of the forest in Central Europe is characterised by thousands of years of exploitation by man. Thus a distinction needs to be made between the botanical natural history of the forest in pre- and proto-historical times - which falls mainly into the fields of natural history and palaeontology - and the onset of the period of sedentary settlement which began at the latest in the Neolithic era in Central Europe - and thus the use of the forest by people, which is covered by the disciplines of history, cultural studies and ecology. The term Central Europe is generally used both geographically and ecologically to describe the area that lies roughly between the North Sea, the Alps, the Baltic Sea and the Black Sea. == Overview == Man had, and still has, a profound impact on the composition of the trees and the forests. Historically, forests have experienced a sharp change with regard to their use and characteristics worldwide, but this is especially the case in the densely populated region of Central Europe. Due to feudal structures, the power and ownership of forests was not at all clear for many centuries, which resulted in terrible overexploitation. As a result, during the period 1750-1850 forests in Central Europe had fallen into an appalling state causing a serious lack of timber. Some contemporary reports even spoke partly of desert-like landscapes at that time. During the late 19th and 20th centuries and huge amount of artificial reforestation was needed. What is left in the countryside of Central Europe today as "forest", is not natural forest, but a cultural landscape created over thousands of years which consists almost exclusively of replacement communities. The degree of hemeroby (human influence) and the extent of the original natural state are difficult to assess. During the ice ages Central Europe was largely deforested and, in the period of "natural" re-emergence of the forest since the last Ice Age (roughly about 10-15,000 years), human history already plays a significant part. At the latest it was the sedentary, Neolithic farmers of the Linear Pottery Culture, about 7,500 years ago, who began to change forest massively. Today's forest communities in central Europe are influenced by the usefulness of the individual tree species. Apart from a few remnants of "near-natural forest" the vast majority of today's Central European forests are either artificial forests or whose present composition has arisen as a rsult of more or less heavy human intervention. Far and away the most common are commercial forests, which may be more or less near-natural,〔Helge Walentowski & Susanne Winter (2007): Naturnähe im Wirtschaftswald – was ist das? Tuexenia 27: 19–26.〕 with beech and oak, spruce and pine. "Ancient forests" in Central Europe refer to the few remaining stocks that are neither currently used for forestry nor were exploited in historical times. Even with these, certain types of human influence, for example, forest grazing, cannot be completely ruled out. The composition and dynamics of the old Central European forests must therefore be reconstructed from these relics, from forest research areas and natural forest cells after they have ceased to be used, and by comparison with forest types in similar climatic conditions that are still true virgin forests, especially the Hyrcanian Forest on the Caspian Sea.〔Reinhard Mosandl: Geschichte der Wälder in Mitteleuropa im letzten Jahrtausend. Aktuelle Beiträge zum Verständnis der historischen Entwicklung. In Bernd Herrmann (editor): Beiträge zum Göttinger Umwelthistorischen Kolloquium 2008 - 2009. Universitätsverlag Göttingen, 2009. pp.91-114. (preview at Google Books )〕 There are almost no data on the density and the influence of megaherbivores in prehistoric times, only conjecture. According to many forest scientists and a number of hunters, perpetual forest structures, which are advantageous for the forestry industry and the ecology, cannot be established without strong hunting measures to cull the present-day herbivores, the red and roe deer ensuring a correspondingly low density of these herbivores. Excessive stocks of deer would not only the harm the forest as a commodity, but also prevent the natural regeneration of the forest through selective browsing by the animals and therefore hinder its natural development. The megaherbivore theory argues that larger densities of game should therefore be permitted, because it would create a half-open and diverse landscape. Apart from red and roe deer there are no large herds of herbivores today and they have no natural predators. In today's cultural landscape, the establishment of permanent forest is seen as an economic and ecological goal; herbivores roving over wide areas inflict economic damage and are therefore hunted. The grazing of wild megaherbivores is therefore limited, as a landscape conservation measure, to large nature reserves in which a species-rich and semi-open landscape is to be preserved and economic objectives are rated as less important. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「History of the forest in Central Europe」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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