How the History of European Agriculture can Shape its Future Carole L. Crumley Swedish Biodiversity Centre (CBM) Swedish Agricultural University (SLU) and Integrated History and Future of People on Earth (IHOPE) Uppsala University and The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA REPORTING RESEARCH of the FRENCH PROJECT
What is historical ecology? Historic Earth Sciences + Past and Present Human Activity
Historical Ecology Is an integrative framework drawn from the environmental sciences, archaeology, ecology, anthropology, geography • Links human and earth system history • Holistic, practical perspective • Broad temporal and spatial breadth • Independent data provide crosscheck • Builds consensus USE WHAT WORKS
Historical Ecology studies Landscapes: Past, Present, Future • Landscapes are physical manifestations of the human- environment relationship • Humans have modified landscapes for over two million years • The history of landscapes shapes their future: initial conditions (example: geology, altitude) path dependence (example: soils retain the history of their previous management)
The European Landscape
Agrarian History of Europe • By 6000 years ago, a suite of plants and animals--some indigenous to Europe and others introduced from many different regions and climates--had formed the basis of European farming Domestication of wheat: 10,000 years • These species and practices were the foundation of European agriculture until several decades after WW II. Domestication of cattle: more than 8,000 years
Agrarian History of Europe • Many species were first domesticated in the Middle East • They came by two routes: from Anatolia across Northern Europe and along the North Mediterranean littoral European Neolithic Farms (6000 BP)
Agrarian History of Europe Iron Age Farm (3000-2000 years ago) Medieval Farm (1600-400 years ago) Roman Villa (2100-1800 years ago) • The genetic and behavioral variety of this suite of indigenous and imported plants and animals reduced farmers’ risk.
Agrarian History of Europe Species continued to be imported from elsewhere. The tomato, first domesticated in Central America, was introduced to Europe by French farm in the early twentieth century Spanish conquistadors in the sixteenth century The potato, first domesticated in South America, was also introduced in the sixteenth century French farm in the 1950s
Six Thousand Years of Land Use & Environmental Change in Rural Southern Burgundy (France) Our research integrates: Geology, Hydrology, Geomorphology), Climatology, Palynology, Dendrochronology, Archaeology, Ethnobotany, Ethnography, Maps and Documents
Data Management Our research integrates & synthesizes spatial data within a GIS context: • Aerial survey and satellite imagery • Digitized historic and modern maps • GPS collection of ground site points • Archival aerial reconnaissance photos • Archaeological field survey and excavation • Ethnographic and historical document analysis • Advanced visualization and modeling techniques
Climate History at Multiple Temporal and Spatial Scales Global, N. Hemisphere, Continental, Regional, Local a) Global and Northern Hemisphere Climate Change
b) Continental and Sub-Continental Scale Climate Change Maritime Continental Maritime Maritime Continental Continental Mediterranean Mediterranean Mediterranean 300BC – 300AD 300 AD – 900 AD 1200BC – 300BC <<Roman optimum>> Range of climatic variation In Europe Three Regimes meet over Burgundy
c) Regional and Sub-Regional Scale Climate Change Arroux River, Loire tributary La Loire The stratigraphic record allows reconstruction of both climate and the rivers’ erosion history
d) Local Scale Climate Change Woodlands have been carefully managed for centuries Burgundy’s six -thousand-year oak chronology is an important climate proxy The pond at the Chateau de Lucenier (eleventh century) Geologists core the region’s ancient ponds Pollen from pond sediments reconstruct pond dynamics and local vegetation history
Landscape Diversity: a Key Regional Feature Multifunctional Rural Landscape of Burgundy (forest, pasture, arable) Intense Industrial Agriculture in the Paris Basin
Archaeological Excavation and Survey combine with documentary and other evidence to form a picture of settlement in different periods. Mont Dardon excavation of Mont Dardon: 2400 years of occupation Roman industrial zone and villa 200 years of occupation
Along with archaeology and environmental studies, documents and interviews trace land use change over time
Continuity and Rupture in Agrarian History: The Valley of the Arroux In the entire past three millennia , Roman period industrial farming practices created the greatest damage because:
Continuity and Rupture in Agrarian History: The Valley of the Arroux, Burgundy To feed urban populations, the Empire forced “bread basket” regions (such as Burgundy) to produce only grain (mono-cropping) Many earlier advances (such as field rotation) were abandoned, increasing short-term yields but also erosion and the loss of soil fertility Beginning around AD 270, erratic climate devastated harvests Less hardy species (such as grapes), imported from the Mediterranean, were particularly vulnerable Burdened with exorbitant taxes and low yields, peasants abandoned farmland Without maintenance, farmland reverted to scrub and forest
A Successful Adaptive Strategy Little Ice Age (ca. 1300-1850 AD) conditions gave rise to communal farms in Burgundy Documents and architecture trace the growth of the community The communauté of Grand Dardon Members of these communities held the land in common and elected work managers from among their number; this form of household economy was particularly effective in times of environmental and economic crisis
A Contemporary Adaptive Strategy? The Cassini maps (1759) and other historic maps permit reconstruction of pond and forest history Site of an old pond Beginning in the Middle Ages hundreds of ponds were an important commercial and domestic resource in Uxeau parish. What value would pond restoration bring to the area today?
Historically, Burgundy has raised ruminants Horses and cattle 2500 years ago, Charolais breed cattle and sheep today
Many European Union subsidies are tied to herd size & structure
Farms remain family-owned but their number has decreased as their average size has quadrupled
Specialization reduces diversity of practice and sources for farm income For a combination of economic and social reasons, fewer and fewer farms raise other animals For example, the constraints of EU regulations for milk products has hastened the disappearance of domestic goat cheese production and removed an additional source of household income; remaining farms that make goat cheese have specialized
At a different spatial and temporal scale, household gardens retain the scheduling and species diversity characteristics of historic farm management
Economic Change Ripples through Rural Society New barns required by the EU cost 300 000 euros Young farmers must complete four years of formal agricultural training to manage the family farm They take on much more debt than their predecessors, a source of intergenerational friction Farmers are pressed to specialize Farms are closely monitored by satellite and farmers’ much valued autonomy is curtailed Farmers face uncertain markets and subsidies, and threats to herd health
In fewer than two decades, the scale of farming has changed dramatically and the historic diversity of practice has vanished
Increased climate variability poses challenges to EU agricultural policy Dominance of Mediterranean regime 2003 February through October, 2003 2008 Following a 2002 drought, the 2003 heat wave and drought killed 20,000 people in France Temperatures August 2003
Intensified land use--such as the canalization of marshy areas and the removal of hedgerows to increase pasturage--increases the severity of valley flooding, already in danger due to impermeable surfaces and building in floodplains The Loire in flood following the 2003 drought, January 2004 The subsidy for protecting hedgerows is not as attractive as that for increasing herd size
The endless rains of 2007 “une saison de moississure”
The seasonal rhythm is broken the variability of weather is likely to increase in the future “out of season” weather ruins harvests, makes planning difficult human societies respond effectively to weather extremes but not to highly variable short term conditions the most variable period in French history was the decade before the French Revolution unpredictable climatic variability = increased agricultural vulnerability
EU CAP and other one-size-fits-all regulations afford farmers little flexibility in the face of increased seasonal variability. Increased herd size: • Favors pasture over other land uses • Destroys hedgerows and deciduous cover • Reduces wild species populations • Diminishes water retention in pastures • Increases erosion • Compromises herd health • Endangers regional economy
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