Social and Cultural Data in Landscape Ecology Michelle Steen-Adams

Outline Applications of social and cultural data in landscape ecological investigations Conceptual Model Ways that human presence shapes landscape patterns Data and methods

I. Applications: Questions and problems social and cultural data can help resolve Basic research question: How have current landscape patterns developed? Applied questions: –Restoration Ecological significance of social processes and patterns –Land use planning

II. Conceptual Model Zev Naveh (1991) Biophysical Sphere Emergent Structural And Functional Characteristics Human Sphere: Culture Technology

III. Ways that human presence shapes landscape pattern Distant Causes Culture Politics Economics –Transportation structures –Industry –Technology Proximate Causes Human settlement patterns –Population –Land Ownership Land Use/ Forest management Historical dimension

Cultural Landscapes (vs. Natural landscapes) Definitions: landscape and culture Frequent misperception of natural vs. cultural landscape characteristics Ways people influence landscape structure –Changing dominance structure –Range extensions or truncations –Ruderal invasions –Soil alterations

Cultural theory in landscape ecology Culture structures landscapes (Nassauer 1995) –Human perceptions of landscapes –Cognition –Aesthetics/ values Landscapes structure culture (feedback loop)

Causes of Landscape Pattern: Culture Kickapoo Valley, Wisconsin, Heasley and Guries 1998

Cultural drivers of landscape change Liberty Township, Vernon County, Wisconsin. Heasley and Guries 1998

Cultural and Political causes of landscape pattern: Comparative landscape change assessment

Research Question and Hypothesis Question: –How do differing cultural and political conditions explain distinct courses of landscape change? Hypothesis –Sites with cultural and political characteristics that value intact forest conditions tend to retain intact forests; –Sites with cultural and political characteristics that prioritize agricultural land uses tend to have agriculture-grassland or open land cover conditions.

Cultural comparison: Bad River Reservation Ojibwe woodland culture –Birch bark –Maple sugar –Hunting and fishing –Wild rice Maple Sugar Camp Preparing Birch Bark for Removal

Cultural comparison: off-Reservation area Yeoman farmer- Jeffersonian tradition

National Archives Political comparison: Bad River Reservation Assimilation and acculturation policies –Dawes Act (1887): allotment system –Stumpage capital to establish farms –Indian Agency Bureau of Indian Affairs Forestry Division –Pulpwood management

Political comparison: off-Reservation area State programs –U.W. Agricultural Experiment Station system –Cooperation between local farmer and experts Federal programs – Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service –Farm Service Agency

Land Cover Transition Comparisons ReservationOff-Reservation Pre-Euro-American settlement Transitions s Transitions

Causes of Landscape Pattern: Settlement history Eastern Upper Peninsula, Michigan Silbernagel et al. 1997

Causes of Landscape Pattern: Population, Industry, Transportation South Berkshire Burgi et al. 2000

IV. Ways of measuring social- cultural influences on landscapes: Data Sources Historic land surveys Remotely-sensed Imagery Census Data Questionnaires and Interviews Archival material

Historic Land Survey Data: Wisconsin Land Economic Inventory Purpose: Land inventory and planning Land uses –Agriculture –Urban

Remotely-sensed data: Aerial photographic imagery Wide availability –1930s- present –Decadal intervals –Coverage: entire U.S. Flexible to users’ needs and technical abilities

Data Source: Censuses U.S. Census –Timeframe: present –Spatial scales: Block, Tract, County –Data: population, occupation, income, age State Censuses Census of Agriculture

Data Source: Questionnaires Medley et al Landscape change with agricultural intensification…Ohio Medley et al Change in owned and rented acreage? Changes in acreage in row crops? Rank importance of factors influencing management decisions

Archival Data Correspondence Reports Newspaper articles Photographs, especially repeat photography Data Repositories –National Archives –Historical societies –Library collections –Museums

Key Points Many landscape ecological questions and applied problems require integrating social and cultural variables into the analysis. A conceptual foundation and body of research literature exists. Human presence shapes landscape pattern in multiple ways. Data and analytical techniques do exist to conduct this kind of research.