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Interactions between human industry and woodland ecology in the South Pennines
Lewis, Hywel
Lewis, Hywel
Publication Date
2019
End of Embargo
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The University of Bradford theses are licenced under a Creative Commons Licence.
Peer-Reviewed
Open Access status
Accepted for publication
Institution
University of Bradford
Department
Faculty of Life Sciences. School of Archaeological and Forensic Sciences
Awarded
2019
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Abstract
This research project used many disciplines to examine the impacts of
industrialisation on the wooded landscape of the South Pennines. The
woodlands of this upland region are characterised by their small size and steep
topography. Nevertheless, they exhibit a rich archaeology of management from
the medieval period onwards. Field survey of case study sites was combined
with charcoal analysis from excavated burning platforms, palynology of soil
cores, tree ring analysis and ecological survey. This was set within a historical
context, particularly focusing on the regional industries of iron, leather and
textiles, in order to understand the economic motivations for changes in
woodland management.
The woodlands examined showed a diverse range of histories. Some had a
strong correlation with models of changing woodland management culture of
neighbouring regions, particularly the evolution of systematic oak-dominated
coppice in response to industrial demands. Woodland management in the
South Pennines was more sensitive to industries which created dispersed
demand from many actors than to bulk demand from centralised industries and
responded to the changing economics of the fossil fuel era. The dominance of
freehold tenure also contributed to many woodlands being managed in an
unsystematic manner and the survival of private wood pasture alongside timber
harvesting.
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Type
Thesis
Qualification name
PhD