Steven C. Pennings
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- May 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780813042428
- eISBN:
- 9780813043074
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813042428.003.0009
- Subject:
- Archaeology, Historical Archaeology
Ecologists and historical ecologists study many of the same questions, seeking to understand interactions between humans, other species, and the environment, but over different time scales. ...
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Ecologists and historical ecologists study many of the same questions, seeking to understand interactions between humans, other species, and the environment, but over different time scales. Collaborations between the two fields would help ecologists understand how the past affects the present, give ecologists a better understanding of what it means for systems to be “natural,” and allow the study of coupled human-natural systems over a wider range of conditions than occur at the present. Historical ecologists would benefit from access to sophisticated theories and models about natural systems that could be tested with historical data, and from adopting more explicit approaches to hypothesis testing. I discuss 3 steps that historical ecologists could take to improve collaboration between the two fields.Less
Ecologists and historical ecologists study many of the same questions, seeking to understand interactions between humans, other species, and the environment, but over different time scales. Collaborations between the two fields would help ecologists understand how the past affects the present, give ecologists a better understanding of what it means for systems to be “natural,” and allow the study of coupled human-natural systems over a wider range of conditions than occur at the present. Historical ecologists would benefit from access to sophisticated theories and models about natural systems that could be tested with historical data, and from adopting more explicit approaches to hypothesis testing. I discuss 3 steps that historical ecologists could take to improve collaboration between the two fields.
