Human impacts on environment in the preindustrial forest landscapes in Poland—An overview

Abstract

Quantification of human impact on past forest ecosystems becomes more challenging as one goes deeper into the past. This is primarily due to a scarcity of appropriate source materials. It is well-known that the inclusion of the Polish lands in the zone of economic ties with Western Europe at the end of the 15th century enabled the intensive export of cereal and forest products. In this article, we have used place names established before 1600 not only to demonstrate how ancient forests were exploited but also to reflect on the various environmental effects of these past activities. By analyzing the naming material, we distinguished 3 basic types of names related to logging, industrial production, and wild beekeeping. In addition, we have included several theoretical considerations related to environmental consequences of forest exploitation.