The Nature of Mediterranean Europe: An Ecological History - Hardcover

Grove, A.T.; Rackham, Oliver

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0300084439 ISBN 13: 9780300084436

Publisher: Yale University Press, 2001

Synopsis

Mediterranean Europe is often interpreted as a "Lost Eden"-once verdant and fertile but progressively degraded and desertified by the mismanagement of successive human civilizations. The authors of this engaging book challenge such a view. They find that the aridity and barrenness of the region today is not abnormal in terms of its historic and prehistoric past, and they identify the real threats to Mediterranean landscapes in the immediate future.

About this title

From the Inside Flap:

Mediterranean Europe-southern Portugal and Spain, France, Italy, the Balkans, Greece, and the Mediterranean islands-is often interpreted as a "Lost Eden," once verdant and fertile, then progressively degraded and desertified by human mismanagement and the ignorance and folly of successive civilizations. In this engaging book, two distinguished scholars challenge this pessimistic view.A. T. Grove and Oliver Rackham trace the evolution of climate and vegetation in southern Europe from prehistoric times to the present. They point out that since the climate has usually been unstable there, plant cover has had to accommodate to its extremes and has therefore become resilient under different patterns of human activity. They show that deluges, a major factor in promoting erosion and shaping valley floors and deltas, were more frequent during times of advancing glaciers than they are now. They assess the nature and functioning of agricultural terraces, the Mediterranean savanna, and karsts, badlands, and other desert-like landscapes. Finally, they point to the real threats to Mediterranean landscapes in the recent past and the immediate future: not only coastal development, but also bulldozing, excessive irrigation, and the consequences of depopulation in the interior.

From the Back Cover:

"A thought-provoking and challenging scientific study, The Nature of Mediterranean Europe is a treasure-trove of information about Mediterranean ecology, geography, and culture."-Martin Hellicar, Global Dialogue

About this edition

• Publisher: Yale University Press
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0300084439
• ISBN 13: 9780300084436
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 384