Woods and People: Putting Forests on the Map

摘要

The story of the transformation of the British countryside in the twentieth century can be told in many different ways. The remarkable changes in the agricultural landscape can be seen as reflecting the almost heroic restructuring of the countryside in terms of land ownership, farm consolidation and modernisation; increases in field size and the mechanisation of cultivation and harvesting; improvements in stock and crops, all of which led to substantial increases in food yields. Another story is one of hedgerow loss, the destruction of flower rich meadows, bogs and pastures leading to a significant reduction in the nature conservation value of the countryside.