and unique characteristics. At Bassa Nera pond, as explained by Pérez-Haase
(2016), 110 species of vegetation have been identified in 35 inventories, of which
11 are designated as rare species. Their singularity is based on their presence in
ditches and borders, spaces where the humid ecosystem offers the most stressful
conditions.
Environmental geohistory helps us to think about whether it has always been this
way: How long ago was it a peat bog? What would be its dynamic? Does it make
sense to preserve or protect it? The study of local vegetation demonstrates the
extraordinary variability and mobility of the particular place. In this sense, the
ombrotrophic raised bog at Bassa Nera has functioned for 60 years, alternating
between emerging and submerging episodes for most of the Holocene with high
environmental sensitivity (Fig. 5.3b). In other words, during the same period of
time one of them could be an emerging peat bog but the other a submerging one.
The point, in this sense, is to protect the Beta diversity. The substantial variability
of these parts of the landscape, with a definite intra-annual seasonality (Catalan
et al. 2013), convert the surrounding into places of extreme sensitivity, where
resilience seems not to exist. Changes occur from one day to the next, and cannot be
reversed. Therefore, the key is to adjudicate them in zones with maximum
protection.
5.3 Final Considerations
Environmental geohistory is a useful tool for the understanding and management of
natural systems in high-mountain areas. It contributes information at different scales
but acquires its greatest usefulness at mid-scale and in explaining differences in
various parts of the territory. High-mountain natural systems are sensitive to climate
change, but also to the human management that clearly had begun by the Neolithic,
became significant over the past three millennia, and were present everywhere
starting in the Middle Ages.
The examples provided show the following:
(1) The relationship between environmental geohistory researchers and environmental managers is essential. Incorporation of a long-term perspective is necessary to making decisions for the future. The error is found in attempts to
replicate the past because the choices made will always be arbitrarily based on a
point in time and space that cannot be repeated. Therefore, the past may be an
imperfect model for the future, but it is an essential consideration because it
reveals the possibilities for biodiversity.
(2) Policies for the restoration of a natural environment that are based on concepts
such as baseline, RNV, threshold, resilience, etc. are essential for theoretical
reflection but should not be either the key factor nor the excuse for
decision-making by managers. The modern key is found in the environmental
values that are to be conserved, which requires that the natural dynamic of the
5 The Role of Environmental Geohistory …
125
(2016), 110 species of vegetation have been identified in 35 inventories, of which
11 are designated as rare species. Their singularity is based on their presence in
ditches and borders, spaces where the humid ecosystem offers the most stressful
conditions.
Environmental geohistory helps us to think about whether it has always been this
way: How long ago was it a peat bog? What would be its dynamic? Does it make
sense to preserve or protect it? The study of local vegetation demonstrates the
extraordinary variability and mobility of the particular place. In this sense, the
ombrotrophic raised bog at Bassa Nera has functioned for 60 years, alternating
between emerging and submerging episodes for most of the Holocene with high
environmental sensitivity (Fig. 5.3b). In other words, during the same period of
time one of them could be an emerging peat bog but the other a submerging one.
The point, in this sense, is to protect the Beta diversity. The substantial variability
of these parts of the landscape, with a definite intra-annual seasonality (Catalan
et al. 2013), convert the surrounding into places of extreme sensitivity, where
resilience seems not to exist. Changes occur from one day to the next, and cannot be
reversed. Therefore, the key is to adjudicate them in zones with maximum
protection.
5.3 Final Considerations
Environmental geohistory is a useful tool for the understanding and management of
natural systems in high-mountain areas. It contributes information at different scales
but acquires its greatest usefulness at mid-scale and in explaining differences in
various parts of the territory. High-mountain natural systems are sensitive to climate
change, but also to the human management that clearly had begun by the Neolithic,
became significant over the past three millennia, and were present everywhere
starting in the Middle Ages.
The examples provided show the following:
(1) The relationship between environmental geohistory researchers and environmental managers is essential. Incorporation of a long-term perspective is necessary to making decisions for the future. The error is found in attempts to
replicate the past because the choices made will always be arbitrarily based on a
point in time and space that cannot be repeated. Therefore, the past may be an
imperfect model for the future, but it is an essential consideration because it
reveals the possibilities for biodiversity.
(2) Policies for the restoration of a natural environment that are based on concepts
such as baseline, RNV, threshold, resilience, etc. are essential for theoretical
reflection but should not be either the key factor nor the excuse for
decision-making by managers. The modern key is found in the environmental
values that are to be conserved, which requires that the natural dynamic of the
5 The Role of Environmental Geohistory …
125