Browsing by Author "Schulz, Torsti"

In this thesis I study the end of meadow-based agriculture in the village of Nummenpää in the municipality Nurmijärvi from the 19th century to the mid 20th century. My primary source materials are historical maps of the region and the original survey forms of past agricultural censuses. I also appraise the utility of these materials for historical ecological research and the study of long term changes. I digitized agricultural land use from historical maps and analyzed changes in land use by comparing maps from different time periods. The agricultural census records were analyzed with logistic regression to determine characteristics of farms relating to the presence of meadows. Meadows had lost their role in agricultural production in Nummenpää before 1920, somewhat earlier than in Nurmijärvi on average. Between 1870 and 1930 most of the meadows had been ploughed into fields. Of meado land that had been meadow already at the turn of the century only a few percent remained in 1930. Farms in Nummenpää had not yet differentiated into specialized crop production or animal husbandry during the study period, but mechanization proceeded and more emphasis was placed on cattle and dairy production. There was insufficient variability between farms to determine properties that could be associated with the end of the agricultural use of meadows. It is also possible, that meadows lost their role so early that there was no longer a clear link to the agricultural economy. The census records and maps used in the study did not have sufficient temporal coverage and resolution to permit me to determine the dynamics of landscape change associated with the end of the meadow-based agriculture nor the factors driving the change. The separate analysis of map and census data was not conducive to linking socioeconomic change to landscape change. Nonetheless, I maintain that the source materials used in the study, and other similar materials, are well suited for historical ecological research. The materials must be evaluated critically from a historical perspective and the analysis should integrate the distinct sources. By utilizing appropriate spatiotemporal models it should be possible to reach more interesting conclusions and reduce the impact of uncertainty and imprecision inherent in the materials.