Quantifying Historic Human Impacts on Forest Environments: A Case Study in Białowieża Forest, Poland

Białowieża Forest, Europe's last primeval lowland forest, has experienced significant anthropogenic disturbance over 1,800 years. A study quantifying these impacts found that by the late 18th century, 9.5% of a 200 sq km area was entirely deforested, while 33.5% was moderately or strongly altered, leaving only 57% untouched. Naturalness declined from 73.5% to 54.5% during this period. The research used a combination of field surveys, archaeological excavations, and historical documents to estimate disturbance strength and durability, developing a conceptual framework applicable to other forest landscapes.

Samojlik, T., Rotherham, I. D., & Jędrzejewska, B. (2013). Quantifying Historic Human Impacts on Forest Environments: A Case Study in Białowieża Forest, Poland. Environmental History, 18(3), 576–602. https://doi.org/10.1093/envhis/emt039