| Title | Chapter 4. The Changing Status of Birch Trees in Finnish Forests from the Seventeenth to the Twentieth Century |
|---|---|
| Contributor | Seija A. Neimi (author) |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.3197/63824846758018.ch04 |
| Landing page | https://www.jstor.org/stable/jj.7193881.8 |
| License | https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/ |
| Copyright | The White Horse Press |
| Publisher | The White Horse Press |
| Published on | 2023-10-01 |
| Short abstract | This chapter illuminates the changing status of the birch tree, how the Finns have perceived it, and what have Finnish standards of environmental literacy have been from the seventeenth century to the twentieth century. |
| Long abstract | This chapter illuminates the changing status of the birch tree, how the Finns have perceived it, and what have Finnish standards of environmental literacy have been from the seventeenth century to the twentieth century. This period covers both pre-industrial and industrial socio-economic changes, from the ancient hunters and slash-and-burn cultivators to modern architecture, art and wood processing industries. Finland’s forests are relatively the largest in Europe: 86 % of the country’s surface is covered with the woods. The three most common tree species are pine, spruce and birch. The value of pine and spruce grew significantly when the wood processing industry began to use wood fibres in production, while birch has had its ups and downs which makes it an interesting tree to study. |
| Page range | pp. 48–72 |
| Print length | 25 pages |
| Language | English (Original) |
| Media | 8 illustrations |
| Landing Page | Full text URL | Platform | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| https://www.jstor.org/stable/jj.7193881.8 | Landing page | https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/jj.7193881.8.pdf | Full text URL | JSTOR |
Seija A. Niemi is an independent scholar. Her doctoral thesis (2018) discusses the Finnish-Swedish explorer and scientist Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld (1832–1901) and his place in the history of early Nordic conservation. Her publications include, for example, ‘Exploring environmental literacy from a historical perspective’, in Estelita Vaz, Cristina Joanaz de Melo and Ligia M. Costa Pinto (eds), Environmental History in the Making. Volume I: Explaining (New York: Springer, 2016) and ‘How fossils gave the first hints of climate change’, in Dolly Jörgensen and Sverker Sörlin (eds), Northscapes: History, Technology, and the Making of Northern Environments (Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press, 2013). Niemi’s other articles can be found in several scientific journals.