Courses / Module

We are aware that the ecological environment is changing and that humans are the cause of much of that change; but, our perspective of human driven environmental change is often very recent. A longer term perspective is vital as change has been ongoing throughout the Holocene.
We will explore such questions as: What impact did hunter gatherers have on megaherbivores such as the woolly mammoth? What were the impacts of the first farmers? Did these early impacts change climate as well as ecology? How did medieval and post medieval human populations change landscapes and what did this mean for biodiversity?
The first part of this module will focus on long-term ecological change via palaeoecological approaches. We will examine and critique how we use pollen and other microfossils to investigate ecological and environmental change in the last c.11500 years.
We will then examine the major ecological changes that have taken place; developing an understanding of both natural and human-driven changes in the landscape, as well as their impact and implications for the future. We will discuss applications of palaeoecological results to; climate change, nature conservation, land management options, and proposals for rewilding.