Med historien i handen - att använda historisk karta vid planering av skogliga åtgärder

Abstract: A great majority of the forests of Sweden have, throughout history, been used by humans in different ways. This has left traces, in the shape of historical remains. These are protected by Swedish law, but they are still often harmed in Swedish forestry. The planner of forest operations is a key player in the preservation of these historical remains, since they are responsible for finding and identifying these remains as well as making sure the information reaches the next step in the forestry chain. The planner has many different tools to his or hers disposal, when trying to find historical remains. One of which are old historical maps. The purpose with this study is to examine the use of historical maps in different Swedish forest companies. Another aspect studied were whether the use of historical maps in the planning of forest operations might help the preservation of historical remains. The study was divided into two parts – an interview study and a field study. Eight planners from the forestry companies SCA, Holmen, Weda and Mellanskog were interviewed. The field study involved four planners from the company Stora Enso who all planned the same area. Two of them had access to historical maps over the area, two had not. In general, historical maps are not established planning tools in any of the planners’ workplaces. Most of the planners had met historical maps in their work but only a few used them regularly. In order to increase the use of historical maps, they need to be digitalized and incorporated into the planners’ field computers. In the field study, the planners with access to historical maps moved differently over the area than those without. The planners with historical maps took longer time and walked further, but they also identified more historical remains than those without the historical map. Having access to the historical maps also affected how the planners interpreted the area. In conclusion, the study showed that historical maps, correctly used, is a useful tool when trying to find and identify historical remains.