Verena Winiwarter | Alpen-Adria-Universität Klagenfurt (original) (raw)

Papers by Verena Winiwarter

Your article is protected by copyright and all rights are held exclusively by Springer Science +B... more Your article is protected by copyright and all rights are held exclusively by Springer Science +Business Media New York. This e-offprint is for personal use only and shall not be selfarchived in electronic repositories. If you wish to self-archive your article, please use the accepted manuscript version for posting on your own website. You may further deposit the accepted manuscript version in any repository, provided it is only made publicly available 12 months after official publication or later and provided acknowledgement is given to the original source of publication and a link is inserted to the published article on Springer's website. The link must be accompanied by the following text: "The final publication is available at link.springer.com".

EGU General Assembly Conference Abstracts, Apr 1, 2018

Science of The Total Environment, Dec 1, 2021

River systems have undergone a massive transformation since the Anthropocene. The natural propert... more River systems have undergone a massive transformation since the Anthropocene. The natural properties of river systems have been drastically altered and reshaped, limiting the use of management frameworks, their scientific knowledge base and their ability to provide adequate solutions for current problems and those of the future, such as climate change, biodiversity crisis and increased demands for water resources. To address these challenges, a socioecologically driven research agenda for river systems that complements current approaches is needed and proposed. The implementation of the concepts of social metabolism and the colonisation of natural systems into existing concepts can provide a new basis to analyse the coevolutionary coupling of social systems with ecological and hydrological (i.e., 'socio-ecohydrological') systems within rivers. To operationalize this research agenda, we highlight four initial core topics defined as research clusters (RCs) to address specific system properties in an integrative manner. The colonisation of natural systems by social systems is seen as a significant driver of the transformation processes in river systems. These transformation processes are influenced by connectivity (RC 1), which primarily addresses biophysical aspects and governance (RC 2), which focuses on the changes in social systems. The metabolism (RC 3) and vulnerability (RC 4) of the social and natural systems are significant aspects of the coupling of social systems and ecohydrological systems with investments, energy, resources, services and associated risks and impacts. This socio-ecohydrological research agenda complements other recent approaches, such as 'socio-ecological', 'socio-hydrological' or 'socio-geomorphological' systems, by focusing on the coupling of social systems with natural systems in rivers and thus, by viewing the socioeconomic features of river systems as being just as important as their natural characteristics. The proposed research agenda builds on interdisciplinarity and transdisciplinarity and requires the implementation of such programmes into the education of a new generation of river system scientists, managers and engineers who are aware of the transformation processes and the coupling between systems.

White Horse Press eBooks, 2010

1.Soils, Soil Knowledge, and Environmental History: An Introduction (J.R. McNeill and Verena Wini... more 1.Soils, Soil Knowledge, and Environmental History: An Introduction (J.R. McNeill and Verena Winiwarter) 2. Nutrient Flows in Pre-Modern Agriculture in Europe (Robert S. Shiel) 3. Exploitation and Conservation of Soil in the 3000-Year Agricultural and Forestry History of South Asia (R.J. Wasson) 4. A Soils History of Mesoamerica and the Caribbean Islands (Tim Beach, Sheryl Luzzadder-Beach and Nicholas Dunning) 5. Wetlands as the Intersection of Soils, Water, and Indigenous Human Society in the Americas (Sheryl Luzzadder-Beach and Tim Beach) 6. A History of African Soil: Perceptions, Use and Abuse (Kate B. Showers) 7. Prolegomena to a History of Soil Knowledge in Europe (Verena Winiwarter) 8. Nutrient Flows in Pre-Modern Agriculture in Europe (Robert S Shiel) 9. Human Interaction with Soil-Sediment Systems in Australia (R.J. Wasson) 10.The Dynamics of Soil, Landscape and Culture on Easter Island (Andreas Mieth and Hans-Rudolf Bork) 11. Know Your Soil: Transitions in Farmers' and Scientists' Knowledge in Germany (Frank Uekoetter).

Contributing Authors and Commentators: Barben Daniel, Cont in Marco, Cut ura Marij a, Domany Brun... more Contributing Authors and Commentators: Barben Daniel, Cont in Marco, Cut ura Marij a, Domany Bruno, Dorondel St efan, Egner Heike, Gaj ski Goran, Garcia-Sant os Glenda, Gueorguiev Tzvetel in, Hart l Mart ina, Hein Thomas, Hudecz Ferenc, Ivan Oana, Jelen Igor, Jungmeier Michael, Kopl iku Bresena, Laci Sabri, Lenhardt Mirj ana, Tamáska Mát é David, Mihalca Andrei, Miho Aleko, Papp Leila, Pet rovic Ana, Pont Didier, Pop Ana-Maria, Popova Jul iana, Sandu Crist ina, Sendzimir Jan, Šmid Hribar Mat ej a, St oica Georget a, St öglehner Gernot , Tabakovic Momir, Terzic Aleksandra, Torkar Gregor, Žlender Vita, Zoj er Hans

<p>Societies use material and energy resources to build up, maintain and utilize long-lasti... more <p>Societies use material and energy resources to build up, maintain and utilize long-lasting structures such as buildings, infrastructures or machinery, and in the process release huge amounts of wastes and emissions. While in 1900 less than a quarter of all material use served to build up new material stocks, this fraction is now ~60% globally. Nexus approaches provide useful heuristics for interdisciplinary analyses of (un)sustainable resource use and the potentials and limitations of societal agency for interventions. Such a nexus can be conceptualized between different resources (e.g. land, materials, energy, or water), between biophysical stocks and flows involved in social metabolism, and the services and contributions to human well-being they provide. The novel concept of a stock-flow-service nexus explicitly recognizes the diverse and potentially conflicting purposes of resource use (e.g. products, services), thereby enriching concepts of “eco-efficiency”. At the same time, its applicability is in some contexts reduced by its dependence on the valuation of services, which has been subject to controversy and debate. Focusing on relationships between stocks, flows and practices, e.g. linkages between the routines of everyday life and the consumption of resources such as materials and energy, the complementary approach of a “stock-flow-practice” nexus avoids some of these challenges. Building on prominent theories of practice, especially those that have gained traction in consumption research, it offers a new conceptual basis for engaging with human agency and its implications for resource use. Both nexus approaches emphasize the key role of patterns of material stocks (e.g., settlement patterns, transport or production infrastructures, machinery) in shaping the (un)sustainability of resource use and the importance of services- and practice-oriented efforts to reshape these patterns when aiming to tackle the present sustainability crisis. In this presentation, we discuss how these two complementary nexus approaches can serve as heuristic models for interdisciplinary sustainability research, sketch the different conceptual and empirical research directions each of these two approaches inspires, and reflect on their importance for conceptualizing agency.</p>

Die Geschichtsschreibung hat den Veränderungen der Umwelt durch die Menschen bis in die letzten J... more Die Geschichtsschreibung hat den Veränderungen der Umwelt durch die Menschen bis in die letzten Jahrzehnte des 20. Jahrhunderts hinein wenig Bedeutung beigemessen. Erst danach hat sich - auch als Reaktion auf zunehmende Umweltprobleme - das Fachgebiet der Umweltgeschichte entwickelt. Das Studienbuch bietet zum ersten Mal einen interdisziplinären Überblick über den Forschungsstand der Umweltgeschichte und eine Einführung in ihre Themen und Methoden. Es setzt keine speziellen Vorkenntnisse voraus und richtet sich vor allem an Studierende der Fächer Geschichte, Biologie, Ökologie, Geographie und Agrarwissenschaften.

Natur, Umwelt, Nachhaltigkeit, 2021

Das Ende der Fläche, 2006

Page 1. Rolf Peter Sieferle, Fridolin Krausmann, Heinz Schandl, Verena Winiwarter Das Ende der Fl... more Page 1. Rolf Peter Sieferle, Fridolin Krausmann, Heinz Schandl, Verena Winiwarter Das Ende der Fläche Zum gesellschaftlichen Stoffwechsel der Industrialisierung 2006 BÖHLAU VERLAG KÖLN WEIMAR WIEN Page 2. Inhalt 1. Vorwort 1 ...

Water History, 2009

past water management and social relations to water use have become increasingly relevant to our ... more past water management and social relations to water use have become increasingly relevant to our understanding of future scenarios of water use. Second, recently many research findings demonstrating high-quality scholarship on water history have been published in diverse journals. While the recent publication of some of these articles focused on water history suggests that the field is expanding in both size and scope, it also shows that the field is still lacking a central point of focus. The interdisciplinary field of water history will be able to develop further through a medium solely dedicated to publishing the best of this new scholarship. The value human societies place on water-for life, domestic use, economic production, and spirituality-has led all civilizations to manipulate water flows (

Écrire l’histoire environnementale au xxie siècle

The Journal of Interdisciplinary History, 2017

The English Agricultural Revolution began during a period of climate change in which temperatures... more The English Agricultural Revolution began during a period of climate change in which temperatures decreased significantly. Lower temperatures meant less bacterial activity, a slower release of mineral nitrogen into cultivated soils, and a shorter growing season for crops—a combination that tended to diminish yields. The English farmers reacted by increasing the flow of organic matter and manure into the soil, thus mitigating the negative effect of the colder temperatures to some extent. When the temperatures rose again, the faster mineralization of soil organic matter led to bountiful yields that encouraged English farmers to continue with these innovative strategies. The upshot is that the English agricultural revolution was more a discovery than an invention, that the English agricultural revolution was more a discovery than an invention, induced by a combination of climate challenges, social and institutional settings, and market incentives.

Umwelt- und Bioressourcenmanagement für eine nachhaltige Zukunftsgestaltung, 2019

Die Umweltdebatte hat in den westlichen Industriestaaten erst seit den 1960er-und 1970er-Jahren e... more Die Umweltdebatte hat in den westlichen Industriestaaten erst seit den 1960er-und 1970er-Jahren ernsthaft Fuß fassen können. Dafür gab es mehrere Auslöser: ein wachsendes Umweltbewusstsein infolge größerer technischer Unfälle, ein schleichenderzunächst teilweise kaum sichtbarer-Prozess der ökologischen Degradation, Gesundheitsgefährdungen sowie die Entstehung global wirksamer Problemlagen durch technisches Handeln. Die Diskussionen der Umweltbewegung und-politik erreichten auch die Philosophie. Seit den 1970er-Jahren entwickelte sich eine neue Bereichsethik, die Umweltethik. Sie baut auf traditionellen ethischen Konzeptionen auf und fragt nach ethisch-moralischer Orientierung für das menschliche Umwelthandeln. Stellvertretend dafür stellt dieser Beitrag die Ethikkonzeption von Immanuel Kant sowie die Verantwortungs-und Zukunftsethik von Hans Jonas in Hinblick auf die Entwicklung umweltethischer Ansätze vor. Abschließend folgt ein knapper Ausblick auf die Breite der umweltethischen Debatte.

Winter after winter, hundreds of thousands of skiers visit Alpine communities to experience bodil... more Winter after winter, hundreds of thousands of skiers visit Alpine communities to experience bodilymediated landscape sensations. Studying Damüls, a well-known ski resort in Austria's westernmost province Vorarlberg, we can show that both massive economic growth and massive interventions into Alpine landscapes accompanied winter tourism development. We narrate the environmental history of Damüls over 200 years by analysing strategies of commodification of »nature« and property rights, shedding light on the potentials and pitfalls of sustainable development of remote Alpine communities when they draw their income from winter tourism. The paper investigates how inhabitants dealt with changing environmental and economic conditions in a pre-industrial era. Settlers experienced resource limitations typical for an agrarian society. When the valleys were industrialized, Damüls nearly vanished as a permanent settlement. Then, tourists entered the stage, turning the wheel of local development into a different direction in several steps. Travel writers and photographers had integrated Damüls into the mental topography of urban leisure seekers in the 19 th century. A romantic tourist gaze of Damüls developed. From the 1930s onwards, federal authorities discovered the economic power of tourism to improve national trade balances and fostered the tourism transformation. While the impact of tourism was modest in the interwar years due to limited capital and energy availability, these limitations were lifted when the '1950s syndrome' arrived. This third step was characterized by a massive building boom, influencing even inherited property rights. Ski lifts, hotels, roads and later snow systems and ski slope-buildings mushroomed, providing comfortable access to snow-secure Alpine landscapes. The maintenance of this infrastructure requires energy and capital investments, leading to material and energy flows that depend on the availability of cheap energy in large amounts. Agrarian Damüls produced a very modest surplus, depending on available labour input. Touristic Damüls gobbles up energy to provide for tourists leading to a much greater economic gain, but with a considerable impact on natural systems. A sustainable future of Alpine settlements requires new forms of dealing with Alpine nature, forms that are less dependent on the industrialized, globalized system of mobility of people, energy and matter that leads to greenhouse gas emissions, pollution and habitat destruction.

Historia Ambiental Latinoamericana y Caribeña (HALAC) revista de la Solcha, 2020

The 3rd World Congress of Environmental History, held in Florianópolis, Brazil had the theme: “Co... more The 3rd World Congress of Environmental History, held in Florianópolis, Brazil had the theme: “Convergences: The Global South and the Global North in the Era of Great Acceleration”. The short paper gives an overview of the rewards such congresses can bring. It specifically deals with the plenary talks by Robert Billot and Brigitte Baptiste, highlights the role of scholarly co-operation and makes a case for the opportunity offered by such congresses to review the environment of the hosting country, for which the plenary roundtables, the excursions, and field trips and comparative panels are referred to as examples. World congresses might have an environmental cost, but they do provide unique opportunities for scholarly exchange, in terms of themes, methods, conceptual approaches, and sources used. Behaving in an environmentally conscious way but at the same time enabling and fostering international and intergenerational exchange is a challenge that will have to be taken up in the fut...