Anna Westin

I am interested in the relationship between humans and nature from a historical perspective. Historical land use occurs in close interaction with local ecosystems. The landscape has determined the conditions for what could be done — for example, which areas were suitable for arable farming, haymaking, or grazing. But humans have also influenced and modified the landscapes and their biological diversity. Detailed knowledge is often required about both land use, species requirements, and how they relate to human activities. Understanding the links between land use and biodiversity can contribute new insights into both history and ecology. This knowledge is highly relevant for the management of valuable natural areas that have been shaped by, and still require, traditional land use. Therefore, this research is also highly relevant for cultural heritage conservation, particularly biological cultural heritage.

My research takes place at the intersection of agrarian history and ecology, integrating academic and traditional knowledge. Historical sources are combined with fieldwork on historical and ongoing land use, as well as biodiversity and biological cultural heritage. The agrarian historical aspect focuses on human subsistence, the use of, and impact on, the landscape, primarily based on historical maps and farmers' diaries. Through fieldwork, I mainly study biological cultural heritage in different landscapes across Sweden — for example, in open meadows and pastures, forest grazing areas, reindeer grazing lands, historical roads, and roadside environments. I am also involved in projects studying traditional cultural landscapes in Romania and North Macedonia.

2025

Lennartsson T, Westin A. 2025. Biologiskt kulturarv i vägbyggnadsprojekt: Fallstudie av väg 288 i Uppsala län, etapp Gimo-Börstil 2020-2024. Trafikverket rapport 2025:078

Westin A, Lennartsson T. 2025. Biologiskt kulturarv i vägar och järnvägar. Trafikverket Temablad Skapa.

2024

Madry S, Westin A, Jones EA (eds.). 2024. Practicing historical ecology: Methods for the collection, analysis and integration of interdisciplinary historical data. CBMs skriftserie 130. SLU Centrum för biologisk mångfald. 

Westin A, Madry S, Jones EA. 2024. Historical documents and records. Chapter 2 in S Madry, A Westin, E Jones. Practicing historical ecology: Methods for the collection, analysis and integration of interdisciplinary historical data, p. 34-67.

Westin A, Gustavsson E, Lennartsson T. 2024. Biological cultural heritage : using biology as a source to history. Chapter 3 in S Madry, A Westin, E Jones (Eds.). Practicing historical ecology: Methods for the collection, analysis and integration of interdisciplinary historical data, p. 68-99.

Tunón H, Westin A, Ivașcu C. 2024. Ethnobotany : The academic study of our relationship with plants. Chapter 7 in S Madry, A Westin, E Jones (Eds.). Practicing historical ecology: Methods for the collection, analysis and integration of interdisciplinary historical data, p. 160-192.

Lennartsson T, Axelsson-Linkowski W, Wissman J, Westin A. 2024. Träd vid vägen : Vägträds och alléers natur- och kulturmiljövärden. CBM:s skriftserie 131. SLU Centrum för biologisk mångfald.

2023

Lennartsson T, Axelsson Linkowski W, Wissman J, Westin A, m fl. 2023. Roadside habitats and biodiversity conservation - a literature review with focus on vascular plants and arthropods. SLU Swedish Biodiversity Centre
CBM:s skriftserie nr 126

Lennartsson T, Westin A. 2023. Fältgentianans historiska ekologi i Uppland. Historisk markanvändning på nuvarande lokaler. SLU Centrum för biologisk mångfald. CBM:s skriftserie nr 123

Lennartsson T, Tunón H, Ljung T, Westin A. 2023. Kulturprägel i fjällnära skog. Stockholm: Riksantikvarieämbetet.

2022

Westin A, Lennartsson T, Ljung T. 2022. Skogsbeten och bondeskogar: historia, ekologi, natur- och kulturmiljövård. Riksantikvarieämbetet

2021

Lennartsson T, Westin A. 2021. Skötselplanering i skogsbetesmarker : vägledning. Riksantikvarieämbetet

2020

Axelsson-Linkowski W. Fjellström A-M, Sandström C, Westin A, Östlund L, Moen. J. 2020. Shifting Strategies between Generations in Sami Reindeer Husbandry: the Challenges of Maintaining Traditions while Adapting to a Changing Context. Human Ecology (2020) 48:481–490. 

2019

Johansen L, Westin A, Wehn S, Iuga A, Ivascu CM, Kallioniemi E, Lennartsson T. 2019. Traditional semi-natural grassland management with heterogeneous mowing times enhances flower resources for pollinators in agricultural landscapes. Global Ecology and Conservation 18 (2019) e00619.

Lennartsson T, Westin A. 2019. Ängar och slåtter: Historia, ekologi, natur- och kulturmiljövård. CBM, Riksantikvarieämbetet, Naturvårdsverket.

Helldin JO, Lennartsson T, Stenmark M, Weibull H, Westin A & Wissman J. 2019. Biodiversitet i jernbanehabitater – biologisk kulturarv og grøn infrastruktur [Biodiversity in railway habitats – biological heritage and green infrastructure]. Jernbanehistorie 2019, sid. 7-35. Danmarks Jernbanemuseum, Odense.

2018

Crumley C, Lennartsson T, Westin A (eds.) 2018. Issues and Concepts in Historical Ecology - The Past and Future of Landscapes and Regions. Cambridge University Press.

Westin A, Lennartsson T, Björklund J.-O. 2018. The historical ecology approach in species conservation – Identifying suitable habitat management for the endangered Clouded Apollo butterfly (Parnassius mnemosyne L.) in Sweden. AIMS Environmental Science 5 (4): 244-272; DOI: 10.3934/environsci.2018.4.244

2017

Westin A. Lennartsson T. 2017. Tvärvetenskaplig källpluralistisk metod för att förstå landskap. En historisk-ekologisk undersökning av betet på Filehajdar - en gotländsk utmark. CBMs skriftserie 104, Uppsala

Axelsson Linkowski W, Kvarnström M, Westin A, Moen J, Östlund L. 2017. Wolf and bear depredation on livestock in northern Sweden 1827–2014: combining history, ecology and interviews. Land 2017, 6, 63; doi:10.3390/land6030063

Westin A, Isacson M, Lennartsson T. 2017. Land and labour as resources of an integrated peasant economy in a Swedish mining district during the 1860´s great famine. In: A. Panjek, J. Larsson, Mocarelli L (eds), Integrated Peasant Economy in a Comparative Perspective. Alps, Scandinavia, and Beyond. Koper: University of Primorska Press, pp 309-332.

2016

Lennartsson T, Westin A, Iuga A, Jones E, Madry S, Murray S, Gustavsson E. 2016. “The Meadow is the Mother of the Field” Comparing Transformations in Hay Production in Three European Agroecosystems. Martor 21: 103-126.

2015

Lennartsson L, Westin A, Erikson M, Flygare I A, Isacson M, Morell M. 2015. Between nature and society – interpretation of an early 19th century farmer’s diary. Agricultural History Review 63(2):265-285.

Eriksson O, Bolmgren K, Westin A, Lennartsson T. 2015. Historic hay cutting dates from Sweden 1873-1951 and their implications for conservation management of species-rich meadows. Biological conservation 184: 100-107.

2013

Kardell Ö, Dahlström [Westin] A. 2013. Wolves in the early nineteenth century county of Jönköping, Sweden. Environment and History (19):339-370

Dahlström [Westin] A, Iuga AM, Lennartsson T. 2013. Managing biodiversity rich hay meadows in the EU: a comparison of Swedish and Romanian grasslands. Environmental conservation, Oxford U.P.

Stenqvist Milde Y. Lennartsson T. Dahlström [Westin] A. 2013. Biologiskt kulturarv vitaliserar vägforskningen. In: Pettersson Jensen I-M, Berg Nilsson L & Karlsson C. Berättelser från markerna – En antologi om järn, skog och kulturarv. (Eds). Skrifter från Bergslagens medeltidsmuseum 1. 225-232