A Quantitative Assessment of Buffers among Temperature Variations, Livestock, and the Human Population of Iceland, 1784 to 1900 |
| |
| Authors: | Daniel E Vasey |
| |
| Institution: | (1) Program in Cross-Cultural Studies, Divine Word College, Epworth, Iowa, 52045 |
| |
| Abstract: | In this study two statistical techniques were used to assess buffers within the farm food chain in late preindustrial Iceland. Both methods arrived at similar quantitative assessments. The chain's tangible links were grass, livestock, and the human population, but it began with temperature, the primary determinant of grass yield and a proxy for grass yield in this study. The buffers were large in spite of the marginal nature of cattle, sheep, and horse farming in the subarctic climate, and the poverty of much of the population. One method of study involved comparison of livestock reductions and human population decrease in seven crises between 1784 and 1888, with attention to temperature data for crises after 1823, when continuous systematic meteorological observations began. The other method is time-series analysis using temperature observations, livestock counts which began in 1817, and several human demographic variables. The discussion focuses on likely buffers, notably alternative sources of winter fodder for livestock and of food for the human population. |
| |
| Keywords: | temperature variation livestock human population Iceland 1784– 1900 |
| 本文献已被 SpringerLink 等数据库收录！ |
|
