What wetlands can teach us: reconstructing historical water-management systems and their present-day importance through GIScience
Rowin J. Van Lanen & Menne C. Kosian
Water History
ISSN 1877-7236
Water Hist DOI 10.1007/s12685-020-00251-7
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Water History https://doi.org/10.1007/s12685-020-00251-7
What wetlands can teach us: reconstructing historical water‑management systems and their present‑day importance through GIScience
Rowin J. Van Lanen1,2 · Menne C. Kosian3
Received: 29 April 2019 / Accepted: 26 June 2020 © Springer Nature B.V. 2020
Abstract Wetland environments are amongst the most dynamic landscapes of Europe. Because of their distinct geomorphological characteristics, they are strongly susceptible for changes in climate, demography, economy and politics. At the same time, these regions refect areas of long-term human-landscape interactions and outstanding preservation conditions. Large parts of the northern and western Netherlands can be regarded as typical examples of such wetlands. After becoming covered by vast peat marshes over time, these areas were largely reclaimed during the last millennium, which has resulted in a typical landscape consist- ing of polders and elaborate water-management systems (e.g. canals, dikes, fenlands). This is especially true for the western wetlands, which also are part of the delta of two of the largest European rivers, the Rhine and Meuse. In this area, processes of fooding, fuvial activity and sea-level changes have greatly infuenced the landscape, resulting in a very dynamic environment for local inhabitants. Already in the Middle Ages (ad 1050– 1500), elaborate organisations and hydraulic systems were set up in these parts in order to ensure water safety and promote water drainage. Through time, these organisations, the so-called waterboards, have greatly infuenced the spatial layout of these wetlands and, in doing so, collected huge amounts of data on water management. For the frst time, recent digital developments in geosciences and humanities allow us to diachronically unravel the complex interplay between natural and cultural dynamics in such wetlands. In this paper, we present a Historical Geographical Information System (HGIS) designed for modelling heritage in wetland areas. The HGIS specifcally focuses on water-management systems in the wetlands of the western Netherlands. We show that (1) our HGIS and GIScience- methodology facilitates an integrated and multi-proxy approach towards studying historical water-management systems, and (2) the developed system is highly suited for unravelling the complex interplay and interdependencies between drainage systems, waterboards and engineering works. Additionally, it becomes clear that by combining information on the past with the present, the HGIS is an extremely useful tool for modern-day policymaking facing future challenges.
Keywords Wetlands · Historical water-management systems · Historical geographical information systems (HGIS) · Historical maps and archival data · Giscience
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R. J. Van Lanen, M. C. Kosian
Fig. 1 Division of low-lying Holocene and relatively higher Pleistocene soils in the present- day Netherlands
Introduction
The present-day importance of wetlands has been underlined by several international trea- ties: e.g. the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, the Ramsar Convention and the Kyoto Protocol (for more information see: Reference section). Additionally, there is also an increasing awareness of the heritage values these areas refect through their excellent preservation conditions and long-term history of human-landscape interaction (e.g. Van Beek et al. 2015). Large parts of the Netherlands can be regarded as typical wet- land areas. Situated in the north-western part of the European mainland, the country is a generally low-lying coastal and fuvial region. It can be divided between dynamic Holo- cene soils in the west and north, and generally more stable, higher Pleistocene soils in the south and east (Fig. 1). Throughout the Holocene, this landscape has developed through dynamic interactions between to natural and cultural processes (e.g. Stouthamer and Ber- endsen 2000; Stouthamer and Berendsen 2007; Vos 2015; Stouthamer et al. 2015; Pierik 2017). Because of its low-lying nature, small rises in sea or groundwater levels during the Holocene have resulted in signifcantly wetter conditions. Consequently, during the Holo- cene large scale marshes and bogs developed and continued to expand in the coastal areas and later more land inwards. By ca. 7000–6000 cal. bc, substantial parts of the western and northern Netherlands became overgrown by peat (Petzelberger et al. 1999; Vos 2015). Initial forcing factors behind these increasingly wetter landscapes were natural, such as precipitation surplus, poor drainage and, especially near the coast, rising sea levels. How- ever, from the Iron Age (800–12 bc) onwards, human interactions with the natural land- scape became increasingly important. In peat areas, human modifcations such as drainage
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(mainly for agricultural activities) led to land subsidence due to continuous soil oxidation (Vos and Van Heeringen 1997; Van Tielhof and Van Dam 2006; De Bont 2008). In other parts, deforestation contributed to groundwater level rises (e.g. Buishand and Velds 1980; Dolman 1988; Bork et al. 1998, 2003; Spek 2004; Groenewoudt et al. 2007; Erkens 2009). First human impacts had a primarily local scale. Mires and bogs continued to cover vast parts of the Netherlands, creating very inaccessible and inhabitable environments (Van Lanen et al. 2015, 2016; Van Lanen 2017; Vos et al. 2018). This situation remained more or less unchanged until the tenth to twelfth centuries when the frst large-scale land rec- lamation started in the western Netherlands (e.g. Van de Ven 2003; De Bont 2008; Abra- hamse et al. 2012). From that moment onward, what is now often regarded as the typical ‘Dutch landscape’ consisting of dikes and polders (so-called: Veenweide; fenlands) started to develop. In this paper, we defne ‘polders’ as a (often reclaimed) tract of land with its own localized water-management system. Current wetlands in the Netherlands are characterized by this long history of human- landscape interaction. This is especially true for the wetlands of the western Netherlands, which, besides being reclaimed very early, are also part of the delta of the Rhine and Meuse (Figs. 2, 3). In this paper we will focus on these western wetlands, which are roughly
Fig. 2 The research area just before the start of the great reclamations (ca. ad 800). The green areas are the river basins of the Rhine system with the river Vecht to the north, and the river Lek in the south. The orange areas in the east are the higher grounds of the ice-pushed ridges and in the west yellow depicts the sea barrier (dunes). The extensive peat area is depicted in brown. Adapted from: Vos et al. (2018) 1 3 Author's personal copy
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Fig. 3 Overview of the study area (red framework), including place names (in bold), landscape regions, provinces (in capitals) and important watercourses (in italic) mentioned in the text located in the present-day provinces of Noord- and Zuid-Holland (between the river Lek in the south and river IJ in the North; Figs. 2, 3). Human impact on the natural landscape in this area has been signifcant and not without consequences. During reclamation, canals were dug deep into the marshes in order to drain them of water and increase their agricul- tural potential. However, since these peatlands consisted mainly of water, draining them often resulted in severe soil subsidence (Van de Ven 2003; Willemse 2018). This subsiding in turn increased the risk of fooding in these areas. As a result, over time local inhabitants have designed elaborate technical and organisational water-management systems in order to preserve the balance between agricultural activities and water safety. Many of these sys- tems have greatly infuenced the layout of the landscape, and it is not uncommon that some them (at least in part) remain in function until today. Consequently, knowledge on these systems not only improves our understanding of past human-landscape interactions and the heritage value of these landscapes, but can also help to improve present-day governance and policymaking. However, unravelling these water-management systems and the com- plex interplay between cultural and natural factors behind them is challenging. In this paper we present a tool which has been specifcally designed to spatially analyse water-management systems in wetland areas using an integrated approach. By applying a Historical Geographical Information System (HGIS; for more information see section “Modern environmental challenges, HGIS and GIScience”) on water-management systems in the western Netherlands, we help to unravel the diachronic complexity behind the devel- opment of these wetlands. The main focus of this paper is methodological: presenting a
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What wetlands can teach us: reconstructing historical… new method to spatially analyse wetlands by means of GIScience (compare section “Mod- ern environmental challenges, HGIS and GIScience). Through the developed HGIS it was possible to integrate archival data, historical and recent maps and historical information. Additionally, we explore the implementation potential of the presented method for both academic application and modern-day policymaking regarding heritage preservation and future (environmental) challenges.
Modern environmental challenges, HGIS and GIScience
Fuelled by climate change, weather extremes are becoming more common in the Neth- erlands, often causing a variety of especially water-related challenges (Deltaprogramma 2018). Amongst these challenges are: (1) nationally: increased heavy rainfall and shifts in seasonal precipitation, (2) internationally: more frequent heavy snowfall in Central Europa and the Alpine region causing excesses in river discharges and (3) nationally: ris- ing sea levels impeding excess river discharge to the sea. However, weather extremes also include periods of relative droughts, which in turn result in water shortage. Consequently, deltaic areas such as our study region are increasingly forced to fnd a balance between water drainage and storage. They need to adapt and design preventive measures against periods of foods, droughts and other related phenomena (e.g. soil subsidence or the drying out of dikes). Maintaining this precarious balance requires a multi-scale approach and is only possible through the cooperation of several governmental bodies (e.g. state, provinces and municipalities). This is especially difcult in our study area, because the present-day landscape consists out of numerous elements related to age-old water-management such as past dikes and channels. Modern adaptation strategies therefore require knowledge on past water-management systems in order to build on historical solutions. The HGIS presented in this paper is designed as a tool to diachronically analyse these systems in order to, amongst other, help provide (spatial) information to these diferent governmental bodies. This way, the HGIS, in combination with other information sources, aids the integration of historical water-management systems into modern-day adaptation strategies (e.g. RCE 2018, 2019; Fig. 4). For more information on the potential use of GIS for climate-adaptation strategies and policymaking in the Netherlands, see Kosian and Van Lanen (2019); for a view and exploration on using GIScience on historical water-management systems see Kosian and Van Lanen (2018). The HGIS presented in this paper is designed in line with theories originating from His- torical Geographical Information Science. This interdisciplinary feld of research applies methods from Geographical Information Systems (GIS) in order to design custom-made spatial analyses for integrated historical research (e.g. Ell and Gregory 2001; Knowles 2005; Gregory and Healey 2007). The HGIS approach is well suited for our research ques- tions, because it emphasizes the role of spatial context and relationships in understanding the dynamics and consequences of historical systems and events (Von Lünen and Travis 2012). Typical characteristics of HGIS specifcally suiting historical research are: data management, multi-layer data integration, spatial statistics, illustration possibilities and spatial analyses. These characteristics makes a HGIS well suited for integrating spatial and non-spatial data pertaining to specifc historical events and creating integrated overviews of multiple sources. Geographical Information Science (GIScience) is best defned as the scientifc dis- cipline that studies data structures and computational techniques in order to analyse, 1 3 Author's personal copy
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Fig. 4 The Manual Water, Herit- age and Environment, developed and printed by the Cultural Herit- age Agency of the Netherlands. A typical example of an informa- tion brochure on how to integrate heritage and historical knowledge into present-day socio-political issues (in English)
process and visualize geographical information (Duckham et al. 2004; Goodchild 2009). It difers from traditional GIS, because it focuses more on the analyses and interpretation of spatial data and less on the visualisation or representation (e.g. Good- child 2010). Within GIScience, traditional GIS is regarded merely as a tool set, which by itself lacks the conceptual frameworks for scientifc analyses. In this paper, we are applying a newly-developed method, which combines elements from Historical Geo- graphical Information Science and GIScience in order to use GIS tooling for multi- proxy and integrated analyses of historical and present-day water-management data.
Materials and methods
Our HGIS is specifcally designed to integrate multiple data sources, such as histori- cal, modern, quantitative and qualitative information. In this section, we outline the diferent types of data (historical and spatial) used in the HGIS and the methods devel- oped to integrate them. First, data on the earliest forms of water management and their development through time are presented. Second, historical and modern spatial data, which form the base of the HGIS, are presented. The section is concluded with a tech- nical overview of the HGIS, including its design and data content.
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Literature data
Historical water-management data were gathered through a literature study and used as a spatiotemporal framework for periodization and the spatial data in the HGIS. The study area is characterized by the presence of smaller and larger waterways and peat marshes. As early as ca. ad 1000, inhabitants began to drain these marshes for mainly agricultural and occupational uses (e.g. Van de Ven 2003; De Bont 2008; Borger et al. 2011; Vos et al. 2018). Initially, this created a landscape consisting of narrow long canals draining into either small existing streams or larger rivers (e.g. the Rhine or its tributaries). Dur- ing these early phases, settlements were located on the relatively higher and dryer levees or the lower slopes of the ice-pushed ridges (the Utrechtse Heuvelrug) to the east or the dunes in the west (Figs. 2, 3; Atlas van Nederland 2 1984; Renes and Schuyf 1984; Borger et al. 2011). Well-known examples of early towns located on these higher levees or ridges are the present-day cities of: Alkmaar, Beverwijk, Haarlem (situated on dunes) and Leiden (levee). Besides providing favourable settling conditions during these early phases, these higher grounds also refect the few areas in the study region with high level interconnectivity between these early towns (Van Lanen et al. 2016; Van Lanen 2017). These combined natural and cultural conditions made it possible for these town to become the powerbase of the counts of Holland (Van Bavel and Luiten Van Zanden 2004; Van Bavel 2015). However, not the whole of the study area was governed by the counts of Holland; other parts were efectively ruled by the Bishop who resided in the city of Utrecht to the east (Fig. 5). The by then still marginal, but extensive wetlands separated these two political powers. Starting from ca. ad 1000, these peatlands were reclaimed by private entrepreneurs, who bought these rights (so-called ontginningen) from either the counts of Holland or the bishop of Utrecht (Baas 2001). This resulted in a complex patchwork of ownership in the region, with landownership being trans- ferred from two large dominant parties to numerous individuals. This situation became even more complex through the arrival of many individual land owners from the adja- cent province of Utrecht (Sticht) in the east. Although the majority of the land in the study area was owned by the count of Holland, their arrival efectively divided the peat marshes even further in Holland and Sticht ownerships (Borger et al. 2011). This mish- mash of ownership was not only a political problem, but with increasing soil subsidence and the need for more water management, it also represented a safety hazard. These frst reclamations were largely defned by a very local scale of water manage- ment. As time went by, it quickly became apparent, especially in the lower, western parts of the study region, that cooperation was necessary. These areas were particularly prone to fooding through their vicinity to either rivers, lakes or the sea (e.g. Borger et al. 2011; Vos 2015). From the twelfth century onwards, a general higher level of water management was needed. For the frst time in these lower areas, several reclaimed lands joined hands to tune their water-management needs (e.g. Van Dam 2001; Van Bavel and Luiten Van Zanden 2004). From this moment onwards, the responsibility for organizing the water system as a whole slowly started to surpass the local (individ- ual) polder level and cooperative waterboards were created (hoogheemraadschappen; Fig. 6). These waterboards developed water-management activities into a more system- atic approach on a larger scale. Expending reclamation activities through time did not only drain the landscape further, but also increased the interconnectivity of these areas with the creation of well-maintained systems of waterways, the reclamation canals (e.g. Brand 2011). These newly-developed waterways increased transport options in the area
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Fig. 5 Map comparing the historical administrative borders between Holland (green) and Sticht (yellow), the waterboards of around 1600 (green lines) and the modern day provinces (red lines), illustrating the political and administrative complexity and improved connections to the hinterland, through time beneftting the towns and cit- ies in the regions (e.g. Amsterdam, Delft, Gouda, Rotterdam and Woerden; e.g. Brand 2011; Van Bavel 2015; Abrahamse et al. 2016). The general economic growth in com- bination with increased interconnectivity led to a notable population increase in towns in the research area (Van Bavel and Luiten Van Zanden 2004; Borger et al. 2011). The demographic rise resulted in an equal rise in the demand for (drinking) water of good quality and food-preventive measures, further increasing the need for water-manage- ment collaboration. As a result, some of the politically independent towns in the study area joined existing waterboards, although other towns remained autonomous in their water-management strategies (for more information on the institutional development of these cities, the hinterland and waterboards see: Van Cruyningen 2014, 2015, 2017; Van Bavel 2015; Van Tielhof 2015, 2017). It is beyond the scope of this paper to go into further detail on the waterboards and other organisational structures, but the mishmash of water-management systems eventually led to complex political and administrative landscape with ownership rights varying on a very local level. Nonetheless, this decentralized organisation actually proved invaluable for the economic development of the study area, as it provided fexibility that was often lacking in other parts of Europe (e.g. Van Cruyningen 2014). However, managing such
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Fig. 6 Detail of the map by Jacob van Banchem of the waterboard Amstelland (south of the present-day city of Amsterdam). Although this was one administrative body, the colours of the reclaimed lands depicts the landownership being divided between Holland (green) and Sticht (yellow). When this map was created (1593), this not only was a political separation, but also a religious one: the yellow areas, almost without exception, depicts Catholic ownership (the deanery of Saint John), while the green areas belong to the prot- estant part of Holland. Adapted from: Jacob van Banchem (1593), Erfgoed Leiden en Omgeving Archives. Public domain a complex system of water-management works over a large area required a high level of organisation, in which (both smaller and larger) waterboards proved to be essential. Within their districts, they surveyed canals and associated engineering works such as sluices, dams and pumping stations (which until the invention of the steam engine were all wind-driven drainage mills). These surveys were recorded in engineering surveys, policies documents, legislations and on high-resolution management maps.
Spatial data
Historical maps
The frst large-scale, high-resolution management maps were created by the waterboards around ad 1600 (Balthasars 1611a, b, c; Fig. 7; local maps and atlases were already in use for 50–100 years earlier). Besides containing information on water-discharge orientation, engineering works, and in some cases even polder altitudes and associated water levels, these maps also depict administrative boundaries and information on adjacent polders and waterboards. As a result, these maps contain invaluable information on the spatial layout of these waterboards, and a diachronic comparison allows to analyse changes in any of the mapped elements (e.g. changes in administrative boundaries, the number of engineering works and discharge orientation). A good example of such a situation is the large-scale turf extraction in the study area, which started as early as the thirteenth century and increas- ingly infuenced the spatial layout in the study region (De Bont 2008; Borger et al. 2011). 1 3 Author's personal copy
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Fig. 7 Detail of the map by Floris Balthasars of the water- board Rijnland. In this example, the polders around the town of Alphen aan de Rijn are shown. The “Zanepolder” (yellow; A) drains via the Zanemolen (wind- driven drainage mill; 1) into the Gouwe river, while the “Groote West Polder” (green; B) drains via Molen Kalslagen (2) and the Florissluis (Floris sluice; 3) into the river Rhine. Adapted from: Floris Balthasars (1611a; b, c), National Archives of the Nether- lands. Public domain
Large-scale turf pits formed throughout the study area, which by law needed to be mapped in detail (in order to keep them safe for potential fooding). These turf pits not only reduced the available amount of arable lands, but also frequently infuenced original water systems. Former reclamations were turned into water bodies, canals were interrupted or discharge orientation altered. Such notable changes were all surveyed, recorded and mapped in these management maps, which consequently should be regarded not merely as fgurative maps (i.e. maps purely designed as a decoration based on the spatial characteristics of a specifc region), but much more as system maps (i.e. maps designed to inform and spatially depict data on a specifc region and subject, often including background data. These maps are closely related to modern-day (geo)spatial databases).
Translating historical maps to the HGIS
These historical management maps therefore contain a unique dataset covering centuries of water-management development in the study area. Since the general purpose of these maps and the depicted objects have remained relatively similar from the 1600s onwards, it is pos- sible to ‘digitize’ these maps using a regression-mapping method. This method originates from GIScience and allows to create spatial overviews depicting a sequence of historical periods. By using multiple maps dating to varying periods (including the present-day situa- tion), the method is designed to use specifc landscape elements in order to gradually work back from the present to the past. For our HGIS, we frst digitized the Polderkaart van de Landen tusschen Maas en IJ (Map of polders in the lands between Meuse and IJ) made by Hoekwater around ad 1900 (Hoekwater 1901; Fig. 8). In order to compensate for the vari- ation in projection systems between present-day and historical, maps we used the spatial distribution of engineering works in order to translate water-management related landscape elements from historical to modern time. The regression-mapping analysis we applied in 1 3 Author's personal copy
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Fig. 8 Detail of the map by Willem Hendricus Hoekwater (1901). The map depicts diferent drainage canals and polders, colour coded to their drainage orientation and discharge size. As compared to the seventeenth century situation, the polders depicted in Fig. 7 (i.e. “Zanepo- lder” and “Groote West Polder”) in the nineteenth century have been combined into the “Polder Kerk en Zanen” (A), but both the pumping stations of the Zane (1) and the Kalslagen (2) windmills have remained operational. Next to the wind driven drainage mills, a new steam-driven pumping station (3) has been introduced. Adapted from: Hoekwater (1901), Wikimedia commons. Public domain
our HGIS allowed us to fxate historical locations to modern-day coordinates without the need to georeference the historical map as a whole. Additionally, using this method, we could identify engineering works still existing in the present-day landscape and assign his- torical attributes to these modern landscape elements. Past watercourses or engineering works that have since disappeared were remapped using their relative position in the natu- ral landscape and to known neighbouring elements. Especially engineering works such as sluices, dikes and canals are perfect for this method, since many of the watercourses have remained relatively topologically persistent through time. Despite all dynamics in the area, they often have retained their original position in the landscape. Based on this regression- mapping method, we integrated data from numerous historical maps depicting the study area, the oldest dating to ca. ad 1600 (Table 1).
Data derived from historical maps in the HGIS
First, the collected historical maps were added to the HGIS by digitizing the individual waterways for four diferent time slices: ad 1600, ad 1730, ad 1900 and the present-day. All waterways were classifed in an uniform manner and digitized using modern-day maps. As a result, the HGIS facilitates reconstructing individual waterways active as discharge channels for each of the four periods and divides them in three classes: (1) “main discharge”, (2) “secondary discharge” and (3) “no discharge” (Fig. 9). Addition- ally, for each of these waterways information on the discharge orientation (i.e. where did this canal or river drain in to during that period) was recorded. As a next step, all engineering works were digitized and combined into one diachronic table. This table contains information on the date of each element and whether it still functions today as part of a modern water-management system (e.g. wind-driven drainage mills that still 1 3 Author's personal copy
R. J. Van Lanen, M. C. Kosian Type of map Type System map System System map System System map System System map System System map System System map System System map System System map System System map System System map System System map System System map System System map System System map System System map System System map System Figurative map Figurative Figurative map Figurative Figurative map Figurative Figurative map Figurative Figurative map Figurative Title Ware Afbeeldinghe van Delfant Afbeeldinghe van Ware Nieuwe Caert Schielandt Nieuwe van Caerte Rijnlant van Chaerte daer inne men sien en kennen die waterscap, Ringe en omloop van Amstellant en omloop van Ringe Chaerte die waterscap, daer inne men sien en kennen t-caerte ende water caerte Noort-HollandtLa n t-caerte ende Westvrieslandt van ende water Episcop. Ultraiectinus ‘t Hooge Heemraedschap van Rynland van Heemraedschap ‘t Hooge Chromo-Topografsche kaart des Rijks, schaal 1:25,000 schaal kaart des Rijks, Chromo-Topografsche “t Hooge Heemraedschap van Rhynlandt van Heemraedschap “t Hooge ‘t Hoogh-heemraetschap vande Uytwaterende sluysen in Kennemerlant ende West-Frieslant in Kennemerlant sluysen Uytwaterende vande ‘t Hoogh-heemraetschap Polderkaart van de Landen tusschen Maas en IJ de Landen tusschen Polderkaart van ‘t Hooge Heemraadschap van Delfant van Heemraadschap ‘t Hooge Het Hooge Heemraadschap vande Crimpenrewaard vande Heemraadschap Hooge Het Waterstaatkaart, 1st edition 1st Waterstaatkaart, Nieuwe Caerte vande Provincie van Utrecht van Caerte Provincie Nieuwe vande Het Hooge Heemraedtschap van Schielandt van Heemraedtschap Hooge Het Ultraiectum Dominium Ultraiectum Zuydhollandia stricte sumta Delfandia, Schielandia et circumjacentes Insulae circumjacentes et Delfandia, Schielandia Rhenolandia, Amstellandia Et Circumjacentia aliquot Territoria, omnibus cum Aggeribus aliquot Et Circumjacentia Rhenolandia, Amstellandia Hollandiae pars Meridionalior Vulgo Zuyd-Holland Hollandiae pars Meridionalior Vulgo Date 1611 1611 1611 1593 1575 1628 1746 1872–1938 1687 1729 1901 1712 1792 1872 1670 1684 1649 1649 1670 1670 1670 Historical maps used in the HGIS 1 Table Cartographer designed either originally it is clarifed these or not maps were whether of the individual maps the cartographer, each their Additionally, For date and original given. title are maps or system as fgurative Floris Balthasars Floris Balthasars Floris Balthasars Jacob van Banchem Jacob van Joost Jansz. Beeldsnijder Joost Balthasar Florisz. Van Berckenrode Balthasar Florisz. Van Melchior Bolstra Melchior Bonnebladen Johannes Dou Johannes Dou Willem HendricusWillem Hoekwater Nicolaas Samuel Kruikius Johannes Leupenius Rijkswaterstaat Bernard de Roy Jan Jansz. Stampioen Joan and Willem Blaeu Joan and Willem Joan and Willem Blaeu Joan and Willem Nicolaas Visscher Nicolaas Visscher Nicolaas Visscher
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Fig. 9 Watercourses reconstructed in the HGIS per predefned period: a ad 1600, b ad 1730, c ad 1900 and d the present. Main drainage canals are depicted in blue, secondary counterparts in orange function as (auxiliary) pumping stations). After these engineering works, administrative borders of waterboards were mapped over time. Digitizing these is especially important, since (1) most policy and maintenance problems traditionally occur on the border juris- diction areas and (2) since waterboards developed their own water-management strate- gies and discharge policies, border regions were often organized as watersheds (often by means of a dam or a sluice). Subsequently, border alterations could result in dramatic changes in water discharge, water levels or navigability. Since the results of the HGIS are largely defned by the resolution of the histori- cal data, the availability of high-resolution management maps is essential. Although numerous high-resolution historical maps are available for our study area (Table 1), not all polders have been recorded in the same amount of detail. Some have not been recorded at all. Especially landowners of the relatively higher polders often did not have the need to cooperate with other polders at an early stage; these higher polders were managed locally. These are generally small polders (often characterized by only one or two windmills and single sluice or dam); creating high-resolution management maps for them often was deemed unnecessary and too expensive. As a result, information on these areas is limited to what can be found on adjacent management maps created by neighbouring, larger waterboards. For our study region, these management maps cover roughly the complete predefned region from the city of Rotterdam in the south, Utrecht in the east, Amsterdam in the north and the North Sea in the west and were created by a number of larger waterboards (Figs. 3 and 10; Table 2).
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Fig. 10 Reconstructed changes in district boundaries of the waterboards in the HGIS, depicted for each of the four time slices: ad 1600, ad 1730, ad 1900 and the present. For each of the larger waterboards, their contemporary name is provided (cf. Table 2)
Table 2 Historical waterboards (and their present-day counterparts) governing the water-management structures within the study region (compare: Fig. 9) Historical waterboard Present-day waterboard
Amstelland Waterschap Amstel, Gooi en Vecht Rijnland Hoogheemraadschap van Rijnland Woerden Hoogheemraadschap De Stichtse Rijnlanden Delfand Hoogheemraadschap van Delfand Schieland Hoogheemraadschap van Schieland en de Krimpenerwaard Krimpenerwaard Hoogheemraadschap van Schieland en de Krimpenerwaard
Present‑day maps
Several modern spatial datasets were used to enhance the reconstructive potential of the HGIS. Based on information derived from these modern maps, the spatiotemporal reso- lution of historical and contemporary data was enhanced. 1 3 Author's personal copy
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Digital topographical map of the Netherlands (1:10,000)
The Digital Topographical Map of the Netherlands (TOP10NL) is the digital topo- graphic base map of the Netherlands’ Cadastre, Land Registry and Mapping Agency (Kadaster; for more information on the TOP10NL please see “Online sources” in the Reference section). It is the product with the highest resolution within the Base Regis- tration Topography (BRT). The TOP10NL can be used at scale levels between 1:5000 and 1:25,000. The topography is uniform and consistently mapped and classifed. The TOP10NL has a nationwide coverage, which means it is usable as a basis for the entire Netherlands.
Hydraulic base map of the Netherlands (1:50,000)
The Hydraulic Base Map of the Netherlands, the so-called Waterstaatskaarten, were frst issued by the Departmenr of Infrastructure and Water Management (Rijkswaterstaat) in ad 1864. After the founding of the Geometric Service within the same department (1935), this service created the last three editions of these hydraulic base maps (Rijkswaterstaat Meet- kundige Dienst 2001). In line with the topographical map of 1:50,000 (less accurate than the TOP10NL), the hydraulic base map consists of 108 sheets covering the whole of the Netherlands. The frst edition appeared between 1865 and 1935, after which a total of fve editions were published. In the HGIS, we used the last edition of these hydraulic base maps (the 5th edition), which dates from between 1971 and 1991.
Water management information system
The Water Management Information System (WIS) is the successor of the Hydraulic Base Map of the Netherlands and was created by the Geometric Service of the Depart- ment of Infrastructure and Water Management in 1995. The WIS was designed to ful- fl the need for a nationwide digital overview of water management in the Netherlands (Rijkswaterstaat Meetkundige Dienst 2001). The WIS is based on the 5th edition of the hydraulic base maps, which was severely updated for especially the northern prov- inces of the country. The WIS contains around 40,000 water level areas, 120,000 water- courses, 20,000 artworks and 6500 transport pipelines.
Aquatic base map of the Netherlands (scale 1:10,000)
The Aquatic Base Map of the Netherlands is a spatial dataset on all surface water in the country and is issued by the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (PBL). This map is based on the TOP10NL. The Aquatic Base Map applies a typology in order to create a characterization of diferent surface-water types (Van Puijenbroek and Clem- ent 2010). The typology describes 20 diferent types of surface water and covers all surface-water areas within the Netherlands.
Digital information on sluices and locks by waterboards
Information on individual sluices and locks was collected and checked with data provided by the waterboards through their respective websites and online sources
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(Schieland en de Krimpenerwaard 2016; for an overview of these web sources please see References section). Although these data are originally mainly provided for shipping and recreational activities, they do provide extra information on individual sluices and lock systems, often based on unpublished archival data.
The HGIS: structure and design
Our HGIS is best described as a multi-layer and multi-table GIS. The system reconstructs water-management systems for four diferent time slices and roughly covers the following historical periods: the Late Middle Ages (ca. ad 1600), the (end of the so-called) Dutch Golden Age (ca. ad 1730), the Modern Period (ca. ad 1900) and the present day. For each of these periods, a basic topographical map has been made depicting the contemporary coastline, river courses and water bodies. These topographical layers were augmented in the HGIS with digital plans of the larger cities for each of the periods. Additionally, organi- sational boundaries of the waterboards were digitized per period (compare: section “Spatial data”) and added to the topographical representation. All spatial information was recorded using the Dutch Coordinate System (EPSG 28992), which allows the easy addition of other national GIS layers.
The HGIS data model and data felds
The HGIS consists of two separate base tables: (1) The frst table contains data on indi- vidual watercourses during each of the predefned time slices (Table 3). In the HGIS, each of these watercourses is depicted as an individual line element including corresponding descriptive information. (2) The second table contains information on individual engineer- ing works located in the vicinity of these watercourses (Table 4). Each of these engineering works is depicted as a geometrical point which also contains descriptive information. The table design of the engineering-works table (Table 4) is based on the watercourses table (Table 3), but also includes data on the persistence of each individual element and the possibility that this element is still in function today.
Table 3 Watercourse table and corresponding data felds in the HGIS Field Description
ID Unique HGIS object identifer Name Present day toponym of the watercourse (if available) Type of origin Is the watercourse natural or man-made? Length Length of segment in kilometres Period% typea Description of watercourse, for instance shipping canal, moat or discharge channel. This information was taken from the source of that period, and when not provided, classifed merely as “watercourse” Period% dischargea Whether it is a main, secondary or no discharge channel Period% waterboarda The waterboard responsible for that watercourse during that specifc period Period% discharge toa The body of water where this watercourse discharges into Period% sourcea The source(s) of the GIS element (period map) a The period% felds are repeated for all four periods 1 3 Author's personal copy
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Table 4 Engineering-works table and corresponding data felds in the HGIS Field Description
ID Unique HGIS object identifer Object category Main category of the engineering work; dam, sluice, pumping-station, mill etc Object type Specifcation of the category, like type of sluice etc Active in period1 Is this engineering work present and active in this period Active in period2 Is this engineering work present and active in this period Active in period3 Is this engineering work present and active in this period Active in period4 Is this engineering work present and active in this period Period% objecta Specifc object type as described in the historical sources for this period Period% namea Object’s name as described during a specifc period (if available) Period% waterboarda The waterboard responsible for this engineering work during a specifc period Region An arbitrary region, based on landscape setting (not on political or waterboard boundaries), in order to non-normatively compare the type and amount of water engineering works in that through time TenBruggecate number Identifcation number of the Dutch Mill Society (Vereniging De Hollandse Molen) for all still existing drainage mills Pumping-station ID Identifcation number of the Pumping-Station Society (De Nederlandse Gemalen Stichting) for the still existing non wind-driven pumping stations Source Historical and present-day sources for the HGIS element Remarks Remarks regarding the history and functionality of the engineering work (e.g. when the mill has been relocated) Period of construction Construction period of drainage mills or pumping stations (if exact year is unknown) Year of construction Construction year of polder mill or pumping station (exact year known) a The period% felds are repeated for all four periods
By applying this multi-table approach, the HGIS is able to model numerous diferent integrative overviews of topographical data, watercourses and engineering works. For each of the predefned periods, specifcally designed queries can be made using any combina- tion of felds within the base tables (e.g. a reconstruction of the spatial layout of particular discharge system or an integrated view on discharge systems and pumping works, such as sluices and mills; Fig. 11a). Additionally, the HGIS facilitates to query changes or difer- ences in waterboard boundaries and territorial responsibilities per period (Fig. 11b). Com- bining these data with engineering works can provide crucial information on organisational problem areas during the past. Since the HGIS also contains digital city plans, the system allows the user to zoom in and focus on internal (local) urban water-management systems.
Results
The frst results of our newly-developed HGIS are promising and underline the application potential of the presented methodology. With our system, it is, for the frst time, possible to diachronically analyse water-management systems in the study area, using an integrated and multi-proxy approach. Since the HGIS contains both present-day and historical data on watercourses, the system facilitates the study of changes in discharge systems and channels (Fig. 9). Additionally, it is possible during those analyses to investigate main and secondary 1 3 Author's personal copy
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Fig. 11 a Detailed map of the HGIS discharge system reconstructions (time slice: ad 1730). In blue: dis- charge canals orientated on the Amstel river, in green: canals discharging in the river Vecht and in brown: watercourses draining into the Rhine. Additionally, corresponding engineering works are mapped: sluices (black dots), dams (red squares) and wind-driven drainage mills (crosses). b Detailed map of the water- boards south of Amsterdam (time slice: ad 1730). For each of the waterboards, their corresponding main sluices (black dots) and dams (red squares) are plotted systems separately and, as a result, increase our insights on whether or not the function of systems has changed over time. At this time, HGIS supports the research of dynamics in and between four time slices: ad 1600, ad 1730, ad 1900 and the present. The HGIS integrates more than only (historical) watercourses, it also includes administrative borders, which allows for the frst time locating and analysing histori- cal and potential management challenges in more detail. A very clear example of such an analysis became apparent during the investigation of the Bijleveld canal, part of the larger Rhine system (Fig. 12). During the Middle Ages, in the area between the cities Amsterdam, Woerden and Utrecht (Fig. 3), two canals were dug to drain excess water from the Rhine and thus protect the parishes west of Utrecht from fooding. The frst waterway, the Heikop canal (ad 1385), drained its water via the river Vecht, the second, the Bijleveld canal (ad 1413), drained via the river Amstel to the Zuiderzee (now the Markermeer; Fig. 12). However, modern spatial developments have cut of these chan- nels from the Rhine system. In 1952, the modern Amsterdam-Rijn canal (originally in shorter form the Merwede canal, in use from 1892) was created. The spatial develop- ment of the Amsterdam-Rijn canal led to the Heikop canal being cut of from the river Vecht and becoming obsolete. As a result, discharge from the Rhine now transferred completely to the larger and remaining Bijleveld canal. However, the later development of the modern city of Leidsche Rijn (west of Utrecht) during the end of the twentieth century led to new large-scale redevelopment of the local landscape. These redevelop- ment activities eventually led to the Bijleveld canal also being cut of from the Rhine. Even though the importance of the canal in recent time had already dwindled due to shifts in the main discharge system of the Rhine, the disconnection of the Bijleveld canal still led to several (unforeseen) problems: (1) the cities Woerden and Gouda (both located downstream of the canal) have experienced a clear increase in fooding since the end of the twentieth century (Willemse 2018), and (2) water quality and associ- ated biodiversity in the Markermeer has declined signifcantly (Franssen and Wieringa
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Fig. 12 The discharges via the Heikop and Bijleveld canals. Water is drained away from the Rhine towards the former Zuiderzee (now: Markermeer). The Bijleveld (blue) drains into the Amstel River, and the Heikop (yellow) into the Vecht. After the creation of the Amsterdam-Rijnkanaal, the Heikop was discontinued at (A). The photo shows the present-day situation, where both canals are cut of from the Rhine system and are mere ditches without true drainage functionality. The main river channel of the Rhine is located behind the photographer. Photo: M.C. Kosian
2016). After the creation of the Afsluitdijk (in 1932) and Houtribdijk (in 1975), the Markermeer heavily depended on the Bijleveld canal for its infux of fresh water. The Bijleveld case is a clear example of how knowledge on historical water-management systems is essential to avoid modern-day or even future problems, such as declining bio- diversity and increased fooding. This is even more crucial when such a system transects or transcends organisational (waterboard) borders, as is shown by the Bijleveld example, which is connected to the waterboards of Rijnland, De Stichtse Rijnlanden and Amstel,
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Fig. 13 Overview of engineering works (e.g. dams (red squares), sluices (blue dots), culverts (blue dots) and pumping stations (both steam and wind driven; black diamonds) in the study area based on the HGIS
Table 5 Number of pumping stations, both wind-driven as steam-driven in the research area Historical waterboard 1600 1730 1900 n: wind n: wind % since 1600 n: wind n: steam n: total % since 1730
Amstelland 5 75 1400 55 18 73 − 3 Rijnland 207 278 34 186 44 230 − 17 Delfand 90 116 29 60 39 99 − 15 Schieland 49 79 61 68 19 87 10 De Krimpenerwaard 29 66 128 28 9 37 − 44 Grootwaterschap van 30 37 23 13 15 28 − 24 Woerden Remaining area of study 52 84 62 38 35 73 − 13 region
Gooi en Vecht (Table 2; Figs. 10, 12). Only by being able to diachronically map such a system can these consequences be predicted and possibly prevented. The HGIS proves to be an excellent tool for these kinds of analyses. Because the HGIS also contains information on engineering works, it is possible to spatially analyse these in combination with the water-management systems and adminis- trative borders in the system. The frst analyses of these data show some very promising results. Our literature study demonstrated that extensive peat extraction occurred in the study area, causing deep holes and lower groundwater levels, both efectively causing soil subsidence. As a result, the need for more pumping action increased. The process is underlined by our analyses of engineering works, specifcally wind-driven drainage
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What wetlands can teach us: reconstructing historical… mills between ad 1600 and ad 1730, and steam-driven pumping stations of around AD 1900 (Fig. 13). In the oldest phase (ad 1600–1730), the number of wind-driven drainage mills almost doubled in the research area, despite eighteenth century windmill technol- ogy being far more efcient than a century before (Table 5). After the introduction of the notably higher-capacity steam-powered pumping stations in the nineteenth century (often still combined with wind-driven drainage mills for the smaller polders), in most cases only a small decrease in numbers of devices can be observed (Table 5). This again suggests the need for more pumping capacity in order to meet drainage demands. It is important to note that this analysis is a frst exploration into this soil-subsidence and drainage issues and is far from complete. A random sample of our HGIS reconstructions based on a GIScience approach with the series of Teixeira de Mattos (1906, 1908, 1927) and those of Hoekwater (1901) shows a undeniable correspondence between engineer- ing works on these historical system maps and the dataset collected and presented by Hoekwater and Teixeira de Mattos. Consequently, the HGIS proves to be a great tool for using these kinds of historical data for diachronic studies into soil-subsidence and general water-management system reconstructions and needs to be studied further in a near future. Besides facilitating scientifc research into integrated and diachronic analyses of (supra) regional water-management systems, the HGIS also functions as a tool for management questions. The system provides more insight into the long-term development of reclama- tion activities and water systems, and through this also shows great application opportuni- ties for including heritage in topical policymaking. At present, a derived version of the HGIS is already being applied by the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands to aid provinces, municipalities and waterboards with developing climate-adaptation strategies and food-risk assessments (Kosian and Van Lanen 2019; Vreenegoor et al. 2019; Rijksdi- enst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed (RCE) 2019).
Discussion
The reconstructive potential of the HGIS presented in this paper depends largely on the availability of accurate historical information, especially spatial data such as historical (system) maps. Despite the long and rich tradition of land surveying and cartography in the Netherlands from the sixteenth century onwards, not all maps covering the study area are of equal quality. As a result, the usefulness of these maps for spatial analyses also difers (cf. section “Spatial data”). Spatial information in the HGIS is mainly derived from system maps created by the waterboards for management purposes. Using these maps, however, can prove challenging because of: (1) the spatial-resolution diferences between maps, severely hampering the integration of the diferent data sources, (2) the use of pre-modern projection systems, making georeferencing processes difcult and (3) the lack of uniform and unambiguous legend units. In order to meet these challenges, in some situations infor- mation from other contemporary (fgurative) maps was needed to explain, locate and date specifc landscape features. Although these fgurative maps were not primarily designed as water-management tools, they often still contain valuable qualitative and quantitative data for HGIS analyses. In our research area, this was especially apparent for the reconstruction of administrative borders. The available management maps do not diferentiate between boundaries and town limits, jurisdictional borders and waterboard districts, which all are
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R. J. Van Lanen, M. C. Kosian depicted in the same manner. Figurative maps, like those made by Blaeu (1649), did pro- vide these data and proved very useful in order to distinguish between boundaries. The current HGIS diferentiates between three diferent types of discharge systems (i.e. main, secondary and no discharge; section “Spatial data”). When reconstructing the oldest period (ad 1600), it proved especially challenging to distinguish between these diferent types of discharges. On his nineteenth century map Polderkaart van de Landen tusschen Maas en IJ, Hoekwater (1901) clearly depicted the diferences between main and second- ary drainage channels. Because channels from the seventeenth and eighteenth century cor- respond nicely with their nineteenth century counterparts in terms of size (width), we were able to use regression mapping to reconstruct and plot these discharge systems. The older seventeenth century maps, however, did not provide us with these spatial distinctions and therefore required expert judgement to reconstruct main or secondary drainage channels. In order to do so, we analyzed the diferent types of engineering works associated with individual canals or the persistency of the watercourse (i.e. larger discharge and transport canals often retained their function and importance during their existence). This approach proved very efective to classify diferent drainage channels. Reconstructing historical water-management systems in the wetlands of the western Netherlands by means of regression-mapping analyses has proven very successful. This is mainly due to the high-resolution maps and other historical sources (e.g. archival data and written text) available in this area. However, the multi-proxy HGIS method presented in this paper is not limited to these specifc wetlands alone and is specifcally designed as a fexible system easily adapted to other data sources (both quantitative as well as qualita- tive) and study areas. Application of the method in other wetland areas in the world will help to assess the full potential of the system.
Outlook
The reconstructive potential of the HGIS could be enhanced by adding more time slices and other data sources. In general, the more multi-proxy data the HGIS contains, the higher the resolution that can be obtained. In the near future, for example, it would be worthwhile to explore the added value of integrating archaeological data on water management into the system. This would, however, require the HGIS to be further developed to also include uncertainty variables based on archaeological-data quality and to be aware of the infuence of additional research biases. Other options to include new data sources that might enhance the reconstructive poten- tial of the HGIS are incorporating more digital city plans and turf-extraction areas for each of the predefned periods. Besides providing more details on historic-water management, these data also provide more insights in system dynamics and possible persistence. For example, spatial-development planning by cities could not only infuence jurisdictional boundaries, but also lead to changes in waterboard boundaries. This is especially true for the rapid-growing and larger cities in the study area, such as Amsterdam and Rotter- dam. Here, rapid growth in the past could have resulted in drainage canals to be suddenly located within the city limits. Consequently, these watercourses changed ownership and quickly needed to be adapted to the city’s water regime instead of that of the waterboard. At present many of these water-management relicts still exist and function within the city. Because they are often not clearly visible in the urban landscape, they are frequently over- looked, despite potentially having a great impact on the functioning of water systems and
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What wetlands can teach us: reconstructing historical… present-day water management. In this respect, adding more data to the HGIS will greatly help providing essential water-management data to future policymaking. The HGIS presented in this paper has been developed primarily for low-lying wetland areas located in the Holocene parts of the Netherlands (Figs. 1, 2). It would, however, be possible to expand the system to also include the higher Pleistocene parts of the coun- try. An issue would be that historical information (e.g. archival data and written sources) in these areas will probably be more limited, because centralized waterboards (and their associated archives) did not exist in these parts until recently. Nevertheless, the HGIS is designed to be fexible and facilitates the incorporation and introduction of other data sources, which provide extra knowledge on historical water management. It should, how- ever, be noted that using exactly the same regression-mapping analysis as applied on the study area would lack chronological resolution, since the frst generation of water-man- agement maps covering the Pleistocene areas only date back to the nineteenth century. Expanding the HGIS to include the Pleistocene soils of the Netherlands therefore would require the introduction of new data sources. Results provided by the HGIS prove very promising for using heritage data for model- ling soil-subsidence in the past. In this paper, we presented a frst exploration of such an analysis. By studying the diachronic development of engineering works, there appears to be a clear increase of pumping capacity over time for polders of equal size. Although it is beyond the scope of this paper to deduce any actual conclusions, this pattern is worth investigating further. This would, however, require the HGIS to also include data on the average pumping capacity of specifc types of drainage mills or steam-driven pumping sta- tions. Additionally, the overview of engineering works could be compared with the work of Teixeira de Mattos (1906, 1908, 1927) in order to independently test the accuracy of the HGIS reconstruction.
Conclusions
Wetland landscapes are fragile and extremely dynamic. It has become increasingly clear that these areas refect an undeniable importance in future climate adaptation and spatial planning. Additionally these regions, through excellent preservation conditions and long tradition of human-landscape interaction, represent an invaluable narration of our past. These characteristics make wetlands very complex landscapes, in which spatiotemporal development of landscape elements are often difcult to disentangle. In this paper, we have presented a newly-developed HGIS specifcally designed to unravel the complexity of wet- lands, specifcally focused on water-management systems. The HGIS facilitates a multi-proxy and integrated approach towards studying water- management systems in wetlands during the last four centuries. It allows to diachronically analyse drainage systems, engineering works and organisational boundaries. Results shows that these data greatly enhance our knowledge on the development of water-management systems in the past and interdependencies between land use, natural-landscape dynamics, climate and water management. The HGIS approach propagated in this paper clearly shows that analysing water-management systems requires multi-proxy methodologies, allowing multi- and transdisciplinary research approaches. Only by applying these it is possible to unravel and fully understand the complexity behind wetland development in the past. The HGIS methodology proves very promising as such.
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Additionally, the HGIS shows great promise as a tool for incorporating heritage data in modern-day policymaking. The growing awareness on apparent climate and environmental changes (such as increasing weather extremes) in recent years has resulted in the rapid development of new policies and adaptive strategies, especially in wetland areas, which are most susceptible for change. As a result, knowledge on historical (water-management) systems and their present-day function or infuence is becoming increasingly important. Our spatial analyses of drainage canals show that large parts of the historical systems still (in part) function in modern-day counterparts. Consequently, these waterworks still play a vital role in modern-day climate-adaption strategies and it is crucial to understand past decision making in order to make well-informed choices for the future. In this respect, wetlands are especially complex and require integrated tooling, such as the HGIS we pre- sented. But the system has more auspicious potential for modern-day societal applications such as (1) to help to determine possible cost reductions (e.g. make use of past solutions instead of building new ones) and (2) through e.g. visualisations to inform local inhabitants and raise public awareness and support the sustainable development of wetlands.
Acknowledgements The study conducted in this paper is part of the JPI-CH (Call: Heritage in Changing Environments) funded ‘WETFUTURES’ (Wetland Futures in Contested Environments: an inter- and trans- disciplinary approach to wetland heritage in the Netherlands, United Kingdom and Ireland) project (www. wetfutures.eu). The authors would like to thank the two anonymous reviewers for their very helpful com- ments on the manuscript
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Online sources
(Accessed 24 10 2019) The United Nations convention on Biological Diversity: https://www.cbd.int/ The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands: https://www.ramsar.org/ The UNFCCC Kyoto Climate Protocol: https://unfccc.int/kyoto_protocol
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What wetlands can teach us: reconstructing historical…
Background information on the TOP10NL map: https://zakelijk.kadaster.nl/-/top10nl Waterboard Amstel, Gooi en Vecht: https://www.agv.nl/recreatie/watererfgoed/sluizen Waterboard Hoogheemraadschap van Rijnland: https://www.rijnland.net/uw-loket/varen-in-rijnland/bedie ningstijden-sluizen Waterboard Hoogheemraadschap de Stichtse Rijnlanden: https://www.hdsr.nl/werk/watererfgoed-nieuw/ sluizen-stuwen
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Rowin J. Van Lanen studied Archaeology and Prehistory (Master degree in west-European archaeology) at the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam. In 2017, Rowin successfully defended his PhD thesis ‘Changing Ways. Patterns of connectivity, habitation and persistence in Northwest European lowlands during the frst mil- lennium AD’ at Utrecht University (Department of Physical Geography, Faculty of Geosciences). Rowin is specialised in (digital) archaeology, spatial analyses, spatial modelling, the Roman period, Early Middle Ages and reconstructing human-landscape interaction in the past. He currently holds positions as researcher/ data-analyst at the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands and post-doc researcher landscape archaeol- ogy at Wageningen University and Research.
Menne C. Kosian studied Mediterranean archaeology, classical history and logic at the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam. In 1996 he joined the National Archaeological Service, now the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands. Today he holds the position of researcher Spatial Analysis at the Landscape department. His research felds include landscape archaeology GIS, maritime landscape GIS, urban GIS and historical cartographical GIS.
Afliations
Rowin J. Van Lanen1,2 · Menne C. Kosian3
* Rowin J. Van Lanen [email protected] Menne C. Kosian [email protected]
1 Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands, PO Box 1600, 3800BP Amersfoort, The Netherlands 2 Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands 3 Landscape Department, Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands, PO Box 1600, 3800BP Amersfoort, The Netherlands
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