Uncovering Environmental Change in the English Lake District: Using Computational Techniques to Trace the Presence and Documentation of Historical Flora
Uncovering Environmental Change in the English Lake District: Using Computational Techniques to Trace the Presence and Documentation of Historical Flora
复制标题
揭示英国湖区的环境变化：利用计算技术追踪历史植物群的存在和记录
DOI：
10.1093/llc/fqaa047
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发表时间：
2021
影响因子：
0.8
通讯作者：
Smail R
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Smail R
在20世纪中叶之前，人们对英国植物区系的变化缺乏具体的了解。相关证据是可用的，但它主要包含在不同的历史来源中。在这篇文章中，我们展示了如何通过实施最先进的计算语言和历史地理信息系统(地理信息系统)技术来有效地整理和分析这些来源。我们通过一个案例研究来做到这一点，该案例着重于英国湖区的植物区系历史。之所以选择这个地区，是因为它具有突出的文化和环境价值，而且自17世纪末以来，它一直被广泛和持续地记录下来。我们概述了自然语言处理(NLP)技术如何与Kew的World Online数据库中的植物相结合，以使在1682年至1904年出版的不同文本语料库中更准确地跟踪植物命名约定的时间变化。通过配置分析和自动地理定位技术，然后识别和提取与这些植物名称相关联的地理位置。最后，我们利用地理信息系统展示了该数据集在地理时间分析和揭示湖区植物区系历史分布方面的潜力。在概述我们的方法论时，本文指出了空间和数字人文科学如何能够在环境历史和环境科学中更广泛地促进研究。
There is a lack of concrete knowledge about floristic change in Britain before the mid-20th century. Relevant evidence is available, but it is principally contained in disparate historical sources. In this article, we demonstrate how such sources can be efficiently collated and analysed through the implementation of state-of-the-art computational-linguistic and historical-geographic information systems (GIS) techniques. We do so through a case study that focuses on the floristic history of the English Lake District. This region has been selected because of its outstanding cultural and environmental value and because it has been extensively and continuously documented since the late-17th century. We outline how natural language processing (NLP) techniques can be integrated with Kew’s Plants of the World Online database to enable temporal shifts in plant-naming conventions to be more accurately traced across a heterogeneous corpus of texts published between 1682 and 1904. Through collocate analysis and automated geoparsing techniques, the geographies associated with these plant names are then identified and extracted. Finally, we use GIS to demonstrate the potential of this data set for geo-temporal analysis and for revealing the historical distribution of Lake District flora. In outlining our methodology, this article indicates how the spatial and digital humanities can benefit research both in environmental history and in the environmental sciences more widely.