Land use and industrial modernization: an empirical analysis of human influence on the functioning of ecosystems in Austria 1830-1995

This paper discusses changes in the functioning of terrestrial ecosystems c aused by land use. It presents an empirical analysis of changes in land use , agricultural productivity, and socio-economic biomass metabolism in Austr ia during the 19th and 20th centuries, related to the process of "industria l modernization", i.e. the transition from a society relying entirely on so lar energy to the industrial society of today based on fossil fuel use. The development of "human appropriation of net primary production" in connecti on with the changes in the socio-economic energy system are discussed for t he period 1830-1995. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.