Oasis palm groves, ecosystems designed by humans

Oasis palm groves, ecosystems designed by humans
– Original title: Des palmeraies oasiennes, écosystèmes inventés par les humains
by Vincent Battesti
in La Terre, le vivant, les humains, Petites et grandes découvertes de l’histoire naturelle, edited by Jean-Denis Vigne & Bruno David, Paris, Éditions de la Découverte, Muséum national d’histoire naturelle, Hors collection Sciences Humaines, 2022, p. 256-257
(inside the part III (Histoire(s) des humains et de leurs sociétés, eds. Frédérique Chlous and Jean-Denis Vigne)
ISBN: 978-2348075650
Web Page of the Publishing House: https://www.editionsladecouverte.fr...
PDF File: https://hal.science/hal-03793235

– Introduction:

Recent research has shown that oases and their palm groves would not exist without humans. Oases are objects skillfully and ingeniously constructed over time and maintained by the faithful labor of generations of farmers. When, how and why did this amazing form of human landscape shaping emerge? What is the origin of date palms, vital to the human presence in the Sahara and Arabia?