Forest science between human and nonhuman agency

Abstract

This paper explores the distribution of agency in forest science. Studies of forest science tend to view it primarily as seeking to control and exploit natural resources. But recent turns in social theory open for understandings of human-nature relations beyond human control. This paper explores what such insights can mean for the understanding of forest science. It asks how nonhumans and nonhumans interact in practices of forest science and together constitute certain forms of agency. How are the activities engaged in by students and lecturers affected by nonhumans? How do they respond to nonhumans? The empirical scope of this paper focuses interaction between students and lecturers at bachelor's level. Fieldwork was carried out in June 2023 by joining students and lecturers on excursions. In-depth interviews with eleven students were also conducted. The paper observes how students and lecturers actively distanced themselves from the forest science of the past for ignoring the requirements of trees and the services of their surrounding environments. Indeed, lecturers repeatedly addressed preferences and performances of nonhuman beings. This had major implications for which decisions were available. The paper therefore suggests that nonhumans and humans interacted in numerous ways. Students and lecturers responded to trees, wildlife, soil, and climate. Nonhumans especially affected decisions related to logging and planting, thereby providing inescapable premises for the actions of forest science practitioners, and ultimately contributing to make agency possible. To conclude, the paper discusses a few limitations and implications of its findings.

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