Inventory of the John F. Richards Collection, 1880 – 1980

Descriptive Summary

Abstract: Historian John F. Richards of Duke University led a long-term (1983—1994), multidisciplinary research initiative on the impact of tropical land use change on global atmospheric CO₂ concentrations. The project was funded primarily by contracts and grants from the U.S. Department of Energy with supplemental support provided by the Smithsonian Institution Office of Fellowships & Grants.

Collection materials include photocopies of journal articles or published reports, many of which originated in the nations studied for the project. The records include: 1) Materials used in preparation of Documented Data Package ORNL/DCIAC-61, NDP-46 ("Historic Land Use and Carbon Estimates for South and Southeast Asia 1880—1980") by J. F. Richards and E. P. Flint (R. D. Daniels, ed.) Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center, Oak Ridge Nat. Lab., Oak Ridge, Tenn. Nations included in the database are: India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Myanmar (Burma), Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Indonesia, Philippines. Topics covered vary widely but include such things as geological history, paleobotany, coastal ecosystems, vegetation mapping, pasture lands, traditional agriculture, and deforestation. 2) Materials used to develop earlier versions of the database, including materials on Pakistan, Nepal, and Bhutan. 3) Bibliographic materials organized by region (South Asia, Mainland Southeast Asia, Insular Southeast Asia) and filed alphabetically. Citations (totaling 8,789) have been entered into a computerized database and keyworded. 4) Small research bibliography on tropical land use history outside of Asia, including some Latin American sources.

Title: John F. Richards Collection, 1880—1980

Creator: Richards, John F.

Repository: Forest History Society Library and Archives

Call Number: 3904

Language of Material: Material in English

Extent: 115.5 linear feet

Historical Note

Historian John F. Richards of Duke University led a long-term (1983—1994), multidisciplinary research initiative on the impact of tropical land use change on global atmospheric CO₂ concentrations. The project was funded primarily by contracts and grants from the U.S. Department of Energy with supplemental support provided by the Smithsonian Institution Office of Fellowships & Grants.

The research project project involved gathering information about such topics as: geological history, paleobotany, coastal ecosystems, vegetation mapping, pasture lands, traditional agriculture, and deforestation relating to the tropical nations of India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Myanmar (Burma), Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Indonesia, and the Philippines. The project concluded when funding evaporated in 1994, and Dr. Richards subsequently donated all materials associated with the project to the Forest History Society. Collection materials include photocopies of journal articles or published reports, many of which originated in the nations studied for the project.

Collection Overview

Collection materials include photocopies of journal articles or published reports, many of which originated in the nations studied for the project. The records include: 1) Materials used in preparation of Documented Data Package ORNL/DCIAC-61, NDP-46 ("Historic Land Use and Carbon Estimates for South and Southeast Asia 1880-1980") by J. F. Richards and E. P. Flint (R. D. Daniels, ed.) Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center, Oak Ridge Nat. Lab., Oak Ridge, Tenn. Nations included in the database are: India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Myanmar (Burma), Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Indonesia, Philippines. Topics covered vary widely but include such things as geological history, paleobotany, coastal ecosystems, vegetation mapping, pasture lands, traditional agriculture, and deforestation. 2) Materials used to develop earlier versions of the database, including materials on Pakistan, Nepal, and Bhutan. 3) Bibliographic materials organized by region (South Asia, Mainland Southeast Asia, Insular Southeast Asia) and filed alphabetically. Citations (totaling 8,789) have been entered into a computerized database and keyworded. 4) Small research bibliography on tropical land use history outside of Asia, including some Latin American sources.

The companion Environment of South and Southeast Asia Bibliographic Database describes the materials within the collection and is searchable from the Forest History Society web site. Data gathered during the project is also available online at Carbon.

Collection Arrangement

Data Package, Bibliographic Materials, Bibliography, and Other Research Materials, 1880—1980

Subject Headings

Atmospheric carbon dioxide -- Measurement
Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center (U.S.)
Climate changes -- Databases
Climate changes -- Research
Deforestation -- South Asia
Coastal ecology -- South Asia
Coastal ecology -- Southeast Asia
Deforestation -- Southeast Asia
Land use -- Bangladesh
Land use -- Bhutan
Land use -- Brunei
Land use -- Burma
Land use -- Cambodia
Land use -- India
Land use -- Indonesia
Land use -- Laos
Land use -- Malaysia
Land use -- Nepal
Land use -- Pakistan
Land use -- Philipinnes
Land use -- Tropics
Land use -- Tropics -- Bibliography
Land use -- Sri Lanka
Land use -- Vietnam
Paleobotany -- South Asia
Paleobotany -- Southeast Asia
Richards, John F.
Vegetation mapping -- South Asia
Vegetation mapping -- Southeast Asia

Detailed Description of the Collection

1. Data Package, Bibliographic Materials, Bibliography, and Other Research Materials, 1880—1980.

Materials used in preparation of Documented Data Package ORNL/DCIAC-61, NDP-46 ("Historic Land Use and Carbon Estimates for South and Southeast Asia 1880—1980") by J. F. Richards and E. P. Flint (R. D. Daniels, ed.) Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center, Oak Ridge Nat. Lab., Oak Ridge, Tenn. Nations included in the database are: India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Myanmar (Burma), Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Indonesia, Philippines. Topics covered vary widely but include such things as geological history, paleobotany, coastal ecosystems, vegetation mapping, pasture lands, traditional agriculture, and deforestation.

Materials used to develop earlier versions of the database, including materials on Pakistan, Nepal, and Bhutan.

Bibliographic materials organized by region (South Asia, Mainland Southeast Asia, Insular Southeast Asia) and filed alphabetically. Citations (totaling 8,789) have been entered into a computerized database and keyworded.

Small research bibliography on tropical land use history outside of Asia, including some Latin American sources.

Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

No restrictions.

Copyright Notice

The nature of the Forest History Society's archival holdings means that copyright or other information about restrictions may be difficult or even impossible to determine despite reasonable efforts. The Forest History Society claims only physical ownership of most archival materials.

The materials from our collections are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study, pursuant to U.S. Copyright law. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Any materials used for academic research or otherwise should be fully credited with the source.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], John F. Richards Collection, Library and Archives, Forest History Society, Durham, NC, USA.

Acquisitions Information

Received from John F. Richards (Department of History, Duke University) in August 1994.

Processing Information

Processed by Staff

Encoded by Amanda Ross, September 2008

Funding from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission supported the encoding of this finding aid. Support for digitization and outreach provided by the Alvin J. Huss Endowment.

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