Tomasz Samojlik

The core of my scientific interest is the historical relationship between man and Białowieża Primeval Forest (BPF). My research projects aim at understanding the role of man in the preservation and transformation of the environment of the Forest. The interdisciplinary character of my work places it in the field of environmental history, which deals with the historical variability of human interaction with the natural environment. The research I have undertaken in BPF is one of the first of its kind in Poland. The catalogue of methods used includes search for and inventory of traces of former human presence in the Forest, including traces of past forest use, archaeological research (in cooperation with the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology of the Polish Academy of Sciences), historical surveys in Polish and foreign archives, and analysis of historical sources in terms of past methods of utilization and protection of nature. The results of the first stage of research, covering the period from ca. 500 BC to 1800 AD, were covered by my PhD thesis defended with distinction at the Faculty of Biology and Earth Sciences of the Jagiellonian University in 2007. The second, ongoing phase of research involves the natural history of the Białowieża Forest in the last two centuries. In December 2020, the Faculty of Biology at the University of Białystok awarded me a habilitation in the field of biology and natural sciences on the basis of a series of scientific papers covering "The impact of 19th-century forest management on the state of forests and wildlife populations of Białowieża Primeval Forest".

My current research focuses on:

• environmental history of Białowieża Primeval Forest in the 19th and 20th centuries;
• environmental history of forest rivers;
• evolution of the concept of primeval forest and the image of European bison in science and culture.