Areas abandoned for various reasons are widespread on Earth, with a significant proportion in some regions of Europe. Our knowledge of vegetation dynamics in abandoned lands is incomplete, in part because research comparing types abandoned from different cultivars is limited. This paper compared the textural and structural changes of previously extensively treated vineyards, arables, and grasslands over a 30-year timescale in secondary succession studies. Based on the botanical surveys, it can be said that the total species number and diversity of abandoned vineyards and arable lands did not increase linearly in the four age groups studied. The way of secondary succession of former vineyards and arable lands showed many similarities. In these types, rapid regeneration of natural vegetation can be observed, the rate of which can only be reduced by the abundance of a few strong competitor species. However, the abandonment of extensively grazed and mowed grasslands has reduced species numbers and diversity, which may reduce the resilience of such grasslands to environmental factors. In abandoned lands, the mosaic landscape and previous extensive small-plot farming appear to have a positive effect on the rate of secondary succession and regeneration, as the species-rich vegetation patches provide a suitable propagule source for regeneration.

Wooded grasslands have always played an important role in rural life with changing issues: They are of high importance for questions of biodiversity, soil, and water resources and in preserving agricultural heritage, but their maintenance is labor intensive. Abandoned wooded grasslands undergo succession, and food production alone does not support their survival. They require special attention and at the beginning a well-established subsidy system can help to contribute to their survival. Their sustainable use in the present-day landscapes can only be conceivable in complexity where food production, reintroduction of their cultural values, biodiversity and landscape protection, and ecotourism are playing an important role. This chapter gives an overview on the recent situation of wooded grasslands and their historical development, based on the work done by the Institute for Research on European Agricultural Landscapes (www.​eucalandnetwork.​eu). National pictures, definitions, history (including local names), threats, potentials, cultural values, spatial distributions, subtypes, and available databases have been collected, described, and analyzed. The main results of this survey are as follows: (1) Wooded grasslands are known to the public but mainly to local communities where they occur; (2) Many subtypes of wooded grasslands exist in various European countries; (3) Wooded grasslands underwent tremendous changes during the past centuries and lost their importance for various reasons; (4) There are many local and regional projects focusing on wooded grasslands, often as “lighthouse” projects to valorise cultural achievements

+36-76-517-613, fax: +36-76-517-601) 2 Szent István University, Department of Natural Conservation and Landscape Ecology H-2103 Gödöllő, Páter Károly u. 1. (phone: +36-28-410-200; fax: +36-28-410-804) Abstract. Investigations were carried out in wet and dry pasture. Coenological recordings were taken in three zones. The first zone ("A") located 0-50 m near the stable, second zone ("B") located 50-150 m from the stable, while the third zone ("C") located farther than 150 m. We have carried out analyses of ecological and environmental factors and life form types. Based on our results for both dry and wet grasslands, quadrates of "A" zone were well isolated from the rest of the zones. Overgrazing, which involves considerable trampling, vanishes differences among vegetations, thereby promotes weed and disturbance tolerant rich vegetation. The lowest species number and diversity could be found here. Due to the nitrogen enrichment due to the constant presence of livestock, drier and less heat demanding habitat developed in the "A" zones, according to the environmental indicators. Because of the change in management, conservation and diversity values of "C" zone increased, however, according to nature protection values it underperformed compared to "B" zone. According to the sample area, wet grasslands from the sandy areas of Kiskunság, preserve nature protection values and grass composition better moving away from stables, due to less grazing pressure. Drier backgrounds tolerate stronger grazing pressure.

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The present state of our landscapes is not only the result of various natural processes, but of the anthropogenic effect that humankind had since its occurrence within the landscape. These processes reach back as far as the beginning of the known archaeological eras. One of the major problems in the reconstruction of landscape evolution is bridging the gap between the archaeologically well-defined periods and the extensively documented last three centuries. Remains of the various archaeological periods are conserved in the soil and form part of the soil’s memory function; but soils develop and might get destroyed over time. However, soils also bridge the heritage of once lived cultures with those events of the last few centuries that are reconstructable, based on written and map sources. It must be noted that the possibility of human-induced soil destruction is significantly higher within the mentioned centuries, therefore the understanding of land-use changes, land-use trajectories are essential in assessing the possible degradation of soils, archaeological sites and heritage.The present contribution attempts to integrate the tools of geoarchaeology, soil science and landscape ecology with the archaeological knowledge of the Cikola valley (Mezőföld, Hungary). The historic land-use changes within the target area of the valley were detected and quantified with the trajectory tracking method. This was compared to soil conditions, geoarchaeological data and to information collected through on-site archaeological field walking. The comparisons of archaeological sites that have been less or more intensively used in the past, differ both in soil conditions, and in the condition of the archaeological phenomena they preserve. The trajectory values gave a good estimate on the possible and predictable disturbance of the archaeological phenomena preserved at the examined sites.

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The thousands of kilometers of forest steppes in Eurasia belong to the most threatened ecosystems thanks to habitat loss. We have limited knowledge on the recolonization ability of forest steppe species to date, which is the reason we examined the textural and structural changes in these species during secondary succession in areas of different former land use. The species number, cover, and diversity of forest steppe species, especially those of the Festuco-Brometea group, became significant for all three types in the oldest fallows. The number and proportion of forest steppe species have been steadily increasing in abandoned vineyards and arable land, indicating that forest steppe species are able to rapidly recolonize. The increase in the number and cover of forest steppe species in abandoned grasslands reveals that the replacement of the species pool of these grasslands is not necessarily accompanied by degradation, but also by the appearance and spread of valuable natural species if the habitat is sufficiently patchy. The proportions of habitat categories level off in abandoned vineyards and arable land as abandonment progresses. The cover rates of disturbed habitats species were negligible for all three types for the third decade after abandonment, indicating a change in the quality of the species pool.

Research highlights: In the present survey we examined the sandy grasslands appearing in the steppe-forest-steppe vegetation in the central part of the Carpathian Basin along the Danube. Background and objectives: We aimed to answer the following questions: Is it possible to build a picture of the past form of the vegetation through the examination of these vegetation units based on dominant grass taxa? Is Festuca wagneri an element of open grasslands or steppes? According to our hypothesis, these surveys can help reveal the original or secondary woody, shrubby patches through clarifying dominant taxa. Materials and Methods: We studied the grasslands in terms of coenology, putting great emphasis on the dominant Festuca taxa. Based on our preliminary surveys and literature, three vegetation types can be separated based on one single dominant Festuca taxon in each. The survey was conducted in four different locations in the Carpathian Basin. The cover of dominant grass species was used as an indicator value. The pedological background was also examined. Results: F. vaginata grassland is an open vegetation type based on its coenosystematic composition and ecological values. It grows in very weakly developed calcareous soil with sandy texture, with its lowest and highest organic carbon content ranging from 0.2% to 11.3% (0.2%), and the highest carbonate content (11.3%). Where the grasslands were disturbed, F. pseudovaginata and the recently discovered F. tomanii appeared. These taxa were also found in forest patches. The soil under F. pseudovaginata was more developed, in the surface horizon with higher organic carbon content (1.1%) and lower carbonate content (6.9%). The soil profile under F. wagneri developed the most, as the presence of deep and humus rich soil material from deflation and degradation showed. Conclusions: the dominant Festuca taxa of these vegetation types are good indicators of the changes in the vegetation and their ecological background.