We present quantitative reconstructions of regional vegetation cover in northwestern Europe, western Europe north of the Alps, and eastern Europe for five time windows in the Holocene [around 6k, 3k, 0.5k, 0.2k, and 0.05k calendar years before present (BP)] at a 1° 9 1° spatial scale with the objective of producing vegetation descriptions suitable for climate modelling. The REVEALS model was applied on 636 pollen records from lakes and bogs to reconstruct the past cover of 25 plant taxa grouped into 10 plant-functional types and three land-cover types [evergreen trees, Correspondence: A.-K. Trondman, tel. + 46 (0)480 44 61 98, fax + 46 (0)480 44 73 40, Global Change Biology summer-green (deciduous) trees, and open land]. The model corrects for some of the biases in pollen percentages by using pollen productivity estimates and fall speeds of pollen, and by applying simple but robust models of pollen dispersal and deposition. The emerging patterns of tree migration and deforestation between 6k BP and modern time in the REVEALS estimates agree with our general understanding of the vegetation history of Europe based on pollen percentages. However, the degree of anthropogenic deforestation (i.e. cover of cultivated and grazing land) at 3k, 0.5k, and 0.2k BP is significantly higher than deduced from pollen percentages. This is also the case at 6k in some parts of Europe, in particular Britain and Ireland. Furthermore, the relationship between summer-green and evergreen trees, and between individual tree taxa, differs significantly when expressed as pollen percentages or as REVEALS estimates of tree cover. For instance, when Pinus is dominant over Picea as pollen percentages, Picea is dominant over Pinus as REVEALS estimates. These differences play a major role in the reconstruction of European landscapes and for the study of land cover-climate interactions, biodiversity and human resources.

This study uses two novel archaeobotanical techniques -crop carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis and functional weed ecology -to determine directly how the intensity of agricultural practice changed from the Neolithic to the Early Iron Age in south-west Germany, with the emergence of fortified hilltop settlements (Fürstensitze or chiefly seats) regarded as the first urban centres in central Europe. The crop isotope and functional weed ecological evidence suggest that surplus cereal production in the Early Iron Age was achieved through sustained use of manure combined with expansion in arable cultivation, both developments that are connected with more widespread use of animal traction. The increased scale of cultivation is broadly apparent across rural as well as fortified hilltop centres in the Early Iron Age, and considerable variability in manuring intensity is consistent with agricultural decision-making at a local level rather than centralised control. Additionally, the more intensive manuring of hulled six-row barley, used in beer production, demonstrates that the political importance of drinking and feasting in Early Iron Age society was reflected in crop husbandry practices. In terms of animal husbandry, faunal isotope data reveal a radical decrease in forest cover, potentially reflecting an expansion in the scale of herding accompanying that of arable cultivation. Sitespecific patterning points to a range of herding strategies, from specialised herding of cattle at the Heuneburg to generalised patterns of livestock management at rural sites.

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The Black Forest is considered to be a rather unfavorable area, having a short vegetation period, low mean annual temperatures, high precipitation, and a pronounced relief. These conditions do not favor agricultural land use and thus it is widely accepted that people only began using the land intensively during the Middle Ages. In this integrated study 17 soil profiles, two peat bogs and a database of archaeological finds were used to reconstruct past land use impacts on the environment. AMS–14C datings of charcoals, luminescence datings of colluvial deposits, archaeological finds and pollen records indicate land use already during the Neolithic. This pre‐medieval land use might be related to seasonal settlements dominated by pastoralism and the use of wood or bedrock to build settlements and infrastructure or as energy supply. There is new evidence of human activity dating back to the Bronze and Iron Age, which is a discrepancy to the absence of archaeological finds in the direct vicinity of the studied sites. With the beginning of the Middle Ages land use practices changed, most likely with the expansion and intensification of agricultural land use, which coincides with the increasing use of natural resources in the Black Forest. Hence, the main phases of colluvial deposition date to the Middle Ages and Modern Times. Increased contents of As, Cr, Cu, Pb, or Zn in medieval colluvial deposits might indicate smelting or mining, even though there are no known archeological sites pointing to such activities nearby. Whereas the pattern of colluvial deposition in the southeastern Black Forest points to distinct, but local land use in pre‐medieval times and to intensified and widespread land use since the Middle Ages, thick and multi‐layered colluvial deposits indicate intensive land use in the neighboring Baar region since the Neolithic. The different land use patterns of these two regions originate from the rather favorable conditions for agriculture in terms of soils, climate, and topography in the Baar region compared to the unfavorable conditions in the Black Forest.

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