In terms of origin, grasslands in Central Europe can be classified into (i) natural grasslands, predetermined by environmental conditions and wild herbivores; (ii) seminatural grasslands, associated with long-term human activity from the beginning of agriculture during the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition; and (iii) improved (intensive) grasslands, a product of modern agriculture based on sown and highly productive forage grasses and legumes. This review discusses the origin, history and development of grasslands in Central Europe from the Holocene (9500 BC) to recent times, using archaeobotanical (pollen and macroremains), archaeozoological (molluscs, dung beetles, animal bones) and archaeological evidence, together with written and iconographic resources and recent analogies. An indicator of grasslands is the ratio of non-arboreal/arboreal pollen and the presence of pollen of species such as Plantago lanceolata and Urtica dioica in sediments. Pastures can be indicated by Juniperus communis pollen and charcoal present in sediments and the soil profile. Insect-pollinated species can be studied using cesspit sediments and pollen (from honey) in vessels in graves. In Central Europe, natural steppe, alluvial grasslands and alpine grasslands occurred before the start of agriculture in the early Neolithic (5500 BC); their area was small, and grassland patches were fragmentary in the forested landscape. Substantial enlargement of grasslands cannot be expected to have occurred before the late Bronze Age. The first scythes come from the 7th-6th century BC; therefore, hay meadows probably did not develop before this time. There is evidence of hay meadows in Central Europe during the Middle Ages, documented by macroremains of Arrhenatherum elatius in sediments, written records and long scythes in archaeological assemblages. Based on macroremains analyses, we conclude that there was generally high diversity of seminatural grasslands in the cultural landscape in the Middle Ages, and individual grassland Nomenclature of vascular plants Kub at et al. (2002) Nomenclature of plant communities Chytr y (2007)

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Historical field systems are an essential part of the traditional cultural landscape of societies with primarily agricultural subsistence. They embody many functions and values, as they affect the productional, ecological and hydrological functioning of the landscape, its cultural values, the way people perceive the landscape, and their impact on present-day farming. As an aspect of the historical landscape, field systems are a topic investigated in landscape archaeology, environmental studies, historical geography, landscape ecology, and related disciplines. Historical field systems can form many complex spatial structures, shapes and patterns. This paper focuses on identifying environmental and historical/cultural driving forces during the formation and the historical development of various field pattern types. We worked with 523 settlements established in the medieval to the early modern period (approx. 900–1600 AD) in the present-day Czech Republic. We have determined the proportions of different field pattern types in the examined cadastres and have statistically compared them with a variety of environmental and geographical predictors. Our results indicate a strong influence of environmental predictors (terrain undulation, cadastre size), the impact of specific historical events and associated social changes (e.g. land confiscations by the state in the seventeenth century), and a significant relationship between field pattern types and settlement layout types. Furthermore, we have observed the different adaptations of field pattern types to similar environmental conditions, as well as the impact of social and political factors on the processes of landscape formation. Our paper provides the first detailed analysis of the geographical distribution of traditional field systems on the scale of an entire modern state, and emphasizes the importance of transdisciplinary research on cultural landscapes.

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