Vineyards represent one of the most erosion‐prone types of cultivated land. Because of this, cultivation practices are very important in reducing the soil erosion risk in vineyard regions. The aim of this paper was to assess the impact of various management practices on soil loss in vineyards. Effects of tillage, hoeing, rotavating and grass cover were evaluated in small vineyards located in southwestern Slovakia in the Vráble viticultural district. Erosion and deposition rates were estimated using the levelling method. This method is based on an evaluation of variability of the soil surface against vineyard poles measured between the year of pole insertion and the year of measurement. On the basis of the measured data, a WATEM/SEDEM distributed soil erosion model was calibrated, and the total soil loss from the vineyards under different management conditions was estimated. The model shows rather good performance in modelling soil erosion, but at the same time, it shows lower reliability in modelling soil deposition. Downslope tilled vineyards were the most eroded; the erosion in rotavated vineyards is somewhat reduced. The most protective tillage system is hoeing. Considerably lower soil loss was estimated with the use of vegetation cover between vine rows, which is in accordance with agro‐environmental schemes supporting use of grass cover as an erosion prevention measure in vineyards. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Collectivization of agriculture (1950s-1970s) was one of the most important periods in landscape development in Slovakia. Traditionally managed agricultural landscapes, that covered more than half of the Slovak territory, were transformed into large-scale fields and only fragments of traditional agricultural landscapes survived. We mapped the remaining traditional agricultural landscapes using aerial photos and historical maps. We then statistically analyzed the various geographical factors and their influence on the transformation process of traditional and collectivized fields, i.e., slope steepness, soil fertility, distance from settlements and isolation from regional capital cities. The comparison was performed using classification tree analysis. We constructed a set of decision rules that explain why fields were managed traditionally or collectivized. Our findings show that traditional agricultural fields were more likely to persist on steep terrain, less fertile soils, and on locations that were closer to the settlements, but more isolated from the regional capital cities. Steepness played the most important role: small-scale fields located on steep areas were not accessible to heavy machinery and therefore, frequently survived the collectivization. We show that the selected geographical factors are good explanatory variables for the collectivization of arable fields and orchards. For vineyards and grasslands, however, the explanatory power of the selected geographical factors is lower, and we suspect that other factors, not depicted in the analysis play an important role. Keywords Land-use change Á Classification tree analysis Á Driving forces Á Post-socialist countries Á Resilience Á Cultural landscape

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Traditional agricultural landscapes (TALs)

The observation of spatial and functional relations within ecosystems (Forman, Godron, 1993; Michal, 1994; Jongman, 1995 a,b) and Territorial Systems of Ecological Stability and their design have a successful history not only in the Czech Republic, Germany, Austria, Hungary but also in Slovakia and other countries. The main principle of their design is to create an ecological network in intensively utilised landscape through revitalisation of the existing natural habitats and creation of new ones along with the proposal of their protection and management. The presented contribution represents an example of the proposed spatial framework of ecological stability and management measures in the cadastral area of Klasov. The cadastral area is characterised by prevailing large-block arable parcels and viticultural history. In spite of the agricultural character of the landscape, there are also areas with dispersed non-forest woody vegetation, preserved bank vegetation along streams, wetlands with reed associations, forest growths and mosaics of old abandoned orchards and vineyards as the potential elements of the proposed spatial framework of ecological stability. A functional LTSES framework and implementation of the system of ecostabilizing measures may contribute to increasing diversity of the territory and improvement of its spatial ecological stability. Efforts aimed at the recovery of vine-growing tradition represent a positive feature in terms of increased diversity in the territory.

This study investigates the distribution of terraced landscapes in Slovakia and analyzes their structural characteristics and land use. We found that traditional farming and terrace building as a part of agricultural intensification resulted in two types of terraced landscapes: historical terraced landscapes and new terraced landscapes. The two types differ in size, structure of various elements, their management intensity, and the impact of these spatial structures on biodiversity. Historical terraced landscapes in Slovakia have been partially preserved in vineyard regions, but they are mainly found in mountainous areas. New terraced landscapes are mainly linked to vineyard landscapes. The plant species composition on the mapped terraced landscapes shows a high diversity of habitats and terraces as agrarian relief forms create islands of species diversity in extensively managed agricultural landscapes.

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The landslide susceptibility was assessed based on multivariation analysis. The input parameters were represented by lithology, land use, slope inclination and average annual precipitation. These parameters were evaluated as independent variables, and the existing landslides as dependent variables. The individual input parameters were reclassified and spatially adjusted. Spatial analysis resulted in 15 988 combinations of input parameters representing the homogeneous condition unit (HCU ). Based on the landslide density within individual units, the HCU polygons have been classified according to landslide risk into stable, conditionally stable, conditionally stable and unstable (subdivided into low, medium and high landslide risk). A total of 2002 HCU s were affected by landslides, and the remaining 13 986 were not affected. The total HCU area affected by landslides is about 156.92 km