Grassy systems of CE Europe: changes and drivers during the Holocene

Abstract

Human use of land has been transforming the land cover in Europe for millennia. Lowlands dominated by open ecosystems i.e., woodlands, forest-steppe, and grasslands (after that, grassy ecosystems), were central to the human story providing environments for hunter-gathers, husbanding livestock, and crops because they were easy to hunt, forage, graze and clear and cultivate. Yet, despite humans having a long-sustained interaction with open ecosystems, these cannot be defined as sole legacies of humans nor described as deforested or wastelands. This work examines the palaeoecological records (pollen and pollen-based quantitative vegetation reconstructions, charcoal, coprophilous spores) and archaeological evidence from SE Europe, focusing on Romania. It discusses how climate change, fire, herbivores, and humans have shaped grassy ecosystems for millennia We need more palaeoecological records from grassy systems to understand better the fundamental ecological controls that derive forest–grassland coexistence. This could give us points of leverage that are important for the conservation and restoration of the grassy systems for biodiversity and climate change adaptation.