Historical Agricultural Landforms—Central European Bio-Cultural Heritage Worthy of Attention

Abstract

Knowledge about past agricultural land management can bring solutions for future needs. One undervalued historical type of historical rural landscape in temperate Europe is termed plužiny. It consists of individual historical agricultural landforms framed by linear woody vegetation. Our multidisciplinary research quantified the distribution of plužiny in Czechia, utilizing archive materials, geographic information systems, and field surveys for verification. Several case studies give merit to the societal relevance of plužiny and justification for their protection and inclusion in landscape planning. We have assessed the contribution of plužiny to secondary geodiversity by describing the landforms morphometrically, using geophysical imaging of their inner structure, and assessing the possible downslope erosive segregation of soil particles. The results of these analyses prove the positive effect of these landscape features on secondary geodiversity and biodiversity at the species level through the process of induced landscape diversification. The results also document management changes during the last 170 years and provide a basis for assessing their present-day endangerment. Although plužiny are less known compared to bocage landscapes of Western Europe, they are similarly valuable. Landscape managers should better recognize the ecological, cultural, and aesthetic values of plužiny as historical agricultural landforms and protect them as a bio-cultural heritage.