Spatial determinants of the distribution of lynchets and stone walls in NW Czechia: A broad-scale study

Abstract

Stone walls or lynchets play an important role within, often monotonous, cultural landscapes by promoting bio- and geo-diversity. This man-made heritage has often evolved over centuries and is valuable from an environmental and historical perspective. Study focuses in detail on the analysis of stone walls and lynchets within a large study area (5399 km2, NW Czechia, Europe) and on the environmental and socio-economic factors that explain the unequal spatial distribution of these landforms. Lynchets and stone walls were mapped by combining information from maps and aerial imagery, validated by field verification and interrelationships of factors and landform presence was analysed by exploratory statistics. We have observed distinctive variation in the density of the landforms and revealed several hotspots of their occurrence that are characteristic of higher elevation, steeper slopes, a high share of skeleton content and higher length of agricultural plot boundary. The hotspots of lynchets and stone walls identified correspond with well-preserved long-strip field patterns that are scarcely found in Central Europe due to, inter alia, past land management practices. The benefits that these landforms carry should be met with an appropriate degree of protection and management.