On the vegetation history of calcareous grasslands in the Franconian Jura (Germany) since the Bronze Age ; with 30 tables

In Central Europe, nearly all calcareous grasslands have originated and developed under human land-use practices like burning, grazing by cattle and sheep and hay-making. These grasslands belong to the most species-rich habitats in Central Europe, but the factors causing species richness are still poorly understood. Land-use history and the age of an ecosystem can have significant effects on its species richness. The date of the first appearance of man-made dry grasslands and the development of calcareous grasslands are mostly unknown. From the centre of the distribution of calcareous grasslands in Central Europe, which are the Jurassic mountains Swabian and Franconian Jura, no study has been carried out on the origin of dry grasslands so far. In the surroundings of Kallmünz three complementary approaches - especially palynological and anthracological analysis - have been carried out to reconstruct the vegetation history of certain calcareous grasslands since the Bronze Age: a) A pollen analysis reveals the local and regional vegetation history. Charcoal analysis allows the reconstruction of forest/ wood composition. It uses several geo-archives: b) charcoals from archaeological excavations of a prehistoric settlement, c) charcoals from soils of recent grasslands (pedoanthracological researches) and charcoals from historic kiln sites. This reveals the history of the local vegetation. d) With a GIS-based analysis from historical maps, records of the consolidation of farmland etc. the development of grasslands in the modern times was reconstructed.