Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Former field relics (FFR) are microtopographic features: ridge and furrow, lynchets, terraces, headland ridges, stone walls, and stone heaps, inherited from past farming practices. In Europe, they are often described as being “everywhere”, particularly in landscapes that have escaped modern agricultural intensification. In this review, we provide quantitative support for this assumption by synthesizing over 150 studies on FFR across Europe. We also mapped the spatial distribution of the reviewed FFR, with a particular focus on Central Temperate Europe. We successively examine the definitions of the most common FFR, their detection issues, chronology, legacy in contemporary landscapes, and protection status. Finally, we highlight the need for a better understanding of FFR, more harmonised research at the continental scale, and stronger measures for their protection.
Source: Anthropocene
Institutions: Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Laboratoire Image, Ville, Environnement, Université de Strasbourg, Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus-Senftenberg, Durham University, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Czech Technical University in Prague, University of West Bohemia in Pilsen, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Institute of Landscape Ecology of the Slovak Academy of Sciences, Jan Evangelista Purkyně University in Ústí nad Labem, University of Wrocław, Université de Tours, CItés, Territoires, Environnement et Sociétés, Charles University
Language: English
Subfield: Soil Science
Domain: Life Sciences
SDG: Life on land
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,770
Awards: Relikte der historischen Landnutzung als Elemente von Bodenlandschaften Verbreitung, Eigenschaften und Funktionen von anthropogenen Kleinreliefformen und Böden am Beispiel zweier Einzugsgebiete in Ostbayern, Analýzy a hodnotenia environmentálnej histórie vybraných typov krajiny Slovenska od mladšieho praveku po súčasnosť.
OpenAlex ID: W7224113094