The composition and dynamics of the old Central European forests must therefore be reconstructed from these relics, from forest research areas and natural forest cells after they have ceased to be used, and by comparison with forest types in similar climatic conditions that are still true virgin forests, especially the Hyrcanian Forest on the Caspian Sea. "Ancient forests" in Central Europe refer to the few remaining stands that are neither currently used for forestry nor were exploited in historical times.Įven with these, certain types of human influence, for example, forest browsing, cannot be completely ruled out. By far the most common are commercial timber forests, which may be more or less near-natural, with beech and oak, spruce and pine. Apart from a few remnants of "near-natural forest" the vast majority of today's Central European forests are either artificial forests or whose present composition has arisen as a result of active or passive human intervention. Today's forest communities in central Europe are influenced by the usefulness of the individual tree species. Some contemporary reports even spoke partly of desert-like landscapes at that time.ĭuring the late 19th and 20th centuries a huge amount of artificial reforestation was implemented. As a result, during the period 1750-1850 forests in Central Europe had been decimated, causing a serious lack of timber. Sedentary, Neolithic farmers of the Linear Pottery Culture, about 7 500 years ago, began to change the forested landscape massively.ĭue to feudal structures, the power over and ownership of forests was not at all clear for many centuries, which resulted in widespread overexploitation. It is believed that during glacial times during the ongoing ice age Central Europe was largely deforested and, in the period of "natural" re-emergence of the forest, since the end of the last glacial period, the Würm glaciation (about 11 700 years BP), people began to play a part transforming the potential natural vegetation. The degree of hemeroby (human influence) and the extent of the original natural state from so long ago is difficult to estimate. The oldest evidence of human and forest interaction in Central Europe is the use of hand axes about 500 thousand years ago. Remaining forest in Central Europe today is not generally considered natural forest, but rather a cultural landscape created over thousands of years which consists almost exclusively of replacement communities. Historical and contemporary human activity has profoundly influenced the composition of forests in the densely populated region of Central Europe. 10.1 Typical types of European commercial forest.8.2 Forest development in the Middle Ages.8.1 Völkerwanderung and the Middle Ages.7 Völkerwanderung - the Migration Period.4.5 Post interglacial period (Sub-Atlantic).4.2 Pre-interglacial (Preboreal) and early interglacial (Boreal).4.1 Late Arctic period, Allerød and Younger Dryas.
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