Aim The forest steppe of the Transylvanian Plain is a landscape of exceptionally diverse steppe-like and semi-natural grasslands. Is this vegetation a remnant of a once continuous temperate forest extensively cleared by humans, or has the area, since the last glacial, always been a forest steppe? Understanding the processes that drive temperate grassland formation is important because effective management of this biome is critical to the conservation of the European cultural landscape.Location Lake Stiucii, north-western Romania, central-eastern Europe.Methods We analysed multi-proxy variables (pollen, coprophilous fungi, plant macroremains, macrocharcoal) from a 55,000 year discontinuous sequence (c. 55,000-35,000; 13,000-0 cal. yr bp), integrating models of pollenbased vegetation cover, biome reconstruction, global atmospheric simulations and archaeological records.Results Needleleaf woodland occurred during glacial Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 3, but contracted at the end of this period. Forest coverage of c. 55% (early Holocene) and 65% (mid-Holocene) prevailed through the Holocene, but Bronze Age humans extensively cleared forests after 3700 cal. yr bp. Forest coverage was most widespread between 8600 and 3700 cal. yr bp, whereas grasses, steppe and xerothermic forbs were most extensive between 11,700 and 8600 cal. yr bp and during the last 3700 cal. yr bp. Cerealia pollen indicate the presence of arable agriculture by c. 7000 cal. yr bp. Main conclusionsWe have provided the first unequivocal evidence for needleleaf woodland during glacial MIS 3 in this region. Extensive forests prevailed prior to 3700 cal. yr bp, challenging the hypothesis that the Transylvanian lowlands were never wooded following the last glaciation. However, these forests were never fully closed either, reflecting dry growing season conditions, recurrent fires and anthropogenic impacts, which have favoured grassland persistence throughout the Holocene. The longevity of natural and semi-natural grasslands in the region may explain their current exceptional biodiversity. This longer-term perspective implies that future climatic warming and associated fire will maintain these grasslands.

The Apuseni Natural Park (ANP) in northwestern Romania was founded in 1990 to protect the old-growth forests in this region and their high species diversity. We present results from palaeoecological investigation (pollen, micro- and macrocharcoal) of two sedimentary sequences from ANP alongside regional archaeological and historical records to explore (1) the degree to which the present-day vegetation in this part of the reserve is a consequence of past land-use systems and forest management; (2) how this forest differs from what was there prior to human activity; and (3) how the understanding of correlations between historical land-use and vegetation changes is directly relevant for reserve conservation strategies and sustainable management of this reserve. Results indicate that anthropogenic activities had little influence on the forest dynamics prior to 200 BC but became evident thereafter as a consequence of forest burning, seasonal pastoralism and small-scale deforestation. From AD 1550, anthropogenic activities also included wood clearances for smelting, and over the last 150 years it is apparent that these forests have been industrially exploited and managed. Despite this legacy of these past land uses, most of the tree species growing presently in the forests are native. Humans have, however, altered their original relative abundance, leading to a great reduction of Fagus sylvatica and Abies alba, and to less extent of Ulmus, Tilia, Fraxinus excelsior and the enrichment with Picea abies, Betula, Alnus, Pinus and some Quercus, Carpinus betulus, Corlyus avellana .

ABSTRACT. The examination of pollen and charcoal from the Gutâiului Mountains in northwestern Romania and the archaeological evidence from surroundings provides some information on how past human activities have changed the vegetation in this region. The first evidence of potential human influence upon the woodlands is manifested by fire clearance recorded at approximately 7900 cal. yr BP coinciding with the Early Neolithic. The charcoal peaks at ca. 5750, 3300, 2700, 1500, 1000 cal. yr BP, and during the last 300 years are associated with episodes of decline of main woodland constituents (Ulmus, Tilia, Fraxinus, and Corylus), and the expansion of fire-precursors (Betula, Alnus, and Corylus), and of herb species that indicate an anthropogenic disturbance. The small openings created within the woodlands were probably used as grazing areas. The first signs of agriculture appear at ca. 1500 cal. yr BP. Only during the last 300 years does pollen of the cereals e.g. Secale, Hordeumgroup, Poaceae >40 µm, suggest the spread of arable field in the lowlands (Oaş Depression), but not in the proximity of the study basins.

The town of Tăşnad, in north-west Romania, is situated at the western end of the Tăşnad Hills which rise to a height of up to 230m above sea-level; the site ‘Sere’ is situated south-west of the town near a thermal spa on the banks of the Cehal river, a tributary of the Ier. The Cehal valley opens towards the Ier and Someş plains which form the north-easternmost part of the Great Hungarian Plain, a marshy area until the large-scale drainage-works of the 19th and 20th centuries. Even today, the Cehal valley is quite swampy, especially at the confluence with the Ier. The Austrian military maps demonstrate large-scale forest-clearance during the last three centuries; at the end of the 18th century, the site itself was still forested. Several prehistoric sites from different periods are located on the first and second terraces of the Cehal, at altitudes of around 140m