Revisiting Europe's temperate forests: Palaeoecological evidence for an herbivory-driven woodland-grassland mosaic biome

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dc.contributor.authorCzyżewski, Szymon
dc.contributor.authorSøndergaard, Skjold Alsted
dc.contributor.authorMolnár, Ábel Péter
dc.contributor.authorKerr, Matthew Roy
dc.contributor.authorKristensen, Jeppe Aagaard
dc.contributor.authorAtkinson, Joe
dc.contributor.authorTrepel, Jonas
dc.contributor.authorSykut, Maciej
dc.contributor.authorRadzikowski, Paweł
dc.contributor.authorTermansen, Signe Sangill
dc.contributor.authorWałach, Karol
dc.contributor.authorPearce, Elena A.
dc.contributor.authorPang, Sean E.H.
dc.contributor.authorZając, Bartłomiej
dc.contributor.authorBergman, Juraj
dc.contributor.authorThomassen, Emil Sloth
dc.contributor.authorMungi, Ninad
dc.contributor.authorFløjgaard, Camilla
dc.contributor.authorEjrnæs, Rasmus
dc.contributor.authorBuitenwerf, Robert
dc.contributor.authorSvenning, Jens-Christian
dc.date.accessioned2026-03-27T11:26:53Z
dc.date.available2026-03-27T11:26:53Z
dc.date.issued2026
dc.description.abstractUnderstanding the pre-Homo sapiens baseline of the temperate forest biome is crucial for interpreting present-day biodiversity patterns, ecosystem functioning, and guiding restoration. In this review, we synthesize palaeoecological and ecological evidence to reassess vegetation structure across humid-temperate Europe during the Neogene (23–2.6 Myr) and Quaternary (2.6 Myr–1900 CE). We integrate data from multiple proxies – including pollen, macrofossils, isotopic composition, dental ecometrics, microcharcoal, and ancient environmental DNA – to evaluate whether Europe's temperate biome was dominated by closed-canopy forests, open grassland or by more heterogeneous woodland–grassland mosaics. Converging lines of evidence indicate that mosaic woodland vegetation – landscapes combining open, loosely wooded, and closed-canopy patches – prevailed throughout these periods, likely in large part maintained by abundant wild large herbivores. Following the Late-Pleistocene megafaunal collapse, tree cover expanded under reduced herbivore pressure. From the Mesolithic onward, humans increasingly shaped vegetation through burning and hunting. Since the Neolithic, our ancestors partially recreated lost disturbance dynamics through the use of domestic herbivores but also introduced novel drivers that produced ecosystems without historical analogues. These results challenge the traditional paradigm of closed-canopy forests being the dominant natural vegetation type in Europe, showing that homogenous closed-canopy forests are a recent phenomenon that only became the dominant “natural” vegetation after the decline of wild large herbivores and the loss of historical cultural management. Recognizing the woodland-grassland mosaic biome as the dominant natural baseline has major implications for conservation, rewilding, and biodiversity restoration strategies that reflect the ecological and evolutionary history of the temperate zone.
dc.description.sponsorshipThis work was funded by VILLUM FONDEN under Villum Kann Rasmussen Annual Award in Science and Technology (grant 37363 to JCS). We also consider this work a contribution to Center for Ecological Dynamics in a Novel Biosphere (OVO), funded by Danish National Research Foundation (grant DNRF173 to JCS) and the MegaComplexity project, funded by Independent Research Fund Denmark | Natural Sciences (grant 0135-00225B to JCS).
dc.identifier.citationBiological Conservation 316 (2026) 111749
dc.identifier.doi10.1016/j.biocon.2026.111749
dc.identifier.issnISSN: 0006-3207; e-ISSN: 1873-2917
dc.identifier.urihttps://bc.iung.pl/handle/123456789/4766
dc.identifier.urihttps://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006320726000571?via%3Dihub
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherElsevier
dc.subjectpotential natural vegetation, primeval forest, old-growth forest, primary forest, forbland, environmental heterogeneity, megafauna, palaeoecology
dc.titleRevisiting Europe's temperate forests: Palaeoecological evidence for an herbivory-driven woodland-grassland mosaic biome
dc.typeArticle
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