Risk Management as a Stimulus for a Settlement and Landscape Transformation? Soil Erosion Threat Assessment in the Fields of Four Deserted Villages Based on LiDAR-Derived DEMs and ‘USLE’

This paper draws attention to the dynamics beyond the shaping of historical landscape and deals with the settlement abandonment and landscape transformation during the Later Middle Ages. Despite long-lasting debate about the reasons of this process, explicit explanation is still missing. Among others, ecological issues, including soil erosion, have been frequently mentioned, although not always supported by data. We examine four deserted villages in the Czech Republic—Bzik and Kamenice in Pilsner region (Bohemia) and Bouchenec and Novosice in the Drahany Uplands (Moravia). Their remains have been preserved in woodlands and, therefore, the extent of medieval ploughlands could be reconstructed. LiDAR-derived DEMs and Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) have been applied to assess the soil erosion threat of the village fields. The results of the modelling indicate a high erosion threat for the majority of fields. This factor, together with resulting soil degradation, can be considered as a reason for the abandonment and subsequent landscape transformation.