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Europe is expected to experience major climatic shifts during the 21st century but the impact on agricultural productivity from such changes is uncertain. Here, we combine proxy, instrumental, and model data to assess interannual to multi‐centennial changes in central European agroclimate over the past 2,000 years and projections into the near future. Whereas early 21st century conditions are rare but not fully unprecedented, more than half of the area that was considered highly productive throughout the Common Era in central Europe currently falls outside of that definition. This trend will likely continue as even the most conservative climate projections push central Europe outside the range of past natural variability of changes to agroclimatic zones. Reconstructed extremes prior to the instrumental record align well with contemporary documentary records of societal upheaval. Forecasted changes to the main agroclimatic drivers require substantial adaptation in land use and agricultural management strategies of considerable costs. Plain Language Summary: Climate variability has a direct impact on agricultural productivity in Europe. However, to fully understand how this relationship may impact society in the future, we need long‐term records that encompass many different scenarios. We combine stable isotopes from tree rings, instrumental weather data, and climate projections for the future to study the changes occurring within the system over a period of 2,100 years. Periods in the past that experienced harsher agroclimate conditions coincide with societal change or events. The climate projections indicate that more than half of the high‐productivity land within the study region will experience worse conditions in the near future. Key Points: More than half of central European land categorized as highly productive in a long‐term context has lost this status due to droughtCentral European agroclimate is projected to move beyond the conditions of the past 2,000 years in upcoming decadesThree previous cases of poor agroclimate conditions have been associated with major societal downturns [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Today, accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) technology enables us to carry out very precise measurements of radiocarbon (14C). Unfortunately, due to fluctuations in the 14C calibration curve, the resulting calibrated time intervals vary from decades up to centuries in calibrated age. Within a time scale of several decades, we can find several time intervals on the 14C calibration curve which correspond with periods of rapid increases in atmospheric 14CO2 activity. Some of these "high slope" parts of the calibration curve could be used for fine time resolution for radiocarbon dating of individual samples. Nevertheless, there are certain limitations owing to the properties of the samples measured. We have prepared a time-resolution curve for the 14C dating method, applying calibration curve IntCal13 and assuming an uncertainty of 14C analyses ±15 yr BP (for recent samples). Our curve of the time resolution covers the last 50 ka. We found several time intervals with time resolution below 50 yr BP for the last 3 ka. Several time intervals which can enable substantially better time resolution compared to neighboring parts of the calibration curve were also found for periods older than 3 ka. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is generally accepted that anthropogenicinduced climate change may affect the frequency and intensity of hydrological extremes, together with a variety of subsequent impacts on ecosystems and human society. Proxy records that are absolutely dated and annually resolved are indispensable to a better understanding of temporal changes in the occurrence of floods and droughts. This contribution presents a new data set of 3194 oak (Quercus spp.) ring width samples from living trees and historical timbers, collected across the Czech Republic. A composite tree-ring width (TRW) chronology is developed that best captures the high-frequency extremes over the past 1250 years. The temporal distribution of negative and positive extremes is regular with no indication of clustering. The highest number of negative extremes was found in the 19th century, while positive extremes were most frequent in the 12th century. The lowest number of negative and positive extremes occurred in the 18th and 13th centuries respectively. Negative and positive TRW extremes were compared with the instrumental measurements back to 1805 AD, with documentary-based temperature and precipitation reconstructions from 1804 to 1500, and with documentary evidence before 1500 AD. Negative TRW extremes coincided with above-average March-May and June-August temperature means and below-average precipitation totals. Positive extremes coincided with higher summer precipitation, while temperatures were mostly normal. Mean sea level pressure (SLP) over the European/North Atlantic sector suggested drought for the negative oak TRW extremes, whereas the positive extremes corresponded to wetter conditions overall. More consistent patterns of synoptic SLP were found for negative rather than for positive extremes. Reasons for the possible offset between the oak-based hydroclimatic extremes and their counterparts from meteorological observations and documentary evidence may be manifold and emphasize the need for multi-proxy approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present study, anatomical features were used to identify tree species chosen to craft farming tools from the 19th and first half of the 20th century preserved in specimen inventories of the open-air museum in Strážnice, south-eastern Moravia (Czech Republic). In total, 701 samples from 337 historical farming tools were obtained from museum specimens. The samples were identified at micro- or macroscopic levels, or both. Results indicated local people used floodplain forest wood to construct farming tools in the study region. Nineteen wood species were identified; from this total, those with higher densities and better mechanical properties were used to manufacture tools, and included predominantly beech, oak, and ash. Softwood species, with lower densities were mainly used for chiseled out implements. We hypothesized regional forest species composition played an essential role in woody species choice, however the species also possessed appropriate properties. Cultivated tree species, such as fruit trees, were employed to create common objects; however, currently, these species are typically applied for special purposes. We concluded an increased number of species were employed in the past for utilitarian purposes, including tree species grown outside local forest boundaries, including cultivated fruit tree species; and species were utilized with good, although perhaps tacit, knowledge of their properties.