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We explored interactions among human activities, landscape development and changes in biotic proxies in two small calcareous spring fens in the Slovak Eastern Carpathians. These date back to cal. a.d. 930. Results of pollen, plant macrofossil, and mollusc analyses were compared with the settlement history. The regional pollen record reflected historical events and changes in the settlement density very well at both study sites. The natural mixed fir-beech-spruce forests with fern undergrowth were suppressed and replaced by light-demanding trees in the periods of high human impact (e.g. Wallachian colonization). The study area was affected several times by wars and raids followed by a consequent decline in the settlement density. Some of these events are well reflected in the pollen records that document tree recovery and decline of cereals, weeds, and pasture indicators. In comparison, only some landscape changes were reflected in the local fen development. Both spring fens originated after deforestation, Roskovce around a.d. 1347 and Mirol'a around a.d. 929. The most pronounced change involving the water regime stabilization and undisturbed development of plant and mollusc communities took place after the decline in human impact. We conclude that humans were the main drivers of landscape transformation in the last millennium; they directly created spring-fen ecosystems through deforestation and influenced fen species composition through husbandry activities.

Using plant macrofossil and mollusc analyses of 50 basal samples and three representative profiles we illustrate the most common developmental types of calcareous fens: (i) fens originating in the Lateglacial, having an open or semi-open character during the whole Holocene; (ii) open fens originating as wooded wetlands; and (iii) open fens starting their development de novo in the late Holocene. Human activities were responsible for the formation of a high number of calcareous fens, especially in the Outer Western Carpathians, and became important drivers of fen biodiversity development. Only a few recently existing calcareous fens contain old sequences of calcareous deposits.

The recent research has shown a high malacological value of the Skalní Potok Nature Reserve that had never been searched for molluscs. The reserve hosts 49 mollusc species, which represents almost 20% of the entire Czech malacofauna. Such richness can be explained mainly by a high habitat diversity of the target area. Several types of forest such as ravine forests, alder carrs, herb-rich beech forests and spruce forests alternate on the area of 2 km². Among endangered species, the most interesting findings represent sensitive species from the family Clausiliidae, chiefly Bulgarica cana, Clausilia cruciata, and Ruthenica filograna. This area deserves the strictest protection as the reserve belongs to one of the well-preserved remnants of deciduous leaf forests in the Hrubý Jeseník Mts.