Age and Origin of Forests in South-western Poland and their Importance for Ecological Studies in Man-dominated Landscapes

The aim of the research was to describe the former and current distribution of forests from the first topographical map available, dated 1780, until the end of the twentieth century, in two geographical regions in south-western Poland, and to present those changes as graphs. Forests differing in their continuity in the landscape, namely ancient and recent, were identified and their area and percentage share among other land use forms present in the landscape were calculated. In both regions, the proportion of forested land exceeds the average for the whole country, since the latter reached 28.8% in 2005, whereas in the study areas they were 33.7% and 41.2%. In both situations, ancient forests predominate (76.7% and 70.1%, respectively). Maps representing the history of forests may be useful in environmental studies, focusing on floral diversity, water table changes and landscape transformations, but also in afforestation strategies and conservation plans.