We subjected human paleofeces dating from the Bronze Age to the Baroque period (18^th century AD) to in-depth microscopic, metagenomic, and proteomic analyses. The paleofeces were preserved in the underground salt mines of the UNESCO World Heritage site of Hallstatt in Austria. This allowed us to reconstruct the diet of the former population and gain insights into their ancient gut microbiome composition. Our dietary survey identified bran and glumes of different cereals as some of the most prevalent plant fragments. This highly fibrous, carbohydrate-rich diet was supplemented with proteins from broad beans and occasionally with fruits, nuts, or animal food products. Due to these traditional dietary habits, all ancient miners up to the Baroque period have gut microbiome structures akin to modern non-Westernized individuals whose diets are also mainly composed of unprocessed foods and fresh fruits and vegetables. This may indicate a shift in the gut community composition of modern Westernized populations due to quite recent dietary and lifestyle changes. When we extended our microbial survey to fungi present in the paleofeces, in one of the Iron Age samples, we observed a high abundance of Penicillium roqueforti and Saccharomyces cerevisiae DNA. Genome-wide analysis indicates that both fungi were involved in food fermentation and provides the first molecular evidence for blue cheese and beer consumption in Iron Age Europe.

Orchard meadows, a specific agroforestry system characterised by scattered high-stem fruit trees, are a traditional element of several cultural landscapes in Central Europe and provide important ecosystem services. Since the middle of the 20th century, orchard meadows have drastically declined across Europe. Spatial information on the drivers and patterns of such a decline in several regions in Central Europe is lacking. In this study, we aimed to provide the first detailed insights into the development of orchard meadows in South Tyrol. We assessed the current distribution of orchard meadows in South Tyrol (Northern Italy) and analysed the patterns and drivers of their decline over the last 75 years. Aerial images of the orchard meadows in South Tyrol from the 1950s up to the 2020s were examined, and changes in their distribution were statistically analysed. The results revealed that the historical orchard meadow area in South Tyrol has decreased by more than 6,000 ha (−95%) over the past 75 years, showing one of the largest reductions in Central Europe. Orchard meadow loss was highest at lower elevations (–5,155 ha), shallow slopes (–4,313 ha), and expositions towards the south (–5,035 ha). Orchard meadows have declined due to agricultural intensification towards the establishment of modern fruit orchards (56%) and intensively managed grasslands (8%), urbanisation (23%), and reforestation (6%), and other types of land use/land cover (6.5%). Only 0.5% of the traditional orchard meadows have been preserved. The results suggest that orchard meadows are at a high risk of disappearing from the South Tyrolean landscape, resulting in the loss of genetic diversity of many local or indigenous fruit varieties (especially apples and pears). Immediate action is needed to safeguard the current orchard meadow population and appropriate management measures are needed to highlight the multiple values of orchard meadows and provide a valuable alternative to intensive arable farming.