Plant Memory in the Former Village of Židlov, Ralsko, Czech Republic

This dataset documents interdisciplinary fieldwork conducted in the former village of Židlov (German: Schiedel or Sidlow), located within the present-day administrative area of Ralsko, Northern Bohemia, Czech Republic (50.605 N, 14.846 E). The site has undergone a history of forced depopulation and subsequent military use and is currently covered by secondary forest and grasslands within an European bison preserve. Our research forms part of a broader investigation into more-than-human heritage and landscape memory. It focuses on plant species that may act as living witnesses of former human habitation. To identify such traces in a significantly transformed landscape, we conducted a field survey with an emphasis on cultural (planted) plants, while drawing on current and archival maps, aerial photographs, and regional literature. During the fieldwork, we identified 22 plant species across more than 30 documented locations, interpreted as persistent indicators of past settlement, surviving approximately 75 years after the village was depopulated and the area underwent major land-use transformations. Using botanical knowledge and species traits-based analysis, we classified the recorded species according to their ecological characteristics and dispersal strategies. Based on this, we propose a conceptual framework for interpreting different types of “plant memory,” enabling a more nuanced understanding of how vegetation may embody and transmit landscape memory.