Our Faculty is proud to announce that Assistant Professor Ondřej Mottl, Head of the Quantitative Ecology Lab at the Department of Botany, is part of an international team that has been awarded funding from the prestigious European Research Council’s (ERC) Synergy Grant. This €13.5 million grant supports the international MEMELAND project, which aims to uncover how medieval land use continues to shape European landscapes today.
Awarded as part of the EU's Horizon Europe research and innovation programme, the ERC Synergy Grant enables top researchers to tackle critical scientific questions through collaborative, multidisciplinary research. MEMELAND, officially titled Molecular Ecology of Medieval European Landscapes, brings together researchers from Norway, the UK, Switzerland, and Austria to reveal how medieval societies transformed their environments. Using advanced methods like sedimentary DNA (sedaDNA) and lipid biomarker analysis, the project will examine ancient soils and lake sediments to reveal traces of medieval agriculture, climate patterns, and human activities.
Shedding Light on Medieval Land Use and Its Legacy
MEMELAND’s innovative approach will focus on extracting DNA and other markers from lakebed sediments across Europe—sites that have remained largely undisturbed for centuries. These sediments contain invaluable records of past ecologies, human practices, and agricultural developments, providing insights that extend far beyond traditional historical sources. By studying DNA remnants from plants and animals, as well as biochemical markers, MEMELAND aims to map medieval ecological transformations that have shaped today’s landscapes.
Illuminating Medieval Land Use and Its Legacy
MEMELAND’s approach centres on analysing DNA and other markers preserved in lakebed sediments across Europe—sites that have remained largely undisturbed for centuries. These sediments contain rich records of past ecologies, human activities, and agricultural practices, offering insights that go beyond traditional historical records. By studying DNA traces from plants and animals, as well as biochemical markers, MEMELAND aims to map medieval ecological changes that continue to influence today’s landscapes.
Assistant Professor Ondřej Mottl, with expertise in data processing and quantitative ecology focused on large-scale biodiversity patterns, commented: “MEMELAND offers a unique opportunity to reveal how medieval agriculture and societal changes shaped Europe’s ecosystems. By analysing ancient DNA and biomarkers preserved in sediments, we can reconstruct ecological patterns and gain deeper insights into the long-term impacts of human activity on biodiversity and landscapes.”
Guiding Restoration and Sustainable Land Management
MEMELAND’s findings may also guide current landscape restoration projects across Europe. By understanding how medieval agriculture affected biodiversity, the project provides a historical perspective that could inform sustainable land management and conservation today.
Key questions for the project include:
- Did the Middle Ages see agricultural advances or ecological degradation?
- How did social structures influence land use and landscape changes?
- What roles did climate and disease play in medieval land use?
Charles University’s role in MEMELAND highlights the significance of Czech contributions to international research and the global reach of ERC Synergy Grants. Mottl joins a select group of researchers from 57 collaborative projects awarded €571 million in ERC funding this year, including two other projects involving researchers based in Czechia.
More Information: Ondřej Mottl; Laboratory of Quantitative Ecology
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About the ERC Synergy Grants
ERC Synergy Grants foster collaboration among leading researchers by pooling expertise and resources to address complex scientific challenges. In 2024, 57 projects were funded from nearly 550 proposals, spanning fields from natural sciences to the humanities. This grant programme plays a key role in advancing Europe’s leadership in scientific research and innovation.
FACT BOX:
Project Title: MEMELAND (Molecular Ecology of Medieval European Landscapes)
Total ERC Synergy Grant: €13,537,645
Participating:
- Principal Investigators (PIs):
- Prof. Tony G. Brown, Tromsø Museum, Arctic University of Norway (UiT), Norway
- Prof. Helena Hamerow, Institute of Archaeology, University of Oxford, UK
- Prof. Nathalie Dubois, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (EAWAG), Zurich, Switzerland
- Prof. Andreas Lang, Paris Lodron University, Salzburg, Austria
- Partner: Assistant Professor Ondřej Mottl, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
- Researchers from 13 different nationalities will contribute to MEMELAND.