Change of landscape in the Steinfeld. A comparison of historical topographic maps based on the so-called "Josephinische Landesaufnahme" of the late 18th century with aerial photographs of the last decade reveals a far-reaching change of landscape in the Steinfeld. The loss of treeless natural dry grassland and pastures together with a large increase of arable land, afforested areas, housing estates and industrial areas is most noticeable (see Table 1). Extensive natural steppe, which once covered a major part of the Steinfeld, has been left only in military training areas, which were installed in the early 19th century. For the most part, changes to the landscape were caused by varying political and economical considerations in the course of time.
