ABSTRACTThe intention of this study was to analyse the changes in the pattern of certain landscape elements, land use types and small biotopes (linear structures), and to determine how these changes have influenced the occurrence of grassland plant species. This was accomplished by combining retrospective studies of aerial photographs from 1947, 1965 and 1984 with field data over plant species. The results showed that the total changes in land use types, which have affected 27% of the area, reduced the distribution of grassland areas by 61%. Altogether, the linear structures decreased in line length by 28%. The most affected class, field verges, was reduced by almost 60%. The effects on the natural grassland flora are briefly discussed in this article.