In the south German language (of the Alemannic-speaking area, or in Switzerland), a gäu landscape (gäulandschaft) refers to an area of open, level countryside. These regions typically have fertile soils resulting from depositions of loess (an exception is the Arme Gäue of the Baden-Württemberg Gäu).
The intensive use of the Gäu regions for crops has displaced the originally wooded countryside (→climax vegetation – in contrast with the steppe heath theory and disputed megaherbivore hypothesis). The North German equivalent of such landscapes is börde.
See also
- Gau (territory) – also gives the etymology and language history of Gäu
- Gäu – regions with the name
- Natural regions referred to as Gäu plateaus:
- Gäuboden
- Altsiedelland | Altsiedel landscape