From features to fingerprints: A general diagnostic framework for anthropogenic geomorphology

Abstract

Human societies have been reshaping the geomorphology of landscapes for thousands of years, producing anthropogenic geomorphic features ranging from earthworks and reservoirs to settlements, roads, canals, ditches and plough furrows that have distinct characteristics compared with landforms produced by natural processes. Physical geographers have long recognized the widespread importance of these features in altering landforms and geomorphic processes, including hydrologic flows and stores, to processes of soil erosion and deposition. In many of the same landscapes, archaeologists have also utilized anthropogenic geomorphic features to detect and analyse human societal activities, including symbolic formations, agricultural systems, settlement patterns and trade networks. This paper provides a general framework aimed at integrating geophysical and archaeological approaches to observing, identifying and interpreting the full range of anthropogenic geomorphic features based on their structure and functioning, both individually and as components of landscape-scale management strategies by different societies, or “sociocultural fingerprints”. We then couple this framework with new algorithms developed to detect anthropogenic geomorphic features using precisely detailed three-dimensional reconstructions of landscape surface structure derived from LiDAR and computer vision photogrammetry. Human societies are now transforming the geomorphology of landscapes at increasing rates and scales across the globe. To understand the causes and consequences of these transformations and contribute to building sustainable futures, the science of physical geography must advance towards empirical and theoretical frameworks that integrate the natural and sociocultural forces that are now the main shapers of Earth’s surface processes.

Geomorphometric characterisation of natural and anthropogenic land covers

“…They tend to reflect the interaction of climate, tectonics, erosion and deposition (Castelltort et al 2015;Zhang et al 2016;Marshall et al 2017). An increasing amount of the research (Szabó et al 2010;Hooke 2012;Ellis et al 2013;Goudie and Viles 2016;Tarolli and Sofia 2016;Tarolli 2016;Brown et al 2017;Migoń and Latocha 2018;Goudie 2018;Tarolli et al 2019) has pointed out that human activity has played a pivotal role as geomorphic forcing. For instance, agriculture is susceptible to accelerate soil erosion (Tóth 2010;Curebal et al 2015;Borrelli et al 2017), dams and reservoirs engineering interrupt the continuity of sediment transport in rivers system (Tessler et al 2016;Wang et al 2016;Poeppl et al 2017), road network construction is associated with slope stability of roadcut and other geological risks (Csima 2010;Sidle and Ziegler 2012;Penna et al 2014;Ramos-scharrón 2018).…”

“…As suggested by Dietrich and Perron (2006), small-scale biotic processes can influence the form of landscapes and create a distinctive topography, but this has yet to be investigated for human-made landforms. Identifying natural and anthropogenic features and further distinguishing the landform signatures still poses a significant challenge for the geomorphological community (Tarolli et al 2019). Thanks to the progress in remote sensing techniques and open-access datasets, the recognition of large-scale geomorphic signatures is now possible at various scales (Evans 1980;Nagel et al 2014;Sofia et al 2014a;Tarolli 2014;Byun and Seong 2015;Jordan et al 2016).…”

Point-bar development under human impact: Case study on the Lower Tisza River, Hungary

“…River dynamics can be significantly altered by human impacts (Romanescu et al, 2011;Djekovic et al, 2013;Tarolli et al, 2019), such as channelization works and cut-offs (Kiss, 2014) alter the stream gradi-ent which leads to channel incision (Surian & Rinaldi, 2003), the construction of artificial levees accelerates overbank sedimentation (Sándor & Kiss, 2006), the construction of revetments and groynes cease lateral erosion which causes channel narrowing (Kiss, 2014;Bertalan et al, 2019), furthermore dam constructions and sediment extraction from the channel modify sediment supply (Surian & Rinaldi, 2003). The Lower Tisza River has been a subject to significant human impacts (artificial levee constructions, cut-offs, and revetment constructions) since the nineteenth century.…”

Geomorphometric Assessment of the Impacts of Dam Construction on River Disconnectivity and Flow Regulation in the Yangtze Basin

“…[2]. Dam construction represents one of the most significant 2 of 21 anthropogenic features on Earth [3]. It has exerted various influences on land-ocean processes, thereby triggering various adverse, often unwanted consequences both globally and regionally, including impacts on sediment retention and downstream sediment starvation [4,5], flow regulation [6], river disconnectivity [7], biodiversity loss [8], coastal erosion, and shoreline retreat [9].…”

“…In recent years, the main stem of the Yangtze and its major tributaries are being dammed at a dazzling pace. At present, there are approximately 43,600 reservoirs of different sizes in the Yangtze basin with a total storage capacity of approximately 290 km 3 , among which 1358 reservoirs are large-and medium-sized, with a storage capacity greater than 1 x 10 8 and 1 x 10 7 m 3 , respectively [10] (Figure 2). Due to reservoir construction, the Yangtze has been strongly altered, impeding not only the movement of river flows but also the delivery of sediments and other nutrients downstream.…”