From natural to human-dominated floodplain geoecology – A Holocene perspective for the Dijle catchment, Belgium

Broothaerts, Nils; Verstraeten, Gert; Kasse, C.; Bohncke, S.J.P.; Notebaert, Bastiaan; Vandenberghe, Jef

doi:10.1016/j.ancene.2014.12.001

Cited by 29 publications

(41 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…For the first millennium bc , human influence is evidenced in the vegetation association by the presence of Fabaceae, Cannabis , Cerealia‐type and Plantago lanceolata ‐type pollen present; this is confirmed by other pollen records from the Mediterranean (e.g. Casana, ; Bellotti et al ., ; Broothaerts et al ., ).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 82%

“…There has been an ongoing debate about climate forcing (Vita-Finzi, 1969;Grove and Rackham, 2001) versus human forcing (Zolitschka et al, 2003;Broothaerts et al, 2014). Climate changes may have played a role, but the changes along the deltas of the Mediterranean seem to correlate with population dynamics, especially during the last millennia.…”

Section: Palaeoenvironmental Changes and Their Consequencesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Anthropogenic impacts upon sediment processes have been occurring for several millennia. Especially with the beginning of a sedentary lifestyle and the practise of agriculture, sediment processes were directly affected by humans through soil erosion and floodplain deposition (Broothaerts et al, 2014;Lewin and Macklin, 2014). This period of strong and global human impacts on the environment especially since the Industrial Revolution has been called 'the Anthropocene' (Crutzen and Stoermer, 2000;Crutzen, 2002;Steffen et al, 2007).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, by then, only some examples are known where extensive deforestation took place (Marriner et al, 2012;Kaniewski et al, 2013). Enhanced soil erosion has been observed since the Bronze age with a larger population and agricultural activities (Zolitschka et al, 2003;Zalasiewicz et al, 2010;Dusar et al, 2011;Broothaerts et al, 2014;Lewin and Macklin, 2014;Wilkinson et al, 2014). Especially with a higher population density during the Hellenistic and Roman periods, land-use changes and deforestation led to intensified erosion processes (Casana, 2008;Dusar et al, 2011;Broothaerts et al, 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Human impact on Holocene sediment dynamics in the Eastern Mediterranean – the example of the Roman harbour of Ephesus

Stock

Knipping

Pint

et al. 2016

Earth Surf Processes Landf

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During the past millennia, many erosion and accumulation processes have been modified by anthropogenic impact. This holds especially true for the environs of ancient settlements and their harbours along the Mediterranean coasts. Our multi-proxy investigations in the Roman harbour and the harbour canal of Ephesus (western Turkey) reveals that humans have significantly triggered soil erosion during the last three millennia. Since the eighth century BC, and especially since the Hellenistic period, a high sedimentation rate indicates fast alluviation and delta progradation of the Küçük Menderes. Deforestation, agriculture (especially ploughing) and grazing (especially goats) were the main reasons for erosion of the river catchment area. One consequence was significant siltation of the Hellenistic/Roman harbour basin. This sediment trap archives the human impact, which was strongly enhanced from Hellenistic/Roman to Byzantine times (second/first centuries BC to the sixth/seventh centuries AD), evidenced by high sedimentation rates, raised values of heavy metal contaminations [lead (Pb), copper (Cu)], the occurrence of fruit tree pollen and of intestinal parasites. From the middle to the end of the first millennium AD, the influence of Ephesus declined, which resulted in a decrease of human impact. Studies of several ancient settlements around the Mediterranean Sea tell a comparable story. They also confirm that during their most flourishing periods the human impact totally overprinted the climatic one. To detect the latter, geo-bioarchives of relatively pristine areas have to be investigated in detail.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 82%

Section: Palaeoenvironmental Changes and Their Consequencesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Human impact on Holocene sediment dynamics in the Eastern Mediterranean – the example of the Roman harbour of Ephesus

Stock

Knipping

Pint

et al. 2016

Earth Surf Processes Landf

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“…From the Middle Holocene (sensu Walker et al 2012) onwards, peat also accumu-lated outside the Lateglacial palaeochannels, and eventually covered the entire flood-plain. During the Late Holocene (sensu Walker et al 2012), increased human impact on the surrounding landscape caused the formation of the modern meandering river system with small dimensions, and associated mud accumulation on the flood-plains (Meylemans et al 2013;Broothaerts et al 2014b). Finally, the system was canalized from the Middle Age onwards.…”

Section: Belgium Francementioning

confidence: 99%

Ecology and fluvial dynamics of an Early Holocene medium‐sized European lowland river valley (Upper Scheldt, northern Belgium)

Storme

Bastiaens

Crombé

et al. 2018

Boreas

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The fluvial environment of Early Holocene small‐ to middle‐sized lowland rivers in northwest Europe is mostly unstudied due to a lack of preserved and accessible deposits. A rescue excavation in the Scheldt valley in northern Belgium offered the opportunity to study a Boreal alluvial succession in detail. The results of palaeoecological and sedimentological analyses (diatoms, pollen, botanical macro‐remains, molluscs, grain size) characterize the biotic and physical environment in the middle reach of this medium‐sized river system. Although the Early Holocene in the Scheldt Basin has often been portrayed as a period of fluvial stability with marshy conditions and diffuse discharge, this study showed evidence of point bar formation by a small, low‐energy meandering river between ~9.5 and ~8.8 cal. ka BP. The point bar was at least temporarily vegetated and shows a shift from herbaceous riparian vegetation to an open willow‐dominated alluvial forest. This evidence points to a more open vegetation and a more energetic environment than traditionally described for rivers of this size and age. A link to the 9.3 ka BP cooling event is suggested and possible reasons for the scarcity of records of this type of deposits are discussed.

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Oblique aggradation: a novel explanation for sinuosity of low‐energy streams in peat‐filled valley systems

Candel

Makaske

Storms

et al. 2017

Earth Surf Processes Landf

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Low-energy streams in peatlands often have a high sinuosity. However, it is unknown how this sinuous planform formed, since lateral migration of the channel is hindered by relatively erosion-resistant banks. We present a conceptual model of Holocene morphodynamic evolution of a stream in a peat-filled valley, based on a palaeohydrological reconstruction. Coring, ground-penetrating radar (GPR) data, and 14 C and OSL dating were used for the reconstruction. We found that the stream planform is partly inherited from the Late-Glacial topography, reflecting stream morphology prior to peat growth in the valley. Most importantly, we show that aggrading streams in a peat-filled valley combine vertical aggradation with lateral displacement caused by attraction to the sandy valley sides, which are more erodible than the co-evally aggrading valley-fill. Owing to this oblique aggradation in combination with floodplain widening, the stream becomes stretched out as channel reaches may alternately aggrade along opposed valley sides, resulting in increased sinuosity over time. Hence, highly sinuous planforms can form in peat-filled valleys without the traditional morphodynamics of alluvial bed lateral migration. Improved understanding of the evolution of streams provides inspiration for stream restoration.

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From natural to human-dominated floodplain geoecology – A Holocene perspective for the Dijle catchment, Belgium

Cited by 29 publications

References 44 publications

Human impact on Holocene sediment dynamics in the Eastern Mediterranean – the example of the Roman harbour of Ephesus

Human impact on Holocene sediment dynamics in the Eastern Mediterranean – the example of the Roman harbour of Ephesus

Ecology and fluvial dynamics of an Early Holocene medium‐sized European lowland river valley (Upper Scheldt, northern Belgium)

Oblique aggradation: a novel explanation for sinuosity of low‐energy streams in peat‐filled valley systems

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