Sediment budget for five millennia of tillage in the Rockenberg catchment (Wetterau loess basin, Germany)
Peter Houben
The long-cultivated loess landscapes of central Europe provide the opportunity to explore long-term perspective on evolution human-natural sediment systems that are driven by human-caused soil erosion processes. A balance spatially non-uniform production, sedimentation and delivery was developed highlight quantitative dimensions functioning anthropogenic redistribution in an undulating catchment temperate Europe. presented relies analysing pedostratigraphic lithostratigraphic field data from 728 corings across ∼10-km2, GIS-based processing, analysis uncertainty. For a period 5000 years tillage, production equals ∼9425 t ha−1, which 62% still reside as colluvial catchment's hillsides. valley floors fulfil sediment-conveyor function through transporting 77% received Whole-catchment yield contiguous higher-order is 29% amount production. average catchment-scale depth truncation 0.64 m while remaining cover has thickness 0.46 (effective surface denudation: ∼0.18 m). integral net rate ∼0.5 ha−1 a−1 because extensive retention inherited human imprint soilscape, eventually, can be judged beneficial rather than detrimental: ubiquitous humic colluvia generally more suitable for intense cultivation pristine pedostratigraphies. budget, although build historic perspective, also provides plausible reference realistic objectives managing problem systems.
Quaternary Science Reviews