Palynological reconstruction of the effects of holocene climatic oscillations and agricultural history on soils and landforms in Luxembourg

Abstract

Holocene deposits in valleys and mardels contain valuable pollen records for the reconstruction of the Holocene Landscape evolution, driven by climatic oscillations, forest development and agriculture. Before the Subatlantic, denudation and fluvial discharge were in balance. The Late Holocene displacement of the Quercetum mixtum into a Fageto-Quercetum and the introduction of sedentary agriculture at the expense of forests since the Celtic/RomanTime, stimulated soil erosion. Accelerated soil erosion in the Subatlantic caused deposition of colluvial covers on foot slopes and alluvial beds in primary catchments. In addition, the colluvial deposits in mardels on the Gutland plateau are the result of Subatlantic soil erosion. The pollen records of the deposits on valley floors and in mardels show correlations of Subatlantic climatic oscillations with denudation rate and agricultural management. In particular the Little Ice Age stands out as a period with increased denudation and temporally extension of arable land.