Erosion Modelling Indicates a Decrease in Erosion Susceptibility of Historic Ridge and Furrow Fields near Albershausen, Southern Germany

Johannes Schmidt (), Nik Usmar, Leon Westphal, Max Werner, Stephan Roller, Reinhard Rademacher, Peter Kühn, Lukas Werther and Aline Kottmann
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Johannes Schmidt: Institute of Geography, Leipzig University, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
Nik Usmar: Institute of Geography, Leipzig University, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
Leon Westphal: Institute of Geography, Leipzig University, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
Max Werner: Institute of Geography, Leipzig University, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
Stephan Roller: Institute of Prehistory, Early History and Medieval Archaeology, Eberhard-Karls-Universität, 72070 Tübingen, Germany
Reinhard Rademacher: County Archaeology, District Administration, 73008 Göppingen, Germany
Peter Kühn: Research Area Geography, Soil Science and Geomorphology, Eberhard-Karls-Universität, 72070 Tübingen, Germany
Lukas Werther: Institute of Prehistory, Early History and Medieval Archaeology, Eberhard-Karls-Universität, 72070 Tübingen, Germany
Aline Kottmann: Archaeology, State Office for Cultural Heritage Baden-Wuerttemberg, 73728 Esslingen, Germany

Land, 2023, vol. 12, issue 3, 1-11

Abstract: Ridge and furrow fields are land-use-related surface structures that are widespread in Europe and represent a geomorphological key signature of the Anthropocene. Previous research has identified various reasons for the intentional and unintentional formation of these structures, such as the use of a mouldboard plough, soil improvement and drainage. We used GIS-based quantitative erosion modelling according to the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) to calculate the erosion susceptibility of a selected study area in Southern Germany. We compared the calculated erosion susceptibility for two scenarios: (1) the present topography with ridges and furrows and (2) the smoothed topography without ridges and furrows. The ridges and furrows for the studied site reduce the erosion susceptibility by more than 50% compared to the smoothed surface. Thus, for the first time, we were able to identify lower soil erosion susceptibility as one of the possible causes for the formation of ridge and furrow fields. Finally, our communication paper points to future perspectives of quantitative analyses of historical soil erosion.

Keywords: historic soil erosion; USLE; Anthropocene; Archaeology; Wölbäcker; ridge and furrow; historic land use; GIS; erosion management; historic anthroposphere (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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