Late Holocene environmental reconstruction using cave sediments from Belize

2007 ◽  
Vol 68 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-63 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason S. Polk ◽  
Philip E. van Beynen ◽  
Philip P. Reeder
Keyword(s):  
Water Resources ◽  
Late Holocene ◽  
Vegetation Change ◽  
Agricultural Practices ◽  
Archaeological Site ◽  
Fulvic Acids ◽  
Groundwater Extraction ◽  
Cave Sediments ◽  
Maya Agriculture ◽  
Agricultural Areas

AbstractCave sediments collected from Reflection Cave on the Vaca Plateau, Belize show variations in the δ13C values of their fulvic acids (FAs), which indicate periods of vegetation change caused by climatic and Maya influences during the late Holocene. The δ13C values range from − 27.11‰ to − 21.52‰, a shift of ∼ 5.59‰, which suggests fluctuating contributions of C3 and C4 plants throughout the last 2.5 ka, with C4 plant input reflecting periods of Maya agriculture. Maya activity in the study area occurred at different intensities from ∼ 2600 cal yr BP until ∼ 1500 cal yr BP, after which agricultural practices waned as the Maya depopulated the area. These changes in plant assemblages were in response to changes in available water resources, with increased aridity leading to the eventual abandonment of agricultural areas. The Ix Chel archaeological site, located in the study area, is a highland site that would have been among the first agricultural settlements to be affected during periods of aridity. During these periods, minimal water resources would have been available in this highly karstified, well-drained area, and supplemental groundwater extraction would have been difficult due to the extreme depth of the water table.

Paleogeographic conditions of human habitation on the Karelian coast of the White Sea in the Late-Holocene (Chupa Town, Karelia, Russia)

The Holocene ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 095968362110417
Author(s):  
Shelekhova ТS ◽  
Lobanova NV ◽  
Lavrova NB ◽  
Rodionov GN
Keyword(s):  
Late Holocene ◽  
White Sea ◽  
Archaeological Site ◽  
Green Moss ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
The White Sea ◽  
Diatom Flora ◽  
Ancient People ◽  
Human Habitation ◽  
New Evidence

Bottom sediments from Lake Pervoe Starushechye, on the White Sea shore, near Korabelnaya Bay, Chupa Town, 500 m from an archaeological site, were analyzed. The aim of our studies was to determine the position of the sea shoreline, to correlate archaeological sites relative to it, to date ancient settlements, and to reconstruct the paleoclimatic conditions and habitats of ancient people. Spore and pollen, diatom, and radiocarbon (14C) analyses were done. New evidence for the time of retreat of the seashore, the isolation of Lake Pervoe Starushechye from it and the time of the possible invasion of the area by ancient people was obtained. People were shown to inhabit the area from 3970 ± 120 to 3250 ± 120 14С y.a., when the sea shoreline reached modern levels of 19–22 m. The lake was then a ~8 m deep White Sea bay, in which marine gyttja was deposited. These events are reflected in the stratigraphy of the sequence and supported by the results of diatom and spore and pollen analyses. About 3500 y.a., mean annual temperatures in North Karelia were 2°С and annual precipitation ~50 mm/year higher than modern values. Spruce and pine-spruce forests with aspen and alder patches grew on the shore. A favorable climate and exuberant vegetation attracted people. Therefore, it is at the Atlantic-Subboreal boundary that the archaeological sites located at the above altitudes could arise. The lake separated from the White Sea 3020 ± 90 14С y.a. Freshwater sapropel was deposited in the isolated lake, as indicated by the composition of diatom flora and spore and pollen spectra. The sea shoreline declined to 17–16 m. Light-coniferous pine lichen-green moss forests with light-loving oligotrophic grasses were spreading actively throughout the study area.

scholarly journals The water crisis and its implications in Brazilian agribusiness: A bibliographic review

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 42
Author(s):  
O. S. Fagundes ◽  
L. C. A. Oliveira ◽  
O. M. Yamashita ◽  
I. V. Silva ◽  
M. A. C. Carvalho ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Resources ◽  
Agricultural Practices ◽  
Industrial Effluents ◽  
Water Shortage ◽  
Irrigated Agriculture ◽  
Water Crisis ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Economic Sectors ◽  
Basic Sanitation ◽  
Environmental Good

Water scarcity has become one of the main global problems, since of all the water of the terrestrial surface, only 2.5% represents fresh water, and of this, only 0.3% corresponds to the water of the rivers and lakes that are available to supply the demand for food production and other uses. The present work consisted in surveying the scenario related to the global water crisis and presenting evidence that even Brazil being abundant in the amount of water available, tends to face serious problems because of its scarcity, affecting two of the main economic pillars, agribusiness and industry. It was observed that the main negative effects on water resources occur due to urban occupation and agricultural practices in a disorderly way, causing destruction of natural resources through the discharge of domestic sewage, industrial effluents and agrochemicals. In general, the lack of control of the use of the water directed to the productive processes is one of the major generators of the water shortage, since 69% of the water derived from rivers, lakes and aquifers underground is turned to irrigated agriculture, using 70 times more water than for domestic purposes. Thus, it is necessary to adopt policies aimed at the conservation and efficient use of water resources, to value water as a social, social and environmental good, since their scarcity can generate instability in economic sectors such as agriculture, generating production insecurity in industry, as well as affecting the supply of drinking water, basic sanitation and public health.

scholarly journals NATURAL RESOURCES AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN A MOUNTAIN ECONOMY

10.26458/1845 ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 75-93
Author(s):  
Viorica Jelev
Keyword(s):  
Water Resources ◽  
Climate Changes ◽  
Agricultural Practices ◽  
Water Shortage ◽  
Economic Activities ◽  
Research Activity ◽  
Mountain Areas ◽  
Mountain Area ◽  
Sustainable Solutions ◽  
The Impact

 This paper presents the existing situation at national and world level considering the available water resources, their vulnerability especially in the mountains areas, the impact of climate changes, the possible conflicts regarding the intensification of water shortage in some regions of the world. I also present a case study on forests in Romania. Beginning with the general data mentioned above, we point out the specific peculiarities of the mountain area hydrology for identifying some aspects which are specific to the mountain water relationship. The analysis is necessary as no specifications regarding the mountain hilly or plain areas are done in the activity regarding waters management. Waters are managed unitary on river basins considering some general principles, unanimously recognized, well reflected into the national and international regulations. As a first stage, traditional economic activities are identified in the relationship of the mountain areas inhabitants with water but also some present approaches. The way the mountain areas inhabitants knew how to live together and capitalize water resources represents a model and impulse for coming back to such sustainable solutions but capitalizing the advantages of modern technologies. Each of these activities referring to waters which take place in the mountains area can represent ways for the research activity and future thorough studies from the technical, economic, social, cultural-traditional point of view and also for environment protection. A main preoccupation might have connection with the evolution of agricultural activities in the mountains area considering the climate changes and a possible “migration” towards higher areas of some agricultural practices specific to lower areas. The paper also shows a small example of the regaining by the locals of a community of an important resource for their lives in the hands of corporations: the forests defaced by HOLZINDUSTRIE SCHWEIGHOFER and stop flooding villages. 

The Tilia decline: vegetation change in lowland Britain during the mid and late Holocene

2011 ◽  
Vol 30 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 394-408 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael J. Grant ◽  
Martyn P. Waller ◽  
Jon A. Groves
Keyword(s):  
Late Holocene ◽  
Vegetation Change

The use of malacological analysis in studies on anthropogenic transformations in microhabitats: an example from the Cracow region, southern Poland

Erdkunde ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 75 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-30
Author(s):  
Witold Paweł Alexandrowicz
Keyword(s):  
Late Holocene ◽  
Lower Section ◽  
Large Share ◽  
Natural Processes ◽  
Ecological Features ◽  
Subfossil Remains ◽  
Open Country ◽  
Major Transformation ◽  
Agricultural Areas ◽  
Different Parts

The presented study is dedicated to the assessment of the scope and degree of anthropopressure, and the dependence of its intensity on the characteristics and nature of micro-environments. The research was based on the subfossil remains of molluscs. Eleven profiles of Late Holocene sediments in the Dulówka valley near Cracow were subjected to malacological analysis. In the upper part of the valley, there are calcareous tufas containing rich molluscan assemblages with a large share of shade-loving species. In the lower part, malacofauna dominated by open-country snails occurs in fluvial sediments. Radiocarbon dating has shown that mollusc-bearing deposits represent the last 2,000 years. The diversity of ecological features of molluscan assemblages in different parts of the valley depends on the intensity of anthropopressure. In the upper part, natural forest communities have survived to the present day, and anthropopressure has only been marked to a limited extent. The lower section has undergone a major transformation, mainly due to deforestation and the development of agricultural areas. Unfavorable terrain conditions for the human economy should be considered the major cause of the low anthropopressure intensity in the upper part of the valley. The malacological analysis used in the study allowed showing a significant diversity of microhabitats within the valley and its uneven susceptibility to human interference in natural processes.

scholarly journals Glomalin – an interesting protein part of the soil organic matter

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (No. 2) ◽  
pp. 67-74 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vítězslav Vlček ◽  
Miroslav Pohanka
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Soil Organic Matter ◽  
Arbuscular Mycorrhiza ◽  
Mycorrhizal Fungi ◽  
Biological Diversity ◽  
Agricultural Practices ◽  
Arbuscular Mycorrhizal ◽  
Fulvic Acids ◽  
Soil Parameters ◽  
Citrate Buffer

The negative effects of the current agricultural practices include erosion, acidification, loss of soil organic matter (dehumification), loss of soil structure, soil contamination by risky elements, reduction of biological diversity and land use for non-agricultural purposes. All these effects are a huge risk to the further development of soil quality from an agronomic point of view and its resilience to projected climate change. Organic matter has a crucial role in it. Relatively significant correlations with the quality or the health of soil parameters and the soil organic matter or some fraction of the soil organic matter have been found. In particular, Ctot, Cox, humic and fulvic acids, the C/N ratio, and glomalin. Our work was focused on glomalin, a glycoprotein produced by the hyphae and spores of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), which we classify as Glomeromycota. Arbuscular mycorrhiza, and its molecular pathways, is not a well understood phenomenon. It appears that many proteins are involved in the arbuscular mycorrhiza from which glomalin is probably one of the most significant. This protein is also responsible for the unique chemical and physical properties of soils and has an ecological and economical relevance in this sense and it is a real product of the mycorrhiza. Glomalin is very resistant to destruction (recalcitrant) and difficult to dissolve in water. Its extraction requires specific conditions: high temperature (121°C) and a citrate buffer with a neutral or alkaline pH. Due to these properties, glomalin (or its fractions) are very stable compounds that protect the soil aggregate surface. In this review, the actual literature has been researched and the importance of glomalin is discussed.  

scholarly journals Long-term trends of land use and demography in Greece: A comparative study

The Holocene ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (5) ◽  
pp. 742-760 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erika Weiberg ◽  
Andrew Bevan ◽  
Katerina Kouli ◽  
Markos Katsianis ◽  
Jessie Woodbridge ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Land Cover ◽  
Comparative Study ◽  
Bronze Age ◽  
Climatic Variability ◽  
Agricultural Practices ◽  
Archaeological Site ◽  
Demographic Development ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
The Impact

This paper offers a comparative study of land use and demographic development in northern and southern Greece from the Neolithic to the Byzantine period. Results from summed probability densities (SPD) of archaeological radiocarbon dates and settlement numbers derived from archaeological site surveys are combined with results from cluster-based analysis of published pollen core assemblages to offer an integrated view of human pressure on the Greek landscape through time. We demonstrate that SPDs offer a useful approach to outline differences between regions and a useful complement to archaeological site surveys, evaluated here especially for the onset of the Neolithic and for the Final Neolithic (FN)/Early Bronze Age (EBA) transition. Pollen analysis highlight differences in vegetation between the two sub-regions, but also several parallel changes. The comparison of land cover dynamics between two sub-regions of Greece further demonstrates the significance of the bioclimatic conditions of core locations and that apparent oppositions between regions may in fact be two sides of the same coin in terms of socio-ecological trajectories. We also assess the balance between anthropogenic and climate-related impacts on vegetation and suggest that climatic variability was as an important factor for vegetation regrowth. Finally, our evidence suggests that the impact of humans on land cover is amplified from the Late Bronze Age (LBA) onwards as more extensive herding and agricultural practices are introduced.

Paleoecological implications of the first prehistoric record of water vole (Microtus richardsoni) from Washington state, USA

2019 ◽  
Vol 92 (2) ◽  
pp. 381-387
Author(s):  
R. Lee Lyman
Keyword(s):  
Late Holocene ◽  
Sampling Error ◽  
Archaeological Site ◽  
Cascade Range ◽  
Western Montana ◽  
Water Vole ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
The North ◽  
Long Distance Transport ◽  
Distance Transport

AbstractRemains of the North American water vole (Microtus richardsoni) have previously been recovered from late Pleistocene and Holocene deposits in southwestern Alberta, western Montana, and north-central Wyoming. All are within the historically documented modern range of the metapopulation occupying the Rocky Mountains; no ancient remains of this large microtine have previously been reported from the metapopulation occupying the Cascade Range. Four lower first molar specimens from the late Holocene Stemilt Creek Village archaeological site in central Washington here identified as water vole are from the eastern slope of the Cascade Range and are extralimital to the metapopulation found in those mountains. There is no taphonomic evidence indicating long-distance transport of the teeth, and modern trapping records suggest the local absence of water voles from the site area today is not a function of sampling error. The precise age of the Stemilt Creek Village water voles is obscure but climate change producing well-documented late Holocene advances of nearby alpine glaciers could have created habitat conditions conducive to the apparent modest shift in the range of the species represented by the remains.

An assessment of historic human impact on south-eastern Australian environmental systems, using late Holocene rates of environmental change

2002 ◽  
Vol 50 (4) ◽  
pp. 455 ◽  
Author(s):  
John R. Dodson ◽  
Stuart D. Mooney
Keyword(s):  
Human Impact ◽  
Late Holocene ◽  
Vegetation Change ◽  
Fire History ◽  
Relative Equilibrium ◽  
Rate Of Change ◽  
South Eastern ◽  
Environmental Systems ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
South Eastern Australia

The late Holocene of south-eastern Australia was typified by stable climate, vegetation and sedimentary regimes, in relative equilibrium with Aboriginal land use and fire management. The arrival of Europeans, with the associated vegetation clearance, introduction of exotic plants and animals, notably for grazing and agriculture and a change in fire regimes, resulted in changes in vegetation and sedimentary patterns. Impacts varied in type and magnitude through the region and evidence of impacts that is preserved varies with sedimentary setting. Here we take a number of proxy measures of vegetation change, fire history, erosion and weathering from six sediment sections across south-eastern Australia and use an index to measure overall rate of change. This shows that the vegetation and environmental systems of south-eastern Australia have been very sensitive to human impact following European settlement.

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