Ending the Cinderella Status of Terraces and Lynchets in Europe: The Geomorphology of Agricultural Terraces and Implications for Ecosystem Services and Climate Adaptation

TY - JOUR

T1 - Ending the Cinderella Status of Terraces and Lynchets in Europe

T2 - The Geomorphology of Agricultural Terraces and Implications for Ecosystem Services and Climate Adaptation

AU - Brown, A.G.

AU - Fallu, Daniel J

AU - Walsh, Kevin James

AU - Cucchiaro, Sara

AU - Tarolli, Paolo

AU - Zhao, Pengzhi

AU - Pears, ben

AU - Van Oost, Kristof

AU - Snape, Lisa

AU - Lang, Andreas

AU - Maria Albert, Rosa

AU - Alsos, Inger

AU - Waddington, Clive

N1 - © 2020 The Author(s).

PY - 2021/4/15

Y1 - 2021/4/15

N2 - Terraces and lynchets are ubiquitous worldwide and can provide increasinglyimportant Ecosystem Services (ESs), which may be able to mitigate aspects of climate change. They are also a major cause of non-linearity between climate and erosion rates in agricultural systems as noted from alluvial and colluvial studies. New research in the ‘critical zone’ has shown that we must now treat soil production as an ecologically sensitive variable with implications for soil carbon sequestration. In this review and synthesis paper we present a modified classification of agricultural terraces, review the theoretical background of both terraces and lynchets, and show how new techniques are transforming the study of these widespread and often ancient anthropogenic landforms. The problems of dating terraces and the time-consuming nature of costly surveys has held back the geomorphological and geoarchaeological study of terraces until now. The suite of techniques now available, and reviewed here,includes Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) - Structure from Motion (SfM)photogrammetry, Airborne and Terrestrial Laser Scanning (ALS-TLS); opticallystimulated luminescence (OSL and pOSL), portable x-ray fluorescence (pXRF),Fourier-transform infra-red analysis (FTIR), phytoliths from plants, and potentially environmental DNA. Three process-related geomorphological questions arise from using this suite of methods; a) can they provide both a chronology of formation and use history, b) can we identify the sources of all the soil components? c) can terrace soil formation and ecosystem services be modelled at the slope to catchment scale? The answers to these questions can also inform the management of the large areas of abandoned and under-used terraces that are resulting from both the economics of farming and rural population changes. Where possible, examples are drawn from a recently started ERC project (TerrACE; ERC-2018-2023; https://www.terrace.no/) thatis working at over 15 sites in Europe ranging from Norway to Greece.

AB - Terraces and lynchets are ubiquitous worldwide and can provide increasinglyimportant Ecosystem Services (ESs), which may be able to mitigate aspects of climate change. They are also a major cause of non-linearity between climate and erosion rates in agricultural systems as noted from alluvial and colluvial studies. New research in the ‘critical zone’ has shown that we must now treat soil production as an ecologically sensitive variable with implications for soil carbon sequestration. In this review and synthesis paper we present a modified classification of agricultural terraces, review the theoretical background of both terraces and lynchets, and show how new techniques are transforming the study of these widespread and often ancient anthropogenic landforms. The problems of dating terraces and the time-consuming nature of costly surveys has held back the geomorphological and geoarchaeological study of terraces until now. The suite of techniques now available, and reviewed here,includes Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) - Structure from Motion (SfM)photogrammetry, Airborne and Terrestrial Laser Scanning (ALS-TLS); opticallystimulated luminescence (OSL and pOSL), portable x-ray fluorescence (pXRF),Fourier-transform infra-red analysis (FTIR), phytoliths from plants, and potentially environmental DNA. Three process-related geomorphological questions arise from using this suite of methods; a) can they provide both a chronology of formation and use history, b) can we identify the sources of all the soil components? c) can terrace soil formation and ecosystem services be modelled at the slope to catchment scale? The answers to these questions can also inform the management of the large areas of abandoned and under-used terraces that are resulting from both the economics of farming and rural population changes. Where possible, examples are drawn from a recently started ERC project (TerrACE; ERC-2018-2023; https://www.terrace.no/) thatis working at over 15 sites in Europe ranging from Norway to Greece.

KW - EROSION

KW - agricultural soils

KW - soil formation

KW - geomorphology

U2 - 10.1016/j.geomorph.2020.107579

DO - 10.1016/j.geomorph.2020.107579

M3 - Article

SN - 0169-555X

VL - 379

JO - Geomorphology

JF - Geomorphology

M1 - 107579

ER -