The Interaction between Human Beings and the Environment: Challenges and Prospects for the Sustainable Development of Ecosystems

A special issue of Quaternary (ISSN 2571-550X).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 August 2022) | Viewed by 8815

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Imprint Analytics GmbH, 7343 Neutal, Austria
Interests: palaeoenvironment reconstruction; sedimentology; carbonates; geoarchaeology; stable isotopes

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Guest Editor
Department of Physical and Environmental Geography, School of Geology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
Interests: geomorphology; environmental Geography; earth observation/remote sensing; GIS; GNSS
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The development of human societies during the Holocene has been closely related to the environments in which they have grown. This interaction has played a significant role in shaping both the natural and the anthropogenic environment, with documented impacts from prehistory to the modern era. The challenges of the past, as well as the societal and technological transformations that helped deal with these challenges, were key factors in transitions to improved, but also degraded, cultural and natural contexts. Understanding these past interactions is a key element of surveying current and future development.

Contributions to this Special Issue will explore the past and present records of interaction between human societies and the environment, considering the prospect of sustainable development of ecosystems in the future. We invite perspectives that interpret palaeo-archives and records of past environments, documented impacts on human societies, and modern records and proxies that decipher how modern human societies and environments interact in different scales and geographies. Contributions are requested from any geographical, chronological, or methodological perspective, with regional and comparative syntheses being particularly welcome.

Dr. David Psomiadis
Dr. Antonios Mouratidis
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • holocene
  • palaeoenvironment
  • sustainability
  • geoarchaeology
  • environmental geography
  • geospatial science and technology

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

19 pages, 2991 KiB  
Article
Erosion Risk Assessment for Prioritization of Conservation Measures in the Watershed of Genale Dawa-3 Hydropower Dam, Ethiopia
by Ashenafi Dechasa, Alemu O. Aga and Takele Dufera
Quaternary 2022, 5(4), 39; https://doi.org/10.3390/quat5040039 - 23 Sep 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2867
Abstract
Sedimentation is a leading global problem that affects the environment and dams by reducing the live storage capacity of reservoirs and the life expectance of dams. Hence, prioritizing watersheds according to the risk of soil loss is crucial for extending the useful life [...] Read more.
Sedimentation is a leading global problem that affects the environment and dams by reducing the live storage capacity of reservoirs and the life expectance of dams. Hence, prioritizing watersheds according to the risk of soil loss is crucial for extending the useful life of dams and reservoirs. The objectives of this study were to assess sediment flow in the Genale Dawa-3 reservoir, identify subbasins that are prone to soil erosion, and evaluate the impact of different management practices on minimizing sediment yields by using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model. The SWAT model was calibrated and validated by observed streamflow and sediment data based on the SUFI-2 algorithm by SWAT-CUP, and its performance was assessed. The model simulated the average annual sediment yield; the input to the reservoir was 16.83 ton/ha/yr for the period of 1990–2015. From a total of 31 subbasins, 12 were categorized from high to very severe (11–60 ton/ha/yr) sediment-yielding subbasins and selected for sediment management. The simulated scenarios showed that the average annual sediment reductions at critical erosion hot spots in subbasins after the application of filter strips, soil/stone bund, terracing, and contour farming were 35.03%, 66.54%, 80.88%, and 53.11%, respectively. Therefore, this study concluded that reducing sediment yield by implementing terracing in critical areas at risk of soil erosion was more effective than other soil conservation measures. Overall, this research can help planners and decision-makers to implement appropriate soil conservation measures in the most erosive subwatersheds in order to extend the useful life of the Genale Dawa-3 hydropower dam and reservoir. Full article
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17 pages, 1722 KiB  
Article
Middle Holocene Environment on the Ozark Margin in Southeast Missouri: Deciphering a Testudine Testament
by James J. Krakker and Linda A. Krakker
Quaternary 2022, 5(3), 29; https://doi.org/10.3390/quat5030029 - 29 Jun 2022
Viewed by 2023
Abstract
Turtle taxa represented at Lepold site 23RI59 in southeastern Missouri, USA provide a record of environmental conditions spanning the Middle Holocene. Identified turtle taxa show that open water was present between 7500 and 4000 radiocarbon years ago. Aquatic resources seem to be more [...] Read more.
Turtle taxa represented at Lepold site 23RI59 in southeastern Missouri, USA provide a record of environmental conditions spanning the Middle Holocene. Identified turtle taxa show that open water was present between 7500 and 4000 radiocarbon years ago. Aquatic resources seem to be more intensively exploited beginning about 6300 years ago, about 1200 years after intensive occupation of the site had begun. The observed turtle taxon composition is consistent with the presence of a floodplain with shallow, seasonal, overflow ponds, but with riverine and upland habitats also being represented. Full article
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14 pages, 2474 KiB  
Article
Human-Altered Soils at an Archeological Site of the Bronze Age: The Tyater-Araslanovo-II Settlement, Southern Cis-Ural Region, Russia
by Ruslan Suleymanov, Gulnara Obydennova, Andrey Kungurtsev, Niyaz Atnabaev, Mikhail Komissarov, Artyom Gusarov, Ilgiza Adelmurzina, Azamat Suleymanov and Evgeny Abakumov
Quaternary 2021, 4(4), 32; https://doi.org/10.3390/quat4040032 - 15 Oct 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2865
Abstract
This paper presents the results of studying the soils at the archeological site of the Tyater-Araslanovo-II settlement located in the Republic of Bashkortostan, eastern European Russia. The settlement functioned in the 15th–12th centuries BCE (the Late Bronze Age). We compared the soil properties [...] Read more.
This paper presents the results of studying the soils at the archeological site of the Tyater-Araslanovo-II settlement located in the Republic of Bashkortostan, eastern European Russia. The settlement functioned in the 15th–12th centuries BCE (the Late Bronze Age). We compared the soil properties at four sites in the study area: archeological (1), buried (2), affected by long pyrogenic exposure (3), and background site (4). In soil samples, the total carbon content, the fractional composition of humus and organic matter characteristics, alkaline hydrolyzable nitrogen, total phosphorus, mobile phosphorus, potassium, absorbed calcium and magnesium, pH, particle size distribution, basal soil respiration, and optical density were estimated. The study results showed the anthropogenic impact on the archeological site’s soils. The newly formed AU horizon at the archeological site (1), affected by the cattle summer camp, was richer in soil nutrients and agrochemical properties, namely, the content of exchangeable and gross forms of phosphorus, alkaline hydrolyzable nitrogen, and exchange cations of the soil absorbing complex compared to the reference soil (4). For the pyrogenic layer (AU[hh]pyr) from the ancient furnace (fireplace) (3), the mobile and total forms of phosphorus were several times higher than those in the reference soil (4) but inferior regarding other agrochemical parameters. Thus, the activities of ancient people (especially cattle breeding) greatly influenced the properties of the soil. Full article
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