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Reconstruction of late-Holocene slope and dry valley sediment dynamics in a Belgian loess environment

Physical and Regional Geography Research Group, K.U. Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200 E, B-3001 Heverlee, Belgium

Gert Verstraeten

Physical and Regional Geography Research Group, K.U. Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200 E, B-3001 Heverlee, Belgium, gert.verstraeten{at}geo.kuleuven.be

Iris Peeters

Physical and Regional Geography Research Group, K.U. Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200 E, B-3001 Heverlee, Belgium

Jean Poesen

Physical and Regional Geography Research Group, K.U. Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200 E, B-3001 Heverlee, Belgium

Gerard Govers

Physical and Regional Geography Research Group, K.U. Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200 E, B-3001 Heverlee, Belgium

Anton Van Rompaey

Physical and Regional Geography Research Group, K.U. Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200 E, B-3001 Heverlee, Belgium, Fund for Scientific Research-Flanders, Belgium

Barbara Mauz

Department of Geography, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZT, UK

Susan Packman

Department of Geography, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZT, UK

Andreas Lang

Department of Geography, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZT, UK

To unravel the evolution of a dry valley in the Belgian loess area soils and sediments along a slope catena were studied in detail. A 67 m long trench was opened from the upper slope to the centre of the valley bottom. The exposed soils and sediments showed evidence of severe soil erosion and other human disturbances that significantly changed the valley topography. The early-Holocene slope gradient was up to 25%, whereas now it is less than 10%. In the thalweg, a remnant of the early-Holocene soil was found underneath colluvial deposits, which were more than 3 m thick. A chronology for the valley evolution was established based on AMS ¹⁴C dating of charcoal fragments and optical dating of colluvial sediments. The first sediment deposition occurred in the early Iron Age, with an average sedimentation rate of approximately 3.4 ± 1.3 t/ha per yr. This increased to c. 5.4 ± 2.2 t/ha per yr during the Roman Period and further to 18.0 ± 2.2 t/ha per yr in the Middle Ages. Although sediment accumulation in the valley was substantial, soil-erosion processes were mainly low-magnitude and signs of gullying are absent in the thalweg until the last few centuries.

Key Words: Holocene • soil erosion • sediment dynamics • radiocarbon dating • optical dating • loess • landscape evolution • Iron Age • Roman Period • Middle Ages • Belgium.

The Holocene, Vol. 17, No. 6, 777-788 (2007)
DOI: 10.1177/0959683607080519


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