Application of OSL dating and Cs-137 measurements to reconstruct the history of water erosion: A case study of a Holocene colluvium in Swierklany, south Poland

摘要

Slopes used agriculturally at medium latitudes in European loess areas are modelled mainly by washing processes. The thickness of colluvium depends on the intensity of washing processes and the length of time of agricultural use, and it ranges from tens of centimetres to several meters in extreme cases. In southern Poland, anthropogenic deforestation of some slopes, and consequently washing processes, begun as early as 5 ka. However, in many places these processes began much later. As a result, colluvium accumulated at the foot of the slopes corresponds to different stages of the prehistoric and historical anthropopressure. Those specific stages of anthropogenic prehistoric erosion can be distinguished by dating methods. Dating may be used to establish the beginning of the prehistoric agricultural activity in a particular area and to determine the extent of areas used for agriculture in the past.