TY - CHAP A1 - Raab, Thomas A1 - Hirsch, Florian A1 - Schneider, Anna A1 - Raab, Alexandra ED - Stolz, Christian ED - Miller, Christopher E. T1 - Geoökologische Folgen historischer Landnutzung T2 - Geoarchäologie N2 - Seit dem Neolithikum wirkt sich die Nutzung der Landschaft auf unterschiedliche Weise auf Relief, Böden, Gewässer, Flora, Fauna und Klima aus. Insbesondere die Folgen land- und forstwirtschaftlicher Wirtschaftsweisen waren dafür ausschlaggebend. Grundsätzlich reagieren Ökosysteme auf anthropogene Eingriffe, wie die Umwandlung von Wald in andere Nutzungsformen, mit einer schrittweisen Degradation sowie reversiblen oder irreversiblen Veränderungen. Beispiele sind Bodenerosion und eine veränderte Artenzusammensetzung. Die Abschätzung des Ausmaßes im globalen Maßstab gestaltet sich generell schwierig. Für die Geoarchäologie bedeutsam sind daher hauptsächlich lokale Spuren früherer Bewirtschaftung und Formen im Kleinrelief, die sich im Gelände wiederfinden lassen und als Geoarchive fungieren. Denn sie geben Aufschluss über (prä-)historische Bewirtschaftungsformen. So zeugen Wölbäcker, Hochbeete, Plaggenesche und die Relikte der historischen Teichwirtschaft, Moorkultivierung und Köhlerei von früheren Formen der Land- und Forstwirtschaft. Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-62774-7_8 SP - 71 EP - 77 PB - Springer Spektrum CY - Berlin, Heidelberg ER - TY - GEN A1 - Buras, Allan A1 - Hirsch, Florian A1 - Schneider, Anna A1 - Scharnweber, Tobias A1 - Maaten, Ernst van der A1 - Cruz-García, Roberto A1 - Raab, Thomas A1 - Wilmking, Martin T1 - Reduced above-ground growth and wood density but increased wood chemical concentrations of Scots pine on relict charcoal hearths T2 - Science of The Total Environment N2 - Deciphering the drivers of tree growth is a central aim of dendroecology. In this context, soil conditions may play a crucial role, since they determine the availability of water and nutrients for trees. Yet, effects of systematically differing soil conditions on tree growth render a marginally studied topic. In this context, relict charcoal hearths (RCH) – a widespread legacy of anthropogenic charcoal production – render a valuable ‘natural’ experiment to study possible effects of artificially altered soil conditions on tree growth. We hypothesize, that the differing physico-chemical properties of RCH result in differing wood properties if compared to trees growing on unmodified soils. To test this hypothesis, we analyzed tree-growth, wood density, and wood elemental concentrations of Scots pine as well as physico-chemical soil properties. We applied a classic control-treatment design to compare RCH with unmodified soils. Our analyses identified significantly lower above-ground wood production but systematically higher wood elemental concentrations in RCH-trees compared to control trees. Since we could not identify treatment-specific growth patterns, we hypothesize the observed lower above-ground productivity of Scots pine to indicate an increased root-shoot ratio to compensate for a potentially lower plant water availability on RCH-sites. The observed higher wood elemental concentrations likely reflect higher soil elemental concentrations of Fe, Ca, K, and Mn in RCH soils. In conclusion, our study highlights diverse effects of RCH on tree growth and wood properties and strengthens the value of dendro-chemistry to use the tree-ring archive as proxy for soil conditions within a dendro-ecological context. Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.137189 SN - 1879-1026 SN - 0048-9697 VL - 717 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Raab, Thomas A1 - Raab, Alexandra A1 - Bonhage, Alexander A1 - Schneider, Anna A1 - Hirsch, Florian A1 - Birkhofer, Klaus A1 - Drohan, Patrick J. A1 - Wilmking, Martin A1 - Kreyling, Jürgen A1 - Malik, Ireneusz A1 - Wistuba, Małgorzata A1 - Maaten, Ernst van der A1 - Maaten-Theunissen, Marieke van der A1 - Urich, Tim T1 - Do small landforms have large effects? A review on the legacies of pre-industrial charcoal burning T2 - Geomorphology N2 - Relict charcoal hearths (RCHs) are small, anthropogenic landforms resulting from past charcoal burning and reaching significant land coverage in pre-industrial mining areas. We review three coupled legacies linked by RCH development: (i) a landscape-scale geomorphic effect, (ii) a unique soil fingerprint, and (iii) an evolving novel ecosystem. The history and technique of charcoal production are described to clarify legacy effects. Applying a recently presented morpho-genetic catalogue is useful for classified mapping of RCH findings. The RCH numbers and calculated RCH densities per study region vary greatly and impose uncertainties due to insufficient methods causing over- or underestimations. Areas with high RCH densities between 50 and 500 RCH/km2 seem reasonable. Machine learning-based remote sensing techniques are promising approaches with which to better assess the full scale of charcoal burning legacies. RCH soil properties feature dark charcoal-rich technogenic substrate layers classified as Auh horizons according to the World Reference Base with significantly increased C contents. These Auh horizons can also exhibit specific physical and chemical properties, such as relatively low bulk density, high porosity, high plant available water content, low thermal conductivity and differences in cation exchange capacity or nutrient status. However, relevant studies are rare, and thus, the effects may differ by study region. Regarding vegetation, there seem to be four main effects: changes in forest structure, species composition, recruitment pattern and productivity. The number of studies on this issue is, however, also very limited. Even fewer studies have examined the soil fauna in RCHs; thus, the reported effects cannot be used to draw general conclusions. Notably, RCH research has made considerable progress in the last five years, especially in the Light Detection and Ranging-based mapping of these small landforms and identification of RCH-specific soil properties, but ecological legacies are not well understood; thus, more interdisciplinary and integrative studies are needed. KW - Soil KW - Ecosystem KW - Forestry KW - Land Use KW - Anthropocene KW - Relict Charcoal Hearth (RCH) KW - Charcoal Kiln Remain (CKR) Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2022.108332 SN - 0169-555X VL - 413 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Hirsch, Florian A1 - Raab, Thomas A1 - Raab, Alexandra A1 - Schneider, Anna A1 - Bonhage, Alexander A1 - Schneider, Marcus A1 - Bauriegel, Albrecht T1 - Quaternary and geoarcheology in Lower Lusatia T2 - DEUQUA Special Publications N2 - Open-cast lignite mines in Lower Lusatia provide unique insights into human-induced environmental changes in the Northern European Lowland and improve our understanding of Quaternary landscape dynamics. The excursion will focus on soils and sediments of Late Pleistocene and Holocene age that have been modified by land use since the Slavic Middle Ages. In the vicinity of the open-cast mine Jänschwalde and in the Tauer forest north of Cottbus characteristic remains of historical charcoal production, a ridge-and-furrow system and late Quaternary rubification in soils are presented. Y1 - 2022 UR - https://deuquasp.copernicus.org/articles/4/59/2022/ U6 - https://doi.org/10.5194/deuquasp-4-59-2022 SN - 2625-8137 VL - 4 SP - 59 EP - 71 ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Hirsch, Florian A1 - Raab, Alexandra A1 - Schneider, Marcus A1 - Raab, Thomas A1 - Schneider, Anna A1 - Bonhage, Alexander ED - Schopper, Franz T1 - Landschaftsgeschichtliche Untersuchungen am Eilenzfließ bei Taubendorf T2 - Ausgrabungen im Niederlausitzer Braunkohlenrevier : 2015/2016 Y1 - 2022 SN - 978-3-910011-87-8 SP - 199 EP - 204 PB - Brandenburgisches Landesamt für Denkmalpflege und Archäologisches Landesmuseum CY - Wünsdorf ER - TY - GEN A1 - Bayuzick, Samuel A1 - Guarin, Daniel A1 - Bonhage, Alexander A1 - Hirsch, Florian A1 - Diefenbach, Duane A1 - McDill, Marc A1 - Raab, Thomas A1 - Drohan, Patrick J. T1 - Small anthropogenic landforms from past charcoal production control moisture dynamics and chemistry in northcentral Appalachian soils T2 - Geomorphology N2 - Throughout the northeastern United States (U.S.) and Europe, relict charcoal hearths (RCHs) are regularly being discovered in proximity to furnaces once used for the extraction of metal from ore or quick-lime production; charcoal produced in hearths was used as a furnace fuel. Given previous research has shown that topographic and subsurface disturbance can be great when a hearth is constructed, we hypothesize that hearth construction alters surface hydrology and soil chemistry in environments in and near hearths. We used a landscape classification process to identify 6758 hearths near furnaces at Greenwood and Pine Grove Furnace State Park, central and southcentral Pennsylvania, U.S. Two types of digital elevation model wetness indexes were used to quantify surface hydrology effects in and around hearths. Modeled wetness conditions were compared to field soil volumetric water content in RCHs near Greenwood Furnace State Park. Modeled wetness indexes indicate that RCH interiors are significantly wetter than RCH rim areas; RCHs are acting as a landscape moisture sink. Results also indicate that RCHs on slopes result in downslope drier conditions below RCHs. Field measured volumetric water content indicates that as distance from the center of the hearth increases, soil moisture significantly decreases. Geomorphic position was found to not be related to RCH wetness. Soil from RCHs, compared to nearby native soils, has significantly higher total C, a lower Mehlich 3 extractable acidity, higher Ca and P. No trend was evident with RCH soil chemistry and geomorphic position. The high frequency of RCH occurrence, in proximity to the furnace's RCHs supported, suggests that RCHs today could locally be an important niche for understory flora and fauna. Further research could explore how RCHs might be affecting surrounding plant populations and how within RCH patterns, especially on hillslopes, might represent a distinctly different scale of physical and chemical variability. Y1 - 2022 UR - https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0169555X22002720 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2022.108379 SN - 1872-695X VL - 415 SP - 1 EP - 11 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Bayuzick, Samuel A1 - Guarin, Daniel A1 - Benavides, Jhony A1 - Bonhage, Alexander A1 - Hirsch, Florian A1 - Diefenbach, Duane A1 - McDill, Marc A1 - Raab, Thomas A1 - Drohan, Patrick J. T1 - Soil and geomorphic patterns within relict charcoal hearths could represent unique ecosystem niches T2 - Geomorphology N2 - Hearths used for 19th and 20th century charcoal manufacturing have been found to have unique plant communities or to produce unique growth characteristics for some species but not others. Given known differences in hearth morphology, within hearth physical and chemical differences may exist and result in unique ecologic niches. We examined soil stratigraphy across 8 relict charcoal hearths (RCH) and control soils on different landforms near a 19th century furnace complex (Greenwood Furnace, northcentral Appalachians USA). Soils were analyzed for particle size, total and trace elements, and fertility. Platform creation resulted in soils from upslope RCH positions mixed with subsurface materials on the downslope side to create a stabilized platform. The thin, uniform thickness of charcoal surface horizons (Ac) indicate that RCHs were not used more than once for charcoal manufacturing or that charcoal was always removed very efficiently. While rubification of soil or rock from high heat was seen in 6 of 8 sites sampled, it was not extensive across sampled areas of any one hearth, which indicate hearth use may not be frequent, hot enough, or spatially disparate. Soil fertility characteristics change within RCHs but also by landscape position. Downslope RCH positions are enriched in some parameters compared to control soils (total C, Mehlich 3 Mg, Ca, and Aquia Regia digestion Mn) and that enrichment often is from the surface downward. Downslope enrichment within RCH soils may have occurred from charcoal and released ions, slope erosion and accumulation, or transportation of constructed materials during RCH creation. Landscape position may accentuate or mute soil chemistry differences. Greenwood Furnace RCHs have unique patterns of chemistry, which could result in unique niches for flora and maybe fauna within RCH. Future research could more closely investigate whether hearths support unique species assemblages and how they may play a role in enhancing today’s forest biodiversity. Y1 - 2023 UR - https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0169555X22004184 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2022.108525 SN - 1872-695X VL - 422 SP - 1 EP - 16 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Hirsch, Florian A1 - Schneider, Anna A1 - Maaten-Theunissen, Marieke van der A1 - Maaten, Ernst van der A1 - Räbiger, Christin A1 - Raab, Alexandra A1 - Raab, Thomas T1 - Soil properties and tree growth at medieval ridge and furrow sites in Brandenburg, northeastern Germany T2 - Journal of Plant Nutrition and Soil Science N2 - Background Ridge and furrow (RIFU) systems and associated soils are a widespread legacy of medieval agriculture, are archives of historical land use, and might affect recent ecosystems. Open questions about RIFU formation and potential legacy effects still exist, especially related to physical soil properties. Aims Our aims were (1) to characterize the soil properties of RIFU soils and (2) to compare the drought sensitivity and the growth resistance in extremely dry years of trees growing on ridges and furrows, respectively. Methods We studied soil physical (bulk density, saturated soil hydraulic conductivity, and texture) and chemical (soil pH, soil organic matter, and nitrogen content) properties and the climate sensitivity of tree growth on RIFU systems for three study sites in Prignitz, Germany. Results RIFU systems showed a high spatial heterogeneity of soil stratigraphy due to ridge construction and increased accumulation of soil moisture and organic matter in furrows due to post-abandonment pedogenesis. Slight spatial differences in soil physical properties were found, with increased air capacity in ridge soils and higher available water contents in furrow soils. No differences in drought sensitivity were observed for trees growing on ridges and furrows, except for a wet site, where trees in furrows showed a higher sensitivity. Resistance in dry years tended to be similar or increase from furrows to ridges. Conclusions The results reflect a spatial differentiation of stratigraphy and post-abandonment pedogenesis on abandoned RIFU systems and suggest an adaption to different moisture conditions through RIFU construction. Differences in drought sensitivity of tree growth with relative land surface could only be detected for one of the three sites, where trees were found to be less drought sensitive on ridges. KW - anthropogenically modified soils KW - climate sensitivity KW - dendroecology KW - historic agriculture KW - land‐use legacies Y1 - 2023 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/jpln.202200345 SN - 1436-8730 SN - 1522-2624 VL - 186 IS - 4 SP - 417 EP - 427 ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Schneider, Anna A1 - Takla, Melanie A1 - Raab, Alexandra A1 - Raab, Thomas A1 - Bonhage, Alexander A1 - Hirsch, Florian A1 - Rösler, Horst T1 - Towards an inventory of historic charcoal production fields in Brandenburg, Germany T2 - European Geosciences Union, General Assembly 2015, Vienna, Austria, 13 April - 17 May 2015 KW - historic charcoal production Y1 - 2015 UR - http://meetingorganizer.copernicus.org/EGU2015/EGU2015-3949.pdf N1 - EGU2015-3949 PB - European Geophysical Society CY - Katlenburg-Lindau ER - TY - GEN A1 - Raab, Alexandra A1 - Bonhage, Alexander A1 - Schneider, Anna A1 - Raab, Thomas A1 - Rösler, Horst A1 - Heußner, Karl-Uwe A1 - Hirsch, Florian T1 - Spatial distribution of relict charcoal hearths in the former royal forest district Tauer (SE Brandenburg, Germany) T2 - Quaternary International N2 - Historical charcoal production has long been an unconsidered type of forest utilization in lowland areas. The archaeological discovery of a large charcoal burning area in the forefield of the active opencast lignite mine J€anschwalde in SE Brandenburg (North German Lowlands) has highlighted the need for multidisciplinary research in the study of the dimensions of historical charcoal burning. The charcoal produced in our study area, the former royal forest district Tauer, provided energy for the nearby Peitz ironworks during its operation from the mid-16th to the mid-19th century. Here, we aimed to record the amount, size and distribution of relict charcoal hearths (RCHs) to examine their context with respect to the ironworks and to better understand the potential impacts on late Quaternary landscape change. The applied methods combined archaeological research with shaded-relief mapping of RCHs. To evaluate the detection success of RCHs in the shaded-relief maps (SRMs), we compared the results with the results from specific archaeological surveys and conventional forest site mapping. Furthermore, we analyzed our dataset with descriptive, comparable and spatial statistics. Additionally, dendrochronological dating of charcoal fragments from selected RCHs was used to investigate the temporal relationships among the RCHs. Approximately 6000 circular RCHs were manually digitally identified in the SRMs of the 109-km2 evaluable area. However, ground truthing showed that the shaded-relief maps could not completely capture all RCHs in our study area due to local conditions. At the regional scale, two focus areas with high RCH site densities were found. Statistical analysis revealed that the diameters of the RCHs range widely from 4 to 30.5 m. Spatial statistics were applied to the RCH diameters to aggregate areas with larger or smaller RCHs. At the small scale, no systematic arrangement of RCHs was obvious in the SRMs. Dendrochronological dating of selected RCHs lying close together could not detect significant spatiotemporal relationships or patterns. The dating results also showed that some areas have been preferentially used for charcoal production for over 300 years. Due to the homogeneity of the physiogeographical location factors, we assume that these factors are not superficially responsible for site selection. Instead, economic location factors and contemporary regulations are more likely responsible for the distribution of RCHs. Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2017.07.022 SN - 1040-6182 VL - Vol. 511 SP - 153 EP - 165 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Schneider, Anna A1 - Hirsch, Florian A1 - Wechler, Klaus-Peter A1 - Raab, Alexandra A1 - Raab, Thomas T1 - Reconstruction of a Paleosurface and Archaeological Site Location in an Anthropogenic Drift Sand Area T2 - Archaeological Prospection N2 - Knowledge of the position of archaeological remains in the surface relief provides important basic information for archaeological survey design and interpretation. Geomorphological processes in (pre)history may have resulted in a modification of the local relief around archaeological sites, especially in areas that are prone to sediment erosion and relocation, such as sheet sand and dune landscapes. In this study, we reconstructed and analysed the palaeorelief of an archaeological excavation site in an inland dune area in southern Brandenburg, Germany. The remains of two Mesolithic sites were documented in the archaeological excavations and found to be associated with a buried soil horizon. To gather information on the relief of the buried soil surface, we used a combination of sedimentological and pedological profile descriptions along archaeological survey trenches and geophysical prospection with ground penetrating radar supplemented with microdrone photography and photogrammetry, global positioning system (GPS) surveys, and analysis of LiDAR-based elevation models. A digital elevation model of the buried surface was generated and analysed using a geographical information system (GIS). A comparison of the palaeosurface model with the recent surface elevation model shows that sand remobilization resulted in a considerable reshaping of the relief. Further, an analysis of the buried surface model shows that the relief position of the two archaeological sites in the study area was considerably more prominent in relation to the corresponding buried soil surface than in relation to the recent surface morphology. The results affirm the significance of Holocene sediment relocation for the local surface morphology and the importance of considering such relief modifications in archaeological surveys. Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/arp.1571 SN - 1099-0763 VL - 24 IS - 4 SP - 297 EP - 310 ER -