Landscape transformations in the context of soil development, land use, and climate

Viac o knihe

The author examines soil development and sediments in marginally productive areas of Jordan, Syria, Mexico, and Germany, aiming for systematic comparisons across different scales. This comparative approach is informed by previous studies on long-range teleconnections of past environmental changes in Jordan and Mexico. While soils in these regions are often deemed degraded, their land use histories differ significantly. Climate variations can have similar detrimental effects as intense land use. Factors such as volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, or cosmic impacts may influence climatic extremes, leading to sediment deposition or erosion, connecting environmental changes globally. The analysis suggests that the historical negative impacts of land use on soils may be overestimated. In Jordan, soil development appears to be primarily influenced by climate and parent material, reflecting a steady-state equilibrium. Conversely, the shallow limestone soils of Mexico align with theories of man-made degradation, although their land use was less intense than in the Fertile Crescent. Alternating severe droughts and heavy rainfall, likely triggered by volcanic or cosmic events, were significant drivers of landscape changes. Although agriculture may have intensified these impacts, land use alone did not cause major erosion-deposition processes. The notion that technology can control nature, as suggested by the "Anthropocene," lacks solid evi