83-1 Holocene cave sediments reveal early human impacts on the Earth's Critical Zone

Abstract:

Underground karst systems are highly sensitive components of the Earth's Critical Zone (ECZ), preserving sedimentary archives that record interactions among climate, hydrology, geomorphic processes, and human land use. In the Apennines (Italy), Holocene cave sediments provide evidence of both natural environmental variability and increasing anthropogenic influence on Critical Zone dynamics. Alternating phases of clastic sedimentation, sedimentary hiatuses, and speleothem growth reflect changes in karst hydrology driven by Holocene climatic fluctuations. From the mid-Holocene onward, however, cave deposits record a marked increase in charcoal fragments and heated soil aggregates, indicating enhanced soil erosion linked to human activities. These deposits coincide with the archaeological evidence for the expansion of farming and pastoral practices during later prehistory, when forest clearance and slash-and-burn land management accelerated hillslope erosion and sediment transfer from the surface into the karst system. The resulting cave stratigraphy demonstrates how early land use modified sediment fluxes and altered the functioning of the Critical Zone well before the industrial era. This study highlights the value of cave sedimentary archives for reconstructing long-term interactions among climate, geomorphic processes, vegetation change, and human activities, providing new insights into the role of prehistoric societies in shaping Critical Zone evolution across Mediterranean mountain landscapes.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 58, No. 5, 2026

doi: 10.1130/abs/2026AM-16494

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