Legacy of medieval ridge and furrow cultivation on soil organic carbon distribution and stocks in forests

Alcántara, Viridiana; Don, Axel; Well, Reinhard; Nieder, Rolf

doi:10.1016/j.catena.2017.02.013

Cited by 15 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…The observation that SOM contents in the M horizons decrease with depth suggests that their distribution is predominantly controlled by post-abandonment pedogenesis. Similar to our results, Alcántara et al (2017) did not find significant differences of total SOC stocks between RIFU soils and hypothetical reference positions. However, during the active usage of the RIFU system, decomposed SOM might have beneficially influenced plant growth in former times.…”

Section: Site Conditions Building and Usage Of The Rifu Systemssupporting

confidence: 91%

“…Especially at Brügge and Frehne, where loamier textured substrates are situated below the (originally 40-50 cm thick) periglacial coversands, the anthropogenic removal of the coversands for the raising of the ridges caused spatially heterogeneous parent material for post-abandonment pedogenesis. As similarly observed and interpreted by Alcántara et al (2017) and Langewitz et al (2021), at all three sites, the surface soils in the furrows are characterized by higher SOM contents compared to the ridges, which can be explained by the furrows' morphologic position, enhancing the accumulation of organic matter and water and slowing the degradation of SOM. Similarly, the larger depth of the topsoil in the furrows suggests a post-agricultural enhanced topsoil formation in the furrows compared to the ridges.…”

Section: Post-abandonment Pedogenesis and Legacy Effectssupporting

confidence: 78%

“…Ridge and furrow (RIFU) systems are a widespread legacy of medieval agriculture in Central European forests, for example, in Belgium (Beyaert, 2006), Switzerland (Ewald, 1969), and Germany (Alcántara et al., 2017; Noack & Wulf, 2019). The reasons for the formation of RIFU systems were controversially discussed, considering legislative and agritechnical reasons or deliberate modifications of soil conditions (Ewald, 1969; Kittler, 1963).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Soils on such legacy RIFU systems are archives for studies about past cultivation and fertilization methods (Langewitz et al., 2022). They can furthermore act as carbon sinks through the burial of topsoil horizons and carbon‐enriched plowing horizons in the ridges (Alcántara et al., 2017; Hierold & Nagel, 2001) and the characteristic plowing technique that continuously incorporates carbon‐rich topsoil material into the ridge soils. The distinct modifications of soil stratigraphy and properties might affect tree growth and other ecosystem components in present‐day forests.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Soil properties and tree growth at medieval ridge and furrow sites in Brandenburg, northeastern Germany

Hirsch

Schneider

Maaten‐Theunissen

et al. 2023

J. Plant Nutr. Soil Sci.

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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 postabandonment 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.

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Section: Site Conditions Building and Usage Of The Rifu Systemssupporting

confidence: 91%

Section: Post-abandonment Pedogenesis and Legacy Effectssupporting

confidence: 78%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Soil properties and tree growth at medieval ridge and furrow sites in Brandenburg, northeastern Germany

Hirsch

Schneider

Maaten‐Theunissen

et al. 2023

J. Plant Nutr. Soil Sci.

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show abstract

“…Ridge-and-furrow systems are a widespread legacy from medieval agriculture, but their usage, size and shape in Europe can vary (Ewald, 1969;Beyaert, 2006;Alcántara et al, 2017). Ridge-and-furrow systems consist of parallel ridges separated by shallow furrows.…”

Section: Ridge-and-furrow Systems At Grießen -Site 4: Historical Till...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Quaternary and geoarcheology in Lower Lusatia

Hirsch

Raab²,

Raab³

et al. 2022

DEUQUA Spec. Pub.

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Abstract. 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.

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Improvement of soil fertility in historical ridge and furrow cultivation

Langewitz¹,

Wiedner²,

Fritzsch

et al. 2022

Geoarchaeology

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Ridge and furrow cultivation is the most widely used agricultural technique in medieval and postmedieval Europe, but the fertilization of soils during their use is not yet fully understood. Pedological analyses of this cultivation technique provided information, which led to the assumption that some of the investigated sites in Northern and Central Germany were manured with livestock excrements during cultivation. The objective of this study is to determine whether and how the soils have been fertilized and which materials were applied for this purpose. We investigated soils at five sites using phosphate and steroid analyses (stanols and bile acids), black carbon analyses, and a micromorphology study. The results showed that livestock waste was likely used as fertilizer at four of the five studied sites at low intensities, with pigs and herbivores being the probable sources of the excrement. But also the application of human feces to the soil might be possible at least at one site. Often used agricultural methods such as plaggen cultivation and an intentional charcoal input to enhance soil fertility could not be clearly verified for our study sites.

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Legacy of medieval ridge and furrow cultivation on soil organic carbon distribution and stocks in forests

Cited by 15 publications

References 32 publications

Soil properties and tree growth at medieval ridge and furrow sites in Brandenburg, northeastern Germany

Soil properties and tree growth at medieval ridge and furrow sites in Brandenburg, northeastern Germany

Quaternary and geoarcheology in Lower Lusatia

Improvement of soil fertility in historical ridge and furrow cultivation

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