Evolution of a human-dominated floodplain system: The Wiesent River System in the Northern Franconian Alb (Main catchment) in Early Middle Ages to Early Modern times

河流景观及其相关的洪泛区是敏感的生态系统，是人类重要的经济领域。这些景观是动态的性质和特点的社会环境变化在整个历史。在中欧，河流及其洪泛区经历了直接（如水利设施）和间接（如沉积速率）的转变过程，特别是自中世纪早期以来。在此期间，对河流景观的直接社会经济压力变得明显，定居点和基础设施活动增加，例如建造水米尔斯厂，开辟河谷和洪泛区，以便在河流上运输，以及沿着河谷修建公路，并加强洪泛区的农业用地。与此同时，农业集约化扩展到整个河流流域，造成土壤侵蚀，因此对河流的沉积物负荷产生了重大影响，从而大大改变了洪泛平原的形态。因此，最迟在中世纪，自然主导的洪泛区和生态系统转变为人类主导的洪泛区系统。这一转变过程不是单向的，而是以非线性和复杂的反馈和适应过程为特点，确定了人类与环境的相互作用。因此，直接和间接的人为过程改变了洪泛区，反之亦然，改变洪泛区对社会产生了影响。该项目将侧重于两个主要方面：（a）人类活动，如水力技术设施、河流和农业经济及其对河流形态、沉积物通量和洪泛区环境生态的影响，以及（B）对人类引起的洪泛区环境变化的社会反应和文化适应。具体而言，将解决以下问题：（1）什么是山谷和洪泛平原内的变化程度？(2)是否有可能确定变化加剧的时期？(3)哪些社会生态过程是造成河流及其洪泛区从自然为主转变为人为为主的原因？按照历时的方法，从中世纪到工业革命的时期将被调查。选择巴伐利亚/德国的北方弗兰肯阿尔布的中尺度Wiesent河流域（Main /莱茵河流域）及其支流作为本研究的模型区域。在这里，关于沉积物通量和洪泛区发展的高分辨率年代地层学数据已经存在，这是成功采用历时方法来理清复杂的人类-环境相互作用的先决条件。为此，经典和创新的（半）定量方法，如植硅体分析。

Riverine landscapes and their associated floodplains are sensitive ecosystems and represent significant economic areas for humans. These landscapes are dynamic by nature and characterised by socio-environmental changes throughout history. In Central Europe, rivers and their floodplains have been subject to a direct (e.g. hydrotechnical installations) and indirect (e.g. sedimentation rate) transformation process especially since the Early Middle Ages. During this period, the direct socio-economic pressure on riverine landscapes became noticeable, with increased settlement and infrastructure activities, such as the establishment of water mills, the opening of valleys and floodplains for transportation on the river as well as on roads along the valleys and the intensification of the agricultural land use of floodplains. At the same time, agricultural intensification expanded throughout the fluvial catchment, causing soil erosion and therefore having a strong impact on the sediment load of the rivers, which significantly changed the floodplains’ morphology. In consequence, at latest during the Middle Ages, natural dominated floodplains and ecosystems converted to dominant human floodplain systems. This transformation process was not unidirectional, but characterized by non-linear and complex feedback and adaptation processes, defining the human – environment interaction. In consequence, direct and indirect anthropogenic processes modified the floodplain, and vice versa, the modifying floodplain has had impacts on societies. The project will focus on two main aspects: (a) Human activities such as hydrotechnical installations, riverine and agricultural economy and their impact on the fluvial morphology, sediment flux and ecology of the floodplain environment, and (b) social response and cultural adaptation to human induced changing floodplain environment. Specifically, the following questions will be addressed: (1) What was the extent of change within the valleys and floodplains? (2) Is it possible to identify periods of intensified change? (3) Which socio-ecological processes were responsible for the transformation from natural to anthropogenic dominated rivers and their floodplains? Following a diachronically approach, the period from the Middle Ages until the Industrial Revolution will be investigated. As model region for this study, the mesoscale Wiesent River catchment (Main / Rhine catchment) and its tributaries of the Northern Franconian Alb in Bavaria / Germany is chosen. Here, high-resolution chronostratigraphical data on sediment fluxes and floodplain development are already available, a prerequisite to successfully follow the diachronic approach to disentangle the complex human – environment interaction. To this end, both classical and innovative (semi-)quantitative methods such as phytolith analyses are applied.