Doctoral Dissertation Research: Assessing landscape disturbance and recovery across a WWI battlefield: Verdun, France

摘要战争与自然环境历来是一种紧密联系的关系。纵观历史，战争极大地改变了文化和自然景观的面貌。尽管如此，战争仍然是一种经常被忽视的人为干扰形式。虽然大量文献考察了物理环境影响战斗结果的能力，但有限程度的研究探索了相反的关系，即战争对环境的各种影响。由于当代战争的规模、规模和持续时间，与现代战争相关的破坏尤其灾难性。这些大规模的扰动从根本上改变了地貌的形状，限制了地貌恢复到原始状态的能力。通过追求两个研究目标，本论文的研究将考察法国凡尔登第一次世界大战战场上的景观干扰和恢复。第一个研究目标试图描述整个战场的干扰程度。将对8个研究地点进行调查，这些地点最能反映不同程度的干扰，同时保持战场上类似的环境特征，例如基岩和土壤类型。干扰程度将通过对爆炸弹药产生的许多弹坑进行抽样来确定。陨石坑的大小和密度将是抽样的重点，因为这些是干扰严重程度的长期指标。此外，每个研究地点的微地形测量，当呈现在坡度剖面上时，将用于比较干扰程度。这项微地形调查分别在八个研究地点进行，将记录几个横断面上海拔最接近厘米的变化。第二个研究目标是描述和理解战场上景观恢复的空间格局。它主要基于与土壤和植被数据相关的参数。在调查目标1的景观干扰时，将采集植被数据；这些数据将反映物种多样性、结构、密度和断面积的变化；即林分质量。土壤及其发育将基于Runge(1973)成土模型的应用，该模型将土壤发育与(1)可供淋洗的水和(2)有机质生产联系在一起。通过检查土壤剖面中各种阳离子的淋溶程度和形成O层和A层的有机质的性质/数量来确定土壤的发展。土壤pH值和粘粒含量也将被评估，它们应该与模型中设定的土壤发展参数相关。这项研究将为景观在灾难性的人为干扰后恢复的能力提供洞察。鉴于围绕世界各地现代军事行动对环境的影响的争议，通过训练和实战，重要的是审查军事骚乱对景观造成的影响。此外，人类正在通过采矿、伐木、集约化农业和战争等活动越来越多地重塑地球面貌。通过研究地貌、土壤和生物生态因素的整体方法来理解景观恢复，将有助于更好地管理和恢复未来严重干扰的景观。这项工作不仅有望在地貌学方面开辟广阔的研究途径，而且还有助于使社会更好地了解在发生战争等灾难性的人为干扰后，地貌如何恢复以及恢复到何种程度。

AbstractWarfare and the physical environment have always shared a close and interconnected relationship. Throughout history, warfare has dramatically altered the face of the cultural and physical landscape. Despite this, warfare remains an often overlooked form of anthropogenic disturbance. While a large body of literature examines the ability of the physical environment to influence battle outcomes, a limited degree of research explores the inverse relationship, that is, the various effects of warfare upon the environment. The destruction associated with modern warfare is particularly catastrophic due to the extent, magnitude, and duration of contemporary wars. These large magnitude disturbances radically alter the shape of the landscape, limiting the ability of the landscape to revert back to its original state. By pursuing two research objectives, this dissertation research will examine landscape disturbance and recovery across the World War I battlefield of Verdun, France. The first research objective seeks to characterize the degree of disturbance across the battlefield. Eight study sites will be surveyed that best reflect the varying degrees of disturbance, while maintaining similar environmental characteristics, e.g., bedrock and soil type, across the battlefield. Disturbance magnitude will be determined by sampling the many craters derived from explosive munitions. Crater size and density will be a focus of the sampling, as these are long-lasting indicators of disturbance severity. Additionally, a survey of microtopography at each of the study sites, when presented in slope profile, will be used to compare disturbance magnitude. The microtopographic survey, in each of eight study sites, will record changes in elevation to the nearest centimeter along several transects. The second research objective seeks to characterize and understand spatial patterns of landscape recovery across the battlefield. It is based primarily on parameters associated with soil and vegetation data. Vegetation data will be sampled while surveying landscape disturbance in objective one; these data will reflect species diversity, variety in structure, density, and basal area; i.e. forest stand quality. Soils and their development will be based upon application of the Runge (1973) pedogenic model, which relates soil development to (1) water available for leaching and (2) organic matter production. Soil development will be ascertained by examining the degree of leaching of various cations from the soil profile and the character/amount of organic matter that has accumulated to form the O and A horizons. Also assessed will be soil pH and clay contents, which should correlate to soil development parameters set forth within the model.This study will provide insight into the ability of a landscape to recover following a catastrophic anthropogenic disturbance. Given the controversy surrounding the environmental implications of modern military operations around the world, via both training and actual combat, it is important to examine the impact military disturbances exert on the landscape. Additionally, humans are increasingly reshaping the face of the earth through activities such as mining, logging, intensive agriculture, and warfare. An understanding of landscape recovery through the holistic approach of studying geomorphic, soil, and bio-ecologic factors will help to better manage and restore severely disturbed landscapes in the future. Such work not only promises to open broad avenues of research within the context of geomorphology, it also serves to provide society with a better understanding of how and to what degree landscapes recover, following a catastrophic anthropogenic disturbance such as war.