Effects of historical charcoal burning on soil landscapes in West Connecticut, USA

残炭炉（RCHs），也被称为炭窑遗迹（CKR），是一种小型的人为地貌，通常在欧洲低山脉的历史矿区发现。最近对德国北部低地数千个rch的研究发现，以及非常精确的数字高程模型（dem）的使用，提高了人们对历史木炭生产可能对全新世晚期景观变化有重要贡献的认识。除了RCHs的历史和考古方面，木炭燃烧对生态系统的潜在影响，包括土壤物理和化学性质的变化，土壤有机碳（SOC）储量的增加和对植物生长的影响，值得研究确定。由于我们最近才开始认识到大型RCH景观的更大维度，因此关于RCH的一般生态意义的知识存在巨大差距。木炭生产发生在美国东北部的几个地区，尽管其对景观的影响仍然广泛未知。最近，对阴影地形地图（SRM）的第一次评估显示，在宾夕法尼亚州40平方公里的大范围内有3000多个RCHs，在康涅狄格州西北部利奇菲尔德县1170平方公里的大范围内有2万多个RCHs。这些结果为人类对美国东北部土壤景观演变的影响提供了一个全新的图景。相对高密度的养老院位于康涅狄格州利奇菲尔德县西康沃尔镇附近的利奇菲尔德山。在胡萨托尼克河支流山谷的斜坡上，rch保存得尤其完好，形成直径通常小于10米的圆形平台。值得注意的是，目前该地区森林茂密，以前木炭生产的遗迹虽然只有125年的历史，但却完全模糊不清。需要对RCHs进行进一步研究，以提高我们对历史木炭生产的环境后果的理解，并检查这种遗留影响对我们现代生态系统的数量和质量。利奇菲尔德山是研究rch控制土壤的性质，发展和分布的理想场所，并获得对一般人为土壤景观的新见解。

Relict Charcoal Hearths (RCHs), also referred to as Charcoal Kiln Remains (CKR), are small anthropogenic landforms that are typically found in historical mining areas of low mountain ranges in Europe. Recent findings of several thousand RCHs in the North German Lowland and the use of very accurate Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) have increased awareness that historical charcoal production may significantly contribute to Late Holocene landscape change. In addition to the historical and archaeological aspects of RCHs, the potential implications of charcoal burning on ecosystems, including changes in physical and chemical properties of soils, increased stocks of soil organic carbon (SOC) and effects on plant growth, are worthy of investigation identified. There is a tremendous gap in the knowledge regarding the general ecological significance of RCHs as we are just starting to realize the greater dimensions of large RCH landscapes that have been recently. Charcoal production occurred in several regions in the Northeastern United States, although its effects on the landscape remain widely unknown. Recently, a first evaluation of shaded-relief maps (SRM) has revealed over 3,000 RCHs in a 40 km2 large area in Pennsylvania and more than 20,000 RCHs in a 1170 km2 large area in Litchfield County in Northwestern Connecticut. These results suggest a completely new picture of human impacts on soil landscape evolution in the Northeastern USA. A comparatively high density of RCHs is located in Litchfield Hills near the town of West Cornwall in Litchfield County, Connecticut. The RCHs are especially well preserved on slopes of the Housatonic River tributary valleys and form circular platforms with diameters normally less than ten metres. It is remarkable that currently the region is densely forested and the remains of former charcoal production, although only 125 years old, are completely obscured. Further research on RCHs is needed to enhance our understanding of the environmental consequences of historical charcoal production and examine the quantity and quality of this legacy effect on our modern ecosystems. Litchfield Hills are ideal for studying the properties, development and distribution of RCH-controlled soils and to gain new insights into anthropogenic soil landscapes in general.