Quantification of soil erosion rates related to ancient Maya deforestation

Anselmetti, F. S. and Hodell, D. A. and Ariztegui, D. and Brenner, M. and Rosenmeier, M. F. (2007) Quantification of soil erosion rates related to ancient Maya deforestation. Geology, 35 (10). pp. 915-918. ISSN 0091-7613 DOI https://doi.org/10.1130/G23834A.1

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Abstract

We used seismic and sediment core data to quantify soil erosion rates for the past ~6000 yr in the closed catchment of Lake Salpetén, in the tropical lowlands of northern Guatemala. The region was affected by ancient Maya land use from before ca. 1000 B.C. to A.D. 900. This period of human impact coincided with deposition in the lake of a detrital unit (Maya Clay) as much as 7 m thick that contrasts sharply with the relatively organic-rich gyttja deposited both before and after Maya occupation of the watershed. The greatest soil loss, with mean sustained values of ~1000 t/km2yr–1, occurred in the Middle and Late Preclassic Periods (700 B.C. to A.D. 250), associated with relatively low Maya population densities. Soil erosion slowed during the period of maximum population density in the Late Classic Period (A.D. 550–830), indicating a decoupling between human population density and soil erosion rate. The most rapid soil loss occurred early during initial land clearance, suggesting that even low numbers of people can have profound impacts on lowland tropical karst landscapes.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	Anselmetti, Flavio S. Hodell, David A. Ariztegui, Daniel Brenner, Mark Rosenmeier, Michael F.
Uncontrolled Keywords:	NIL AREP
Subjects:	01 - Climate Change and Earth-Ocean Atmosphere Systems
Divisions:	01 - Climate Change and Earth-Ocean Atmosphere Systems
Journal or Publication Title:	Geology
Volume:	35
Page Range:	pp. 915-918
Identification Number:	https://doi.org/10.1130/G23834A.1
Depositing User:	Sarah Humbert
Date Deposited:	16 Feb 2009 13:01
Last Modified:	23 Jul 2013 10:01
URI:	http://eprints.esc.cam.ac.uk/id/eprint/113

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