Geomorphology and late Holocene climatic change in Northeastern Spain

Abstract

During the late Holocene, accumulation and downcutting stages affected the slopes and infilled valleys in the semiarid areas in NE Spain. The presence of archaeological remains, charcoal and ashes within slope deposits and valley fills makes it possible to carry out accurate datings. In the case of infilled valleys, the different accumulations may be diachronous at a regional level. These diachronisms among different infilled valleys may be caused by both human activity and complex responses of the system. On the slopes, one can distinguish between two accumulation periods separated by an incision period. The older accumulation stage has a widespread distribution and developed from the Bronze Age to the Iberian–Roman Epoch. The following accumulation period was formed in the Post-Medieval period and is spatially more restricted. Because of the widespread synchronism shown by these accumulations, a climatic cause is put forward as the possible triggering factor for the accumulation–incision stages in the slopes. The datings obtained indicate that the first accumulation corresponds to the Iron Age Cold Epoch (900–300 years B.C.) and the second to the Little Ice Age. Between both accumulation periods, a downcutting stage took place (approximately from 300 B.C. to 1450 A.D.). This downcutting interval can be related to the warm stages of the Subatlantic Period, during which there was a relatively lower percentage of vegetation cover. Finally, the last incision period, which is still taking place, has affected previous accumulations.