The Impact of Late Holocene Flood Management on the Central Po Plain (Northern Italy)

Filippo Brandolini,Mauro Cremaschi

doi:10.3390/su10113968

Abstract

Fluvial environments have always played a crucial role in human history. The necessity of fertile land and fresh water for agriculture has led populations to settle in floodplains more frequently than in other environments. Floodplains are complex human–water systems in which the mutual interaction between anthropogenic activities and environment affected the landscape development. In this paper, we analyzed the evolution of the Central Po Plain (Italy) during the Medieval period through a multi-proxy record of geomorphological, archaeological and historical data. The collapse of the Western Roman Empire (5th century AD) coincided with a progressive waterlogging of large floodplain areas. The results obtained by this research shed new light on the consequences that Post-Roman land and water management activities had on landscape evolution. In particular, the exploitation of fluvial sediments through flood management practices had the effect of reclaiming the swamps, but also altered the natural geomorphological development of the area. Even so, the Medieval human activities were more in equilibrium with the natural system than with the later Renaissance large-scale land reclamation works that profoundly modified the landscape turning the wetland environment into the arable land visible today. The analysis of fluvial palaeoenvironments and their relation with past human activities can provide valuable indications for planning more sustainable urbanized alluvial landscapes in future.

Highlights

Floodplains are preferred areas for human settlements due to their suitability for agriculture activities, and many studies substantiate the interpretation of floodplains as complex human–water systems [1,2,3]
In Europe, the reciprocal interaction between fluvial environments and human activities has been documented since the Neolithic [6,7], when fluvial landscapes were first altered for agriculture purposes
The dynamic climatic conditions that occurred after the collapse of the Western Roman Empire led to a significant change in the well-organized Roman countryside, turning large floodplain areas in swamps

Summary

Introduction

Floodplains are preferred areas for human settlements due to their suitability for agriculture activities, and many studies substantiate the interpretation of floodplains as complex human–water systems [1,2,3]. In Europe, the reciprocal interaction between fluvial environments and human activities has been documented since the Neolithic [6,7], when fluvial landscapes were first altered for agriculture purposes. In the Early Medieval Age (6th–9th centuries AD) few cases of large-scale anthropogenic land and water management activities are known Between the 10th and the 13th centuries AD, concurrent with the Medieval Warm Period climate phase [10,11,12], the European population grew substantially, Sustainability 2018, 10, x FOR PEER REVIEW almost tripling (in Northern and Central Italy, the urban population doubled), and increasing the demtriapnlidngfo(rincuNltoivrtahterdnlandsC[e1n3t–r1a6l ]I.taCleyr,etahles ubrebcanmpeoapmuloartieosnigdnoiufibclaendt),coandstiitnucerneat siinngthtehaevdeermagaendiet andforincutlhtievaatgerdarlaianndsr[e1g3i–m16e].cComerpeaalrsebdectaomthe ea cmeonrteusriigens ibfiecafonrtec,olnesatditiunegntpionpthuelaatvioenrasgteodrieetcoanndfiginure thethme eadgireavriaalnnraetguirmale lcaonmdspcaarpede ftoorthage rciceunlttuurrieasl pbeufroproe,selse.adIningcrepaotpinuglatnioenws tlaonrdecfoonrficguulrteivtahteion andmesedtitelveaml ennatt,utrhael Elaunrdospcaepane cfoormamgruicnuitliteusratlripgugrepreodseas. Thperporpoopnoennetsntosfotfhtohsoesaecaticvtiitvieitsiews ewreerme mosotlsytlmy monoanstaesrtieersie[2s5[–2257–]27su] cshucahs aNs oNnoannatonltao, lSaa, nStaantGaiuGliiua,lia, MiMrainradnodloal,aS, aSnanBeBneendedeetttotoininPPoolilriroonnee [[2288]],, aanndd aallssoo llooccaall lloorrddss wwhhoo ccoonntrtirbibuutetdedtotococloolnoinziinzginngenwew farfmarlmanladnbdybfyofrocricnigngrururarallppeeooppllee ttoo lliivveeiinnttoonneewwfofrotriftiiefidedsestteltetmleemntesn(tisnc(ainstceallsatmelelnamtoepnrtoocpesrsoc[2e9s–s3[12]9).–31])

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