TY - JOUR

T1 - Genesis and dating of Late Pleistocene-Holocene soil sediment sequences from the Lüneburg Heath, Northern Germany

AU - Urban, Brigitte

AU - Kunz, Alexander

AU - Gehrt, Ernst

N1 - Funding Information: We thank Christiane Hilmer, Suderburg for valuable help with laboratory treatment of the samples and soil analyses and Katrin Becker for her assistance with the palynological work. We are very thankful to Mario Tucci, Suderburg who helped draft graphs and figures. We finally like to thank Professor Peter Kershaw, Monash University, Australia for correcting the English manuscript and the two reviewers for their valuable advice. Publisher Copyright: © 2011 Brigitte Urban et al.

PY - 2011/6/3

Y1 - 2011/6/3

N2 - The stratigraphy and settlement history of the loess-areas in Central Europe is well known for the glacial periods and the Holocene. In contrast there are no recent investigations in the sandy loess areas of the so called "Altmoränengebiet"in northern Germany on the age of the sediments, timing of soil formation and settlement history. In this study two soil profiles in the Lüneburg Heath are investigated. The soils have been studied by means of sedimentology, pedology and palynology. Dating was done by optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) and radiocarbon. The results give the first evidence from the Altmoränengebiet for human impact on soil development as early as the late Neolithic. In the soil profiles, periods of erosion and accumulation with enrichment in organic rich material are indicated.

AB - The stratigraphy and settlement history of the loess-areas in Central Europe is well known for the glacial periods and the Holocene. In contrast there are no recent investigations in the sandy loess areas of the so called "Altmoränengebiet"in northern Germany on the age of the sediments, timing of soil formation and settlement history. In this study two soil profiles in the Lüneburg Heath are investigated. The soils have been studied by means of sedimentology, pedology and palynology. Dating was done by optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) and radiocarbon. The results give the first evidence from the Altmoränengebiet for human impact on soil development as early as the late Neolithic. In the soil profiles, periods of erosion and accumulation with enrichment in organic rich material are indicated.

KW - Environmental planning

KW - loess

KW - palaeosols

KW - luminescence dating

KW - pollen analysis

KW - palaeoenvironment

KW - human impact

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85152675655&partnerID=8YFLogxK

UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/df178472-4eb8-36fd-ada4-1c4879b07b07/

U2 - 10.3285/eg.60.1.01

DO - 10.3285/eg.60.1.01

M3 - Journal articles

VL - 60

SP - 6

EP - 26

JO - E&G Quaternary Science Journal

JF - E&G Quaternary Science Journal

SN - 0424-7116

IS - 1

ER -