Anthropogenic Features

Abstract

The impact of human activities on soils can be examined at many spatial scales. This chapter considers human activities that directly influence soils and regoliths such as agricultural practices, application of waste materials and land clearance through fire husbandry. These practices result in a wide range of anthropogenic features, which may be observed in soil and regolith thin sections, potentially enabling interpretation of both the type and nature of the practice itself. Variation in the intensity of such practices, especially contrasts between one single event and year-on-year repetition, may lead to pronounced contrasts in the features observed between sample sites. This potentially confounds analyses and limits interpretation. By considering examples from a range of agricultural and other managed landscapes and through discussion of examples from past research literature, this chapter aims to the further understanding of anthropogenic features observed in soils, allowing interpretation of a range of processes.