Holocene geomorphological processes and soil development as indicator for environmental change around Karakorum, Upper Orkhon Valley (Central Mongolia)

Mantles of silt- and sand-size particles, paleosols and fluvial deposits preserve valuable information on Holocene environmental change. These archives were used to reconstruct the landscape history in the upper Orkhon Valley close to the former capitals of the Uighurs (Kharbalgasin Tuur) and the Mongolian Empire (Karakorum) near the recent town of Kharkhorin, Central Mongolia. A holistic approach involving the use of high spatial resolution geomorphological mapping, sedimentological and geochemical analysis, palynology, and geochronology shows several phases of landscape activity and stability in the region. This includes phases of fluvial erosion, aeolian sedimentation, and soil formation. By using luminescence and radiocarbon dating, phases of landscape change, indicated by soil formation, occurred mainly at around 6.5–6 ka. Pollen data and a weakly humic horizon at around 1.0 ka probably indicate enhanced moisture supply in the region and a reduction of human activity between the time of the reigns of the Uighurs (8th–9th century AD) and the Mongols (1220–1388 AD). Since 3 ka, especially within the last two millennia of Historical Time (300 B.C.–present), a more intensified human occupation in the Upper Orkhon Valley occurred in this region. This included a more densely grazing of cattle to supply the growing population demands of the Uighurs and Mongols. This overgrazing caused an increase in erosion and the formation and deepening of fluvial gullies, together with soil deflation and subsequent deposition of aeolian sediments. Human activity, in addition to climate, has been dominant in driving landscape evolution of this region since the late Holocene.