Hu, Xiaosi;
Wu, Li;
Zhuang, Yijie;
Wang, Xinyuan;
Ma, Chunmei;
Li, Linying;
Guan, Houchun;
... Xu, Ziyi; + view all
(2024)
Evolution of the historical polder landscape in the
ancient Danyang wetland, lower Yangtze River,
China, during the last 3000 years.
Journal of Geogrpahic Sciences
, 34
(10)
pp. 2053-2073.
10.1007/s11442-024-2282-3.
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Abstract
Polder is a type of irrigation field unique to the lower Yangtze River of China. It is a product of long-term and ingenuous human modifications of wetland landscapes. In the pre-Qin Period, 3000 years ago, the poldered area of eastern Wuhu city was once a large lake called the ancient Danyang wetland. The introduction of agricultural civilization and polder technology to the area during the Wu and Yue Kingdoms period gradually transformed it into an agricultural area. With an accelerating rate of land reclamation under a changing late-Holocene regional climate, the ancient Danyang wetland became an aquatic system strongly influenced by intensifying anthropogenic activities. In this study, based on field survey data, historical documents, and remote-sensing and archaeological data, we reconstructed the spatial distribution of the polder landscape over the last 3000 years and identified their structural diversity. We found that polder landscapes began to emerge in the Spring and Autumn Period, land reclamation intensified in the Three Kingdoms and developed rapidly in the Song Dynasty before eventually reaching the peak from the Ming and Qing Dynasties. The relocation of historical sites to low-altitude areas also marked the expansion of poldered fields from the center of the wetland to the southeast and northwest. The development and evolution of the polder landscape are related to regional climate conditions, changing social and economic statuses, and the development of agricultural technology in the Song Dynasty and succeeding periods.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Evolution of the historical polder landscape in the ancient Danyang wetland, lower Yangtze River, China, during the last 3000 years |
| DOI: | 10.1007/s11442-024-2282-3 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1007/s11442-024-2282-3 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions. |
| Keywords: | Ancient Danyang wetland; polder landscape; climate change; anthropogenic activities; lower Yangtze River |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of S&HS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of S&HS > Institute of Archaeology UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of S&HS > Institute of Archaeology > Institute of Archaeology Gordon Square |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10216439 |
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