The research will investigate the impact of human activity on landscape evolution by studying land-use and land-cover change on the island of Cyprus. The 1000-year history of human occupation provides a long and detailed record, and one for which the signature of land-use activity could be reasonably imprinted on soil development and erosion. A broad spectrum of methods, including geomorphic mapping, sedimentological analysis, soil analysis, morphometric analysis, geoarchaeology, and geochronology, will be employed. Resulting data will be integrated into a model of landscape erosion to provide a broadly interdisciplinary interpretation of environmental change. New insights into landscape sensitivity, landscape management, and the role of humans in environmental change will be generated. In addition, collaboration among geology, geography, and archaeology will be facilitated.
