Erosion modeling of past land‐use practices in the Fiume di Sotto di Troina river valley, north‐central Sicily

The chronology and pattern of Holocene landscape development in the Nebrodi Mountains of north‐central Sicily, seen in valley alluviation and the pedological record, has been investigated in the Fiume di Sotto di Troina valley. Intensive geomorphological survey has revealed three phases of alluvial aggradation reflecting increased hillslope disturbance during the late Pleistocene and Holocene. The results of sediment analyses, archaeological survey, and literary evidence were combined in a Geographical Information System (GIS) in order to model the potential erosion caused by different land‐use practices throughout history. This paper presents the erosion model used to investigate possible Roman land‐use practices and their effects on landscape change as documented in the catchment basin. The results of the model support a correlation between intensive pastoralism and the erosional phases documented in the sedimentary record.