Are mid-latitude slopes sensitive to climatic oscillations? Implications from an Early Holocene sequence of slope deposits and buried soils from eastern Germany

On a straight slope within the lake catchment of Kleiner Tornowsee (Brandenburg, Germany) a sequence of slope sediments has been deposited during the Late Glacial, the Early Holocene and around cal 4.2 ka before today, 800, 500 and 300 years ago. The chronology is based on 21 radiocarbon dates and 11 OSL dates and a deposition model including the numerical data as well as stratigraphic information has been calculated with OxCal 4.1. A comparison of the woody taxa of charcoal particles (n = 566) embedded within the sediments with the known regional vegetation history confirmed the reliability of the dates. According to the age, volume and distribution the deposition of the Early Holocene sediments at ca. 10.3 kyrs, ca. 9.5 kyrs and ca. 8.2 to 7.7 kyrs before today strongly suggests an influence of known climatic deteriorations phases on geomorphologic processes. Cold and dry climatic conditions probably promoted wildfires in Pinus dominated forests and therefore triggered the observed repeated slope instability. In consequence, mid-latitude slope deposits provide a potential to reconstruct the geomorphological response to climatic events at a high spatial resolution. In contrast, the recorded Mid to Late Holocene soil erosion phases on the slope have been triggered by land-use activities. from traditional environmental archives slope deposits provide valuable information about the vegetation and climate history.