Holocene drift-sand activity in the northwest European sand belt is commonly directly linked to population pressure (agricultural activity) or to climate change (e.g. storminess). In the Pleistocene sand areas of the Netherlands, small-scale Holocene drift-sand activity began in the Mesolithic, whereas large-scale sand drifting started during the Middle Ages. This last phase not only coincides with the intensification of farming and demographic pressure but also is commonly associated with a colder climate and enhanced storminess. This raises the question to what extent drift-sand activity can be attributed to either human activities or natural forcing factors. In this study, we compare the spatial and temporal patterns of drift-sand occurrence for the four characteristic Pleistocene sand regions in the Netherlands for the period between 1000 BC and AD 1700. To this end, we compiled a new supra-regional overview of drift-sand activity based on age estimates (14C, optically stimulated luminescence (OSL), archaeological and historical ages). The occurrence of sand drifting was then compared in time and space with historical-route networks, relative vegetation openness and climate. Results indicate a constant but low drift-sand activity between 1000 BC and AD 1000, interrupted by a remarkable decrease in activity around the BC/AD transition. It is evident that human pressure on the landscape was most influential on initiating sand drifting: this is supported by more frequent occurrences close to routes and the uninterrupted increase of drift-sand activity from AD 900 onwards, a period of high population density and large-scale deforestation. Once triggered by human activities, this drift-sand development was probably further intensified several centuries later during the cold and stormier ‘Little Ice Age’ (LIA; AD 1570–1850).

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对全新世晚期流沙动力学的控制：荷兰人类压力的主导作用

欧洲西北部沙带的全新世流沙活动通常与人口压力（农业活动）或气候变化（例如暴风雨）直接相关。在荷兰的更新世沙区，小型全新世流沙活动开始于中石器时代，而大规模的流沙活动则开始于中世纪。最后一个阶段不仅与农业集约化和人口压力相吻合，而且通常与较冷的气候和增强的暴风雨有关。这就提出了一个问题，流沙活动在多大程度上可以归因于人类活动或自然强迫因素。在这项研究中，我们比较了公元前 1000 年至公元 1700 年期间荷兰四个具有特征的更新世沙区的流沙发生的时空模式。为此，我们编制了一个新的基于流沙活动的超区域概览关于年龄估计（14C，光受激发光（OSL），考古和历史年龄）。然后将沙子漂移的发生在时间和空间上与历史路线网络、相对植被开放度和气候进行比较。结果表明，在公元前 1000 年和公元 1000 年之间存在恒定但低的流沙活动，在 BC/AD 过渡期间活动显着减少而中断。很明显，人类对景观的压力对开始漂沙影响最大：从公元 900 年起，更频繁地发生在路线附近，流沙活动不断增加，这是人口密度高和大规模森林砍伐的时期。一旦被人类活动触发，这种流沙的发展可能在几个世纪后在寒冷和风暴更大的“小冰河时代”（LIA；公元 1570-1850 年）期间进一步加剧。