U.S. geomorphologists and biogeographers often cite early theoretical roots dating back to late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century exemplars such as Powell, Gilbert, Cowles, and Clements, or earlier European contributors like Hutton, Lyell, von Humboldt, and, of course, Darwin. Yet reviews of our intellectual roots often overlook an early and important U.S. contributor: George Perkins Marsh. Marsh’s work on Man and Nature is more often cited in the field of environmental history, where it is appropriately noted as a prescient review of human impacts on the landscape. We suggest, however, that his significance extends beyond early environmental activism and that in fact Marsh describes many concepts and analytical approaches that continue to underlie modern geomorphology and biogeography. Moreover, Marsh’s ideas and approach presaged fundamental concepts central to our current study of the Anthropocene and coupled human–environment systems, as he emphasized interconnections among biotic, geomorphic and human elements, perhaps most notably with regard to impacts of deforestation on flood regimes. There is, therefore, much to learn from Marsh—both about early thinking in physical geography and about the depth of scientific analysis underlying our discipline’s early interest in human impacts.

美国地貌学家和生物地理学家经常引用早期的理论渊源，其历史可以追溯到19世纪末和20世纪初的示例，例如Powell，Gilbert，Cowles和Clements，或者是早期的欧洲贡献者，例如Hutton，Lyell，von Humboldt，当然还有达尔文。然而，对我们知识渊博的评论常常忽略了美国早期重要的贡献者：乔治·珀金斯·马什。沼泽关于人与自然的工作在环境历史领域中经常被引用，在此将其适当地指出是对人类对景观的影响的预先评估。但是，我们建议，他的意义不仅限于早期的环境行动主义，而且事实上，马什（Marsh）描述了许多概念和分析方法，这些概念和分析方法继续作为现代地貌学和生物地理学的基础。此外，马什的思想和方法预示了我们当前对人类世及其人类环境系统研究的核心基本概念，因为他强调了生物，地貌和人为因素之间的相互联系，尤其是在森林砍伐对洪水制度的影响方面。因此，有