Abstract The soil formation, its development, and its preservation in high mountain environments are largely determined by topography and geomorphological dynamic. Therefore, soil development in alpine areas is often non-linear over time, and characterized by phases of progressive and regressive evolution. The interaction among soil-forming factors is preserved in soils as physical/chemical properties and pedological features. In particular, the action of surface geomorphological processes can be observed as stone lines or sequences of buried surfaces. In this light, exhaustive investigation of soils and paleosols could provide enough information to reconstruct past environmental conditions and spatio-temporal changes in denudation/deposition processes. The main aim of this study is to assess the role of soil as a useful archive for retracing the geomorphological processes that are responsible for the landscape evolution during the Late Holocene in a typical alpine catchment such as the Buscagna stream hydrographic basin (Veglia-Devero Natural Park, Lepontine Alps). The asymmetry in valley slopes, due to lithology and structural control, generates a great variety of geomorphic processes and landforms. Therefore, seven soil profiles were selected along the two slopes, in different morphological contexts, to reveal the influence of the different active geomorphic processes in soil development. Soils were investigated by means of field and laboratory analyses, and geomorphological maps of the area surrounding the profiles were made. On the southeastern slope, characterized by calcschist substratum, the soil profiles are composed of two superimposed pedological units, separated by an instability hiatus. On the northwestern slope, characterized by gneiss and ultramafic rocks, and on the valley bottom, the soils record instability phases in different ways, fitting well with the geomorphological context. In this mountain environment, the close relationship between soil development and geomorphic processes allows us to confirm the role of soil as a useful archive to potentially reconstruct the past geomorphological conditions.

中文翻译：

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土壤作为重建高山环境地貌动力学的有用工具：以布斯卡尼亚河流域水文盆地（Lepontine Alps）为例

摘要 高山环境中土壤的形成、发育和保存在很大程度上取决于地形和地貌动态。因此，高山地区的土壤发育通常是非线性的，并具有渐进和退步演化阶段。土壤形成因素之间的相互作用作为物理/化学特性和土壤学特征保留在土壤中。特别是，地表地貌过程的作用可以被观察为石线或埋藏表面的序列。有鉴于此，对土壤和古土壤的详尽调查可以提供足够的信息来重建过去的环境条件和剥蚀/沉积过程的时空变化。本研究的主要目的是评估土壤作为有用档案的作用，用于追溯导致全新世晚期景观演变的地貌过程在典型的高山流域，如布斯卡尼亚河水文盆地 (Veglia-Devero Natural公园，勒庞廷阿尔卑斯山）。由于岩性和构造控制，谷坡的不对称性产生了多种多样的地貌过程和地貌。因此，在两个斜坡上选择了七个不同形态背景下的土壤剖面，以揭示不同活跃地貌过程对土壤发育的影响。通过实地和实验室分析对土壤进行了调查，并绘制了剖面周围区域的地貌图。在以钙片岩地层为特征的东南斜坡上，土壤剖面由两个叠加的土壤单元组成，由不稳定的中断分隔。在以片麻岩和超基性岩为特征的西北斜坡和谷底，土壤以不同方式记录不稳定阶段，与地貌环境非常吻合。在这种山地环境中，土壤发育与地貌过程之间的密切关系使我们能够确认土壤作为有用档案的作用，有可能重建过去的地貌条件。