Two stages of high-discharge fluvial deposition during the last phase of the Late Holocene are recorded in the infilling of a palaeochannel in the distal reach of the Pecora river, a small catchment along the Tyrrhenian coast of Tuscany (Central Italy). Facies analysis shows an abrupt change from high sinuosity gravelly-sandy river (III-I millennium BC) to shallow braided channel bars (VII-XII century AD). The second stage features the occurrence of very abundant sediments originated from the erosion of the upstream Calcareous Tufa environments, coupled with abundant fine- to coarse-sized charcoal fragments, derived by selective fires sequentially affecting the wetlands, the riparian vegetation, and the surrounding slopes. Geomorphological and stratigraphical analysis of the Pecora river catchment indicates that the widespread wetlands in which Calcareous Tufa were developing were already active around 4 ka cal BC and their formation ended permanently around the XIII century AD. The age of the decline of the tufa systems in the Pecora catchment seems to disagree with most of those recorded in Europe. Contrastingly, their inactivity is coeval with the occupational period of the medieval archaeological site of Vetricella, located in the surroundings of the palaeochannel, and the onset of upstream wetland reclamation and hydraulic works. These changes led to the reclamation of karst depressions, the capture of karst springs, the bypass of barrages and the deep downcutting of the tufa terraces and the drainage of the corresponding wet environments. This study discusses the anthropogenic factors that during the Early Middle Age affected the Pecora catchment and promoted a permanent change in its physical and biological environment with a new assessment of the river course and the reclamation of large portions of floodplains previously permanently flooded. This study provides new data regarding the decline of fluvial tufa in the Mediterranean area and emphasises the Early Medieval anthropogenic forcing mechanism tethered to agricultural practices and land management, contrasting with the classic historical model which suggests an almost complete abandonment of the alluvial and coastal plains.

在晚全新世的最后阶段，在佩科拉河（一个位于托斯卡纳（意大利中部）第勒尼安海沿岸的小流域）的古河道的填充中，记录了两个阶段的高流量河流沉积。相分析表明，从高曲率的沙质河流（公元前III-I千年）到浅辫状河道（公元VII-XII世纪）发生了突然的变化。第二阶段的特征是发生了非常丰富的沉积物，这些沉积物来自上游钙质石灰石环境的侵蚀，再加上大量细小至粗大的木炭碎片，这些木炭碎片是由选择性火灾依次影响湿地，河岸植被和周围的斜坡而产生的。 。佩科拉河流域的地貌和地层分析表明，钙质钙发所发育的广泛湿地在公元前4 ka cal左右就已经活跃，其形成在公元十三世纪左右永久终止。佩科拉（Pecora）流域的凝灰岩系统衰落的年龄似乎与欧洲大多数记录不同。相反，它们的不活跃与位于古河道周围的中世纪Vetricella考古遗址的占领期以及上游湿地开垦和水力工程的开始同时发生。这些变化导致了岩溶洼地的开垦，岩溶泉水的捕获，拦河坝的绕过以及凝灰岩阶地的深挖和相应湿润环境的排水。这项研究通过对河道和以前永久被洪水淹没的大部分洪泛区进行了新的评估，讨论了中世纪早期影响佩科拉（Pecora）集水区并促进其物理和生物环境发生永久变化的人为因素。这项研究提供了有关地中海地区河流灰泥下降的新数据，并强调了中世纪早期人为强迫机制与农业实践和土地管理相关联，与经典的历史模型相反，经典的历史模型表明几乎完全放弃了冲积平原和沿海平原。