Streams in the southern Piedmont are consistently incised forming deep (∼ 1–3 m) channels within wide valley bottoms. Here, we use a variety of methods to determine the drivers of stream incision in the region. We mapped ∼ 140 historic dams throughout the region since the breaching of mill dams is a known driver of incision elsewhere. We examined stream banks at 20 sites previously dammed and 8 sites with no known dams. At each site, we measured channel depth, described sediments, and dated sedimentary charcoal via radiocarbon dating. We also examined historical aerial photographs and used modern LiDAR to create cross-sections in multiple locations. Our findings indicate that while dams were common throughout the area, they were typically built within the incised streams indicating that incision predates dam construction. Locally, incision appears to have been part of an aggradation-degradation sequence driven by a period of Euroamerican deforestation. Most dams in the region are reported to have been built before 1850 indicating relatively early incision in the region. The legacy sediments overlie Holocene sediments that are similar to those in anastomosing systems that remain in a few stream reaches today. As such, anastomosing systems may have been common in the region during the Holocene. Both legacy sedimentation and erosion appear to continue into the present with alluvial sedimentation, stream straightening, headward erosion, and now a new discharge regime driven by urbanization in the region. Broadly, our results suggest that streams in the southern Piedmont have been consistently impacted by humans since Euroamerican settlement.

皮埃蒙特南部的溪流始终被切割，在宽阔的谷底形成深（约 1-3 m）的河道。在这里，我们使用多种方法来确定该区域流切口的驱动因素。我们绘制了整个地区约 140 座历史悠久的水坝的地图，因为众所周知，磨坊大坝的溃决是造成其他地区切割的一个原因。我们检查了 20 个以前筑坝的地点和 8 个没有已知水坝的地点的河岸。在每个地点，我们测量了河道深度，描述了沉积物，并通过放射性碳测年法测定了沉积木炭的年代。我们还检查了历史航空照片，并使用现代激光雷达在多个位置创建横截面。我们的研究结果表明，虽然水坝在该地区很常见，但它们通常建在切割的溪流内，这表明切割早于水坝建设。在当地，切割似乎是由欧美时期的森林砍伐所驱动的退化序列的一部分。据报道，该地区大多数水坝都建于 1850 年之前，表明该地区开工相对较早。遗留沉积物覆盖全新世沉积物与今天仍保留在少数溪流中的网状系统中的沉积物类似。因此，在全新世期间，吻合系统可能在该地区很常见。遗留的沉积和侵蚀似乎一直持续到了现在，冲积沉积、河流变直、向源侵蚀，以及现在由该地区城市化驱动的新的排放方式。总的来说，我们的研究结果表明，自欧美定居以来，皮埃蒙特南部的溪流一直受到人类的影响。