A SHORT HISTORY OF A FLAT PLACE - 3 CENTURIES OF GEOMORPHIC CHANGE INTHE CROATAN NATIONAL FOREST

Despite flat terrain, extensive forests, and little urbanization, ther e has been extensive landscape change in the Croatan area of North Car olina's lower coastal plain in the past 300 years. Culturally-accelera ted erosion, sedimentation, and geomorphic change are documented, incl uding mean historic upland surface lowering of 15 to 25 cm, and histor ic alluvial sedimentation of 70 to more than 200 cm. This recent envir onmental history is significant beyond the Croatan because it illustra tes three critical points. First, human agency can result in rapid and significant geomorphic change, even in geologically stable areas wher e traditional geomorphic risk factors such as slope and climate variab ility are low. Second, geomorphic change may not leave obvious visible clues. The scarcity of apparent landform change in the coastal plain has traditionally left the impression that culturally-induced geomorph ic change has been minimal, when in fact such changes are comparable t o those in other regions generally recognized as having undergone seri ous land degradation. Third, the impacts of human agency on geomorphic processes can be difficult to recognize when those impacts are intert wined with other geomorphic changes. In the Croatan, some human impact s are similar to those associated with Holocene sea level rise, though greatly accelerated. This makes historic change difficult to distingu ish from longer-term Quaternary environmental changes.