In April 2024, the International Symposium on Archives of Quaternary River Basin Erosion took place in the Guadix–Baza Basin (Andalusia, Spain), at which contributions to recent research were presented. In this special issue, we would like to bring together all innovative research contributions that deal with new findings on past fluvial dynamics. We call for contributions from the fields of fluvial geomorphology, sedimentology, remote sensing, and numerical landscape evolution modelling as well as from empirical studies focusing on the analysis of fluvial archives that apply various scientific approaches and techniques. We welcome both methodological and applied studies.

Floodplains represent a global hotspot of sensitive socio-environmental changes and early human forcing mechanisms. Floodplains are exceptionally dynamic landscapes and key areas of cultural and natural heritage. Due to their high land-use capacity and the simultaneous necessity of land reclamation and risk minimization, societies have radically restructured floodplains. The questions therefore arise as to whether or when it is justified to understand floodplains as "fluvial anthropospheres" and which socio-ecological processes have contributed to their development.

In this E&G Quaternary Science Journal special issue, we aim to highlight challenges and propose research strategies for identifying and quantifying anthropogenic impacts on floodplain architectures. We call for interdisciplinary contributions from near-surface geophysics, fluvial geomorphology, remote sensing, history, and archaeology that provide sweet spots for uncovering human impacts on fluvial architectures and chemostratigraphies.

In April 2024, the International Symposium on Archives of Quaternary River Basin Erosion took place in the Guadix–Baza Basin (Andalusia, Spain), at which contributions to recent research were presented. In this special issue, we would like to bring together all innovative research contributions that deal with new findings on past fluvial dynamics. We call for contributions from the fields of fluvial geomorphology, sedimentology, remote sensing, and numerical landscape evolution modelling as well as from empirical studies focusing on the analysis of fluvial archives that apply various scientific approaches and techniques. We welcome both methodological and applied studies.

Floodplains represent a global hotspot of sensitive socio-environmental changes and early human forcing mechanisms. Floodplains are exceptionally dynamic landscapes and key areas of cultural and natural heritage. Due to their high land-use capacity and the simultaneous necessity of land reclamation and risk minimization, societies have radically restructured floodplains. The questions therefore arise as to whether or when it is justified to understand floodplains as "fluvial anthropospheres" and which socio-ecological processes have contributed to their development.

In this E&G Quaternary Science Journal special issue, we aim to highlight challenges and propose research strategies for identifying and quantifying anthropogenic impacts on floodplain architectures. We call for interdisciplinary contributions from near-surface geophysics, fluvial geomorphology, remote sensing, history, and archaeology that provide sweet spots for uncovering human impacts on fluvial architectures and chemostratigraphies.