Micromorphological evidence of past agricultural practices in cultivated soils: The impact of a traditional agricultural system on soils in Papa Stour, Shetland

Micromorphological studies of ancient cultivated soils have been heavily reliant on the interpretations derived from the study of modern agricultural soils. There has ben a gradual realization that this knowledge cannot be uncritically borrowed and applied to ancient soils. In this paper, a recently abandoned 'traditional' agricultural system is used as an analogue of past practice, providing a more appropriate model. The predicted impacts of docomented tillage, manuring and cropping methods on soils are tested through the analysis of the micromorphology of nine soil profiles. The results highlight the partial nature of the record provided by micromorphology with large elements of the agricultural system not identified through micromorphology. The most successful results were obtained on manuring practice which can be clearly linked to the recorded techniques on Papa Stour. Soil micromorphology supported by data on practice size and phosphate content were of particular value.