External impact on the development of fluvial systems is generally exerted by changes in sea level, climate and tectonic movements. In this study, it is shown that a regional to local differentiation of fluvial response may be caused by semi-direct effects of climate change and tectonic movement; for example, vegetation cover, frozen soil, snow cover and longitudinal gradient. Such semi-direct effects may be responsible for specific fluvial activity resulting in specific drainage patterns, sedimentation series and erosion–accumulation rates. These conclusions are exemplified by the study of the fluvial archives of the Tis(z)a catchment in the Pannonian Basin in Hungary and Serbia from the middle of the last glacial to the Pleistocene–Holocene transition. Previous investigations in that catchment are supplemented here by new geomorphological–sedimentological data and OSL-dating. Specific characteristics of this catchment in comparison with other regions are the preponderance of meandering systems during the last glacial and the presence of very large meanders in given time intervals.

Wood and charcoal were key sources of energy during early industrialization in Europe (18th century), preceding the large-scale exploitation of fossil coal. Past timber harvesting implied land transformation and woodland resources management. Therefore, relict charcoal kilns and historical documents of forest management are important sources of information about past woodland composition and structure. However, ancient charcoal kilns are poorly documented in temperate woodlands in the lowlands of western Europe, especially combined with historical written sources. In this study, charcoal production was investigated in an area in NE France, by combining charcoal and historical sources analysis, along with innovative dating methodologies. Thus, by using both radiocarbon and optically-stimulated luminescence dating, we showed that the activity lasted until recent times (19th–early 20th centuries) and Carpinus was the dominant taxon in charcoal assemblage. Moreover, kiln attributes seemed to be independent of topographical variables. Woodlands in this area were subject to a coppice-with-standards management, where small diameter wood was preferred to produce charcoal and large diameter stems, mainly Quercus and Fagus, were traded as timber. The dominance of Carpinus is rather uncommon in charcoal studies but supports the importance of Carpinus as fuelwood since the Middle Ages, as confirmed by many written sources.