More-than-human geomorphologies

We propose more-than-human (MTH) geomorphologies as a conceptual reframing for undertaking socially situated, geographical and holistic landscape science. With increasing momentum in the environmental social sciences, more-than-human approaches offer less anthropocentric ways of perceiving landscapes and associated knowledge production. Here, the history of process conceptualisations in geomorphology, the study of the development and resultant landscape, is revisited from its geologic origins to its contemporary geographic framings. Historical and process geomorphologies have been separated throughout much of this history. Process philosophy, originated by Whitehead in 1925 but considered by geomorphologists much later, potentially offers a broader consideration of landscapes as relational and socially produced. This relational perspective shares many connections with Indigenous perspectives. MTH geomorphologies are presented as a logical extension to this history through its consideration of non-human agency. We ground our approach using a case study from New Zealand, showing how MTH approaches expand earlier approaches to landscape analysis. We discuss ways in which MTH geomorphologies could be facilitated and conducted in practice, emphasising the place-based and holistic nature of the method that makes for the best use of the best knowledge in each situation. We suggest MTH geomorphologies as a way to move beyond ‘who speaks for nature’, to allowing nature to speak for itself through more attentive practices that listen and understand landscapes.