This study focuses on the Pliocene-Quaternary sedimentary evolution of the fluvial systems in the Slovenj Gradec, Nazarje, Velenje, Celje, Drava-Ptuj and Krško Basins in the south-eastern Alpine foreland of Slovenia. The main aim was to determine the composition, morphostratigraphy, provenance, sedimentary environment and age of the deposits using geomorphological, sedimentological, geochemical, mineralogical and biostratigraphical methods. Pliocene-Quaternary sediments were deposited in fluvial (braided and wandering river systems) and alluvial/colluvial fan environments. The sediments are preserved in the terrace staircase sequences, formation of which is strongly controlled by tectonic activity. Based on geomorphological analyses, low-, middle- and high-level terrace groups were constrained and tentatively attributed to Late Pleistocene, Middle Pleistocene, and Plio-Early Pleistocene, respectively. The later term was introduced to replace the traditional term “Plio-Quaternary”. The provenance analyses focused on the Plio-Early Pleistocene sediments and included lithological and microfacies analyses of the clasts. For the Slovenj Gradec, Nazarje, Velenje, Celje and Drava-Ptuj Basins, a local provenance with relatively short transport, and for the Krško Basin a distal provenance with longer transport was deduced. Based on the provenance analyses and published data, the long-term development of the drainage network was interpreted. Major changes occurred during the transition from Miocene-Pliocene and at the latest at Plio-Early Pleistocene the drainage network reached conformity with the present one. The enigmatic absence (or very low content) of carbonate clasts in the Plio-Early Pleistocene sediments was interpreted as the result of an interplay of climate (dissolution) and non-climate related factors (vicinity of source rocks and development of the drainage network and surface geology). Overall, the spatial distribution of the Pliocene-Quaternary landforms revealed tectonic activity in intramontane basins during their development, from which the landscape evolution was deduced.
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