Sciences du relief ou géomorphologie ?

Since the first edition of De Martonne’s Traité in France, geomorphology and geography fell from coexistence to domination then marginalization of the former. However, the changes of geography on one hand, the conditions of existence, content and practices of geomorphology today on the other hand imply that the many different specialties of this field of science question both the definition of geography and geology. In fact, though the multiple causes, effects and consequences of erosion may be more or less claimed by any specialist, either of geodynamics, engineering, agronomy, land use planning or sociology, a retrospective analysis shows that the geographers have long developed further reflection on all these matters. But the situation has changed significantly during the 1990s, including the recovery of part of the geomorphological questioning by a growing number of specialists from the geosciences, and the development of the geography of risk. Therefore, to address “the” geomorphology without any further specification is equivalent to reify a growing scientific field whose characteristics are its diversity and interdisciplinary nature. In fact, considering their complexity as a whole, landform studies are both a dynamic component of geology on the side of Earth sciences, as well as geography on the side of Social sciences