Evolution of forest pedogenesis in the south of the forest-steppe of the Central Russian Upland in the Late Holocene

Abstract

Late Holocene stage of forest pedogenesis has been studied on the interfluves along river valleys in the forest-steppe zone of the Central Russian Upland. The development of gray forest soils from the former chernozems as a result of the Late Holocene advance of forest vegetation over steppes is discussed. It is argued that the climatic conditions of the Subatlantic period were unstable, so that multiple alternation of forest and steppe vegetation communities took place. This specified a complex character of soil evolution upon contrasting substitution of forest pedogenesis for steppe pedogenesis. On the interfluves near the natural drainage network (balkas, ravines, and steep slopes of river valleys), the climate-driven dynamics of forest and steppe vegetation with corresponding changes in the character of pedogenesis could take place during the entire Holocene, which is reflected in a lower thickness of humus profiles and deeper leaching of carbonates from chernozems of the Early Iron Age in comparison with their analogues formed under steppe cenoses in central parts of the interfluves. Two variants of the evolution of gray forest soils can be suggested: the pulsating evolution typical of balkas and interfluves near river valleys and the continuous progressive evolution typical of automorphic (plakor) positions in central parts of the interfluves.

Recent Afforestation in the Iowa River and Vorskla River Basins: A Comparative Trends Analysis

“…In a number of places currently forested, grassland soils or chernozems (Russian equivalent of Mollisols in USA soil taxonomy) were found buried under prehistoric mounds from the bronze epoch [12]. Applying the paleosoils for the reconstruction of natural environments within Belgorod Oblast and combining this with modern trends for forest area growth and replacement of these by human activity (grasslands), it is inferred that the characteristics of the environmental succession were very close to those of Iowa for the last 700-800 years.…”

“…For the Central Chernozem Region of Russia, including Belgorod Oblast, this period is associated with the interval from 4.3-4.0 KY BP [12,66]. This was a period of time when forests within the study areas were located mainly in the bottoms of the drainage network.…”

Holocene Environmental and Anthropogenic Changes of Soils and Vegetation in the Central Russian Upland: The Case Study in the “Belogorie” Natural Reserve

“…Paleogeographic and paleoecological reconstructions of the Holocene landscapes in the forest-steppe transition zone of the Central Russian Upland have a long history and are reflected in a large number of publications [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15]. At the same time, a great number of issues are still unresolved.…”

“…Especially, we tried to understand the Holocene geomorphic history and how Holocene climate changes affected vegetation in this poorly understood region.The main objects of the paleogeographic reconstructions in the region are peat, floodplain, and proluvial deposits. These deposits have been studied using radiocarbon dating and pollen analysis [8,10,16].Soils buried under the mounds and hillfort walls are also important objects of study and are frequently dated using archaeological artifacts or using the radiocarbon method [5,[13][14][15]. Interdisciplinary paleogeographic studies of paleosols of different ages, including soils buried beneath embankments of archaeological monuments, are widely carried out internationally: in the United States, Denmark, the Czech Republic, Hungary, and in other countries [17][18][19][20].Other types of objects (that is used relatively rarely in paleogeographic reconstructions in the Central Russian Upland) are discharges from animal burrows and the soils buried under them.…”

“…Soils buried under the mounds and hillfort walls are also important objects of study and are frequently dated using archaeological artifacts or using the radiocarbon method [5,[13][14][15]. Interdisciplinary paleogeographic studies of paleosols of different ages, including soils buried beneath embankments of archaeological monuments, are widely carried out internationally: in the United States, Denmark, the Czech Republic, Hungary, and in other countries [17][18][19][20].…”