The Holocene paleoenvironmental history of central European Russia reconstructed from pollen, plant macrofossil, and testate amoeba analyses of the Klukva Peatland, Tula Region

Abstract

a b s t r a c tHolocene climatic variability and human impact on vegetation are reconstructed from a region in central European Russia, which lies at an important ecotone between broadleaf forest and steppe. For the first time in this region we adopt a multi-proxy approach that combines analysis of local mire conditions from plant macrofossil and testate amoeba analyses with pollen-based quantitative climate reconstruction. The proxies indicate a long-term warming trend from 9700 to 7500 cal yr BP, interrupted by a series of short-term cold events. From 7500 to 5000 cal yr BP the results imply a relatively stable climate, warmer and drier than present, spanning the Holocene Thermal Maximum. Since 5000 cal yr BP the data suggest a change to cooler climate, but with centennial-scale variability. This shift at around 5000 cal yr BP is supported by extensive evidence from other sites. In the early Holocene, the region was occupied mainly by pine and birch forests. Broad-leafed forests of oak, lime and elm expanded after 7800 cal yr BP and remained dominant until the last few centuries. During the historical period, vegetation changes have been driven mainly by human activities.

Long‐term dynamics of the East European forest‐steppe ecotone

“…The northwestern part of the area was covered by temperate deciduous forests as indicated by the pollen data from Klukva mire. A decline of the arboreal pollen proportion in Klukva between 5,000 and 4,500 cal yr BP was due to Neolithic land use, which is documented by the increase in Cerealia‐type pollen (Appendix ; Novenko et al., ). The vegetation around the peatlands Selikhovo and Istochek was probably characterized by a mosaic consisting of broad‐leaf and pine forest patches, co‐existing with grassland communities.…”

“…The best modern analogue technique (BMA) has been shown to be effective in reconstruction of the proportion of forest cover in the Mid‐Russian Upland (Novenko, Tsyganov, Rudenko, et al., ; Novenko, et al., ). Although an alternative method of forest cover estimations, such as application of models describing pollen dispersal, has been effectively used in Central and Southeast Europe (Feurdean et al., ; Kuneš et al., ), it could not yet be applied for our studies due to missing studies on relative pollen productivity in Eastern Europe.…”

“…This late expansion of temperate deciduous trees, as well as the spread of forest into the steppe, has therefore a regional character in the central forest‐steppe zone, while the cause must have been climatic. Climate reconstructions based on pollen and testate amoebae from Klukva mire (Novenko et al., ) suggest warm and dry conditions during 7,000–4,800 cal yr BP, with annual temperatures around 6.0–7.0°C (present 5.6°C; Novenko et al., ). This agrees well with the results of paleohydrological studies of Sidorchuk, Panin, and Borisova () in the central part of European Russia, showing that run‐off in the Don and Dnieper basins during the Middle Holocene was 40% less than modern values.…”

“…Studies focusing on at the structure and position of the Eastern European forest‐steppe ecotone are hitherto not available. However, many palaeoecological studies have been carried out in this region during the last decades (Alexandrovskiy & Chichagova, ; Chendev et al., , ; Khotinsky, ; Klimanov & Serebryannaya, ; Novenko, Eremeeva, & Chepurnaya, ; Novenko, Glasko, & Burova, ; Novenko, Volkova, Glasko, & Zuganova, ; Novenko, Tsyganov, Rudenko, et al., ; Novenko, et al., ; Serebryannaya, ; Spiridonova, ). Although, most of these studies focussed on climate and environmental change at individual sites, not considering the dynamics of the forest‐steppe ecotone.…”

The Dynamic Ofecological Conditions and Accumulation of Chemical Elements in Genesis of Watershed Mires of Central Russia

“…Начало болотообразовательного процесса приурочено к бореальному периоду голоцена и, как показал палинологический анализ [27], в начале своего развития болото было окружено разреженным сосново-березовым лесом. Интенсивный по-верхностный сток, наряду с грунтовым питани-ем, способствовали увеличению влажности и привносу минеральных веществ в понижение, что определило поселение эвтрофных трав (Comarum palustre, Menyanthes trifoliata, Phragmites australis, Carexsp.…”