What questions can be answered by chemical analysis of recent and paleosols from the Bell Beaker barrow (2500–2200 BC), Central Moravia, Czech Republic?

Yield and Nutritive Value of Grain, Glumes and Straw of Triticum dicoccum Produced by Prehistoric Technology in Comparison to T. aestivum Produced by Modern Technology

“…According to our previous experiences from long-term fertilizer experiments (Hejcman et al 2013a;Hlisnikovský et al 2014), the concentrations of plant-available P, K, Ca and Mg in the soil were high enough to not limit crop production. The soil concentration of Mehlich III P ranged from 93 to 111 mg kg -1 , whereas in the majority of soils in central Europe, P concentration is below 50 mg kg -1 and most frequently ranges from 10 to 30 mg kg -1 with no P fertilizer application (Hejcman et al 2013b;2013d;2014b;Hrevušová et al 2014). In addition, the C:N ratio was below 10 and this indicates a good mineralisation ability for this soil and N supply for the crop.…”

14C Dating to Study the Development of Soils in the Forest-Steppe of the Central Russian Upland as a Result of Bioclimatic Changes and Long-Term Cultivation

“…Our studies of soil chronosequences at archaeological sites of ancient settlements with defensive ramparts of the Early Iron Age on the Central Russian Upland confirm the relatively recent natural afforestation of river valleys and adjacent parts of the interfluves in response to climatic moistening during the Subatlantic period of the Holocene. The close patterns of the evolutionary transformation of Chernozems into Luvisols (Alfisols) under the canopy of forest vegetation in relation to the climatically driven invasion of forests onto steppe in the Late Holocene have also been noted for other regions of the northern hemisphere, including Central Europe (Bork 1983; Hejcman et al 2013) and North America (Ruhe and Schotles 1956; Buol et al 1973; Bettis III et al 2008).…”

“…As shown in many studies, climate changes of different duration and intensity have been the main cause of the natural evolution of soils in different regions of Europe and the entire world in the Holocene (Buol et al 1973; Aleksandrovskiy 1988; Hejcman et al 2013).…”

“…The dark gray color of these soils is considered the result of anthropogenically provoked fires of forests in the Neolithic time with the further distribution of fine charcoal particles along the soil profile (Lorz and Saile 2011; Gerlach et al 2012). Some authors believe that the more arid climate in the Early and Middle Holocene favored the development of steppe and forest-steppe environments with Chernozems that later evolved into modern forest soils after climatic cooling and invasion of forests onto grasslands in the Late Holocene (Bork 1983; Hejcman et al 2013). In a natural ecotone between equatorial forests and savannahs of Brazil, the study of the isotopic composition of carbon ( 12 C, 13 C, and 14 C) of the soil organic matter made it possible to establish changes in the boundaries between forests and savannahs in the Holocene.…”

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

“…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. The only researcher that studies them so far is L.G.…”