Scientific publications

Conjugate analysis of paleoecological data (spore-pollen and macrofossil analysis of peat) with charcoal data (microcharcoal and macrocharcoal) based on a single time scale constructed using 5 radiocarbon (AMC) dates from a section of the deposit of Mokhovoe peat bog, located in the foothills of Altai Mts., produced a comprehensive image of the changes in the vegetation cover, climate and fire activity over the past 16 285 years. Landscape changes were assessed using the Prentice biomization method. A comparison of charcoal analysis data with spore-pollen and macrofossil analysis data revealed the periodicity of large fire events that occurred against the backdrop of changes in climate, vegetation cover, and the evolution of the mire. Intensive and frequent fires accelerated changes in the vegetation cover of both the mire and the surrounding upland landscapes. After each change in vegetation, the intensity of landscape burning usually decreased. Paludal stages: woody-sedge (8.5–5.5 ka BP), hummock-sedge (5.5–3 ka BP) and flark-sedge (3–1 ka BP), began after periods of high fire intensity. The most intensive and prolonged fire episodes led to a change in the dominant biomes in the region. Thus, fires at 11.5–10.5 ka BP triggered a change from steppe biomes to foreststeppe ones. The strong fires of the mid-Holocene optimum at 5.5–5.1 ka BP led to an increase in the share of the fire-resilient pine in the forests. The correlation of fire periods with the reconstructed biomes showed that in the early and late Holocene, intensification of fires occurred during periods of climate aridization (steppe biome expansion), while in the mid-Holocene, on the contrary, it happened in wetter periods (taiga biome expansion) due to higher thunderstorm activity.