Search

A method of the Holocene paleoenvironment reconstruction based on the analysis of pedobiomarkers in tell deposits is suggested. On the Yunacite tell, such a reconstruction has been accomplished applying two types of environmental records: (a) soil records documented in the profiles of two soils within the middle and lower parts of the tell and reflecting changes in the conditions of pedogenesis averaged over relatively long periods and (b) soil-sedimentary records in the cultural deposits of the Eneolithic and the Early Bronze Ages (3.5 and 2.5 m in thickness, respectively). The lower soil identified at the depth of 9.2–10.0 m was buried about 5000 cal BC (the chronology is based on calibrated 14C dates). The low humus and high carbonate contents indicate arid climate conditions in the 6th millennium BC. The middle soil at a depth of 5 m was formed for about 1500 years (4350–2850 cal BC) according to 14C data. According to chemical and micromorphological analyses, it has a higher humus content and is more leached of CaCO3, as it was formed under more humid climate conditions. A detailed time record of CaCO3 leaching processes has been revealed in the sediments of the Eneolithic and the Bronze ages that were accumulating for about 600 years in the 5th millennium BC and for about 350 years in the 3rd millennium BC. Due to the increase in climate humidity, the leaching process was intensified twice: about 4500 and 2800 cal BC. In the same two periods, especially in the former period, the proportion of residues of hydrophilic beech increases significantly, and the proportion of oak residues decreases. Similar data have been obtained by the analysis of phytoliths and pollen.

Agrochronosequences of chernozems with different periods of their use in rainfed farming with application of traditional technologies have been studied in a typical forest-steppe area in Belgorod oblast. Certain stages in the development of these soils during more than two centuries of their agricultural use have been identified. These stages are related to changes in the intensity and direction of soil forming processes, such as soil compaction, soil aggregation, dehumification of the upper horizons, calcification of the soil profiles, argillization, etc. A significant impact on the soil changes during the agrogenic evolution of chernozems is exerted by the digging activity of burrowers, which is especially pronounced in the old-arable chernozems.

Chernozems are the major component of soil cover in the forest-steppe of the Central Russian Upland. They underwent the most significant anthropogenic transformation in terms of duration and scale of development in profiles, due to ploughing. Despite the long list of experimental works, the obtained conclusions are often contradictory. From our point of view, the best way to observe the effect of ploughing on Chernozems is the examination of soils with different durations of cultivation based on an agrochronosequence approach which was used in this study. The most appreciable changes occurred in the arable Chernozems for the first period after the beginning of cultivation. In the soils with 16 and