Late Holocene vegetation dynamics and human impact in the catchment basin of the Upper Oka River (Mid-Russian Uplands): A case study from the Orlovskoye Polesye National Park
Using the territory of the Orlovskoye Polesye National Park as a case study within the catchment basin of the Oka River (Mid-Russian Uplands, Oryol Region, Russia), we obtained palaeoecological data for studying response of forest landscapes within the forest-steppe ecotone to climate change and human impact through the Late Holocene. The paper presents reconstruction of environmental change on a local to regional scales based on plant macrofossil, spore-pollen and testate amoeba records from a peat core along with reconstruction of woodland coverage inferred from pollen data. Over the past 4000 years, the total woodland coverage has fluctuated insignificantly, ranging from 38 to 52%, while the structure of the forest has changed radically. Prior to 1500 cal. yr BP, both birch-pine and mixed temperate deciduous forests of oak, elm, ash and lime with Scots pine and well-developed shrub understory of hazel and alder grew in the region. The subsequent agricultural colonization of the territory led to a reduction of a broadleaved trees in forest stands since 1500 cal. yr BP. During the last few centuries, human activity largely associated with cutting/burning trees and farming favored the expansion of secondary forests dominated by birch. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved.
1.Turgenev Oryol State Univ, Earth Sci Fac, Dept Geog, Komsomolskaya St 95, Oryol 302026, Russia 2.Tula State Univ, Dept Biol, Lenin Ave 92, Tula 300600, Russia 3.Penza State Univ, Fac Phys Math & Nat Sci, Dept Zool & Ecol, Krasnaya Str 40, Penza 440026, Russia 4.Lomonosov Moscow State Univ, Fac Biol, Dept Hydrobiol, Leninskie Gory 1,Bldg 12, Moscow 119234, Russia 5.Lomonosov Moscow State Univ, Fac Geog, Dept Phys Geog & Landscape Sci, Leninskie Gory 1, Moscow 119991, Russia 6.Russian Acad Sci, Lab Evolut Geog, Inst Geog, Staromonetnyi Lane 29, Moscow 119017, Russia
Recommended Citation:
Rudenko, Olga, V,Volkova, Elena M.,Babeshko, Kirill, V,et al. Late Holocene vegetation dynamics and human impact in the catchment basin of the Upper Oka River (Mid-Russian Uplands): A case study from the Orlovskoye Polesye National Park[J]. QUATERNARY INTERNATIONAL,2019-01-01,504:118-127