Late Holocene vegetation and fire history in Western Putorana Plateau (subarctic Siberia, Russia) inferred from pollen and charcoal analysis of the lake sedimentsтезисы доклада
Аннотация:We present a reconstruction of vegetation dynamics and fire history from the western part
of the Putorana Plateau during the Late Holocene. The study area is located in the remote
and poorly investigated region of Central Siberia, which represents an important area for
understanding climate and environmental changes in the Russian Subarctic. Pollen and
macroscopic charcoal data from three closely located lakes along an altitudinal transect in the
Khantaika River basin show no major changes in vegetation in the study area during the last
3.9 ka BP. However, a detailed analysis of the data reveals an extension of forest coverage
in lake catchments at about 3.1 ka BP followed by a gradual degradation of woodlands, and
an expansion of shrubs and tundra vegetation at around 2.7-2.5 ka BP. Fire activity was
relatively high between 3.0 and 2.0 ka BP compared to all but the most modern part of the
record, while macroscopic charcoal accumulation reaches a maximum in the most recent
surface sediments. This suggests an increase in the frequency and area of fires in the region
since the end of the 19th century, which has no analogue during the Late Holocene.