Paleochernozems of the Srubnaya culture period and trends of Late Holocene evolution of soils in the East European Plain forest-steppe

A comparative analysis of the features of the chernozems buried under the mounds of the Srubnaya culture (3600–3400 years ago), earlier (4200–3700 years ago) and later analogues (2500–2200 years ago) have been carried out. Also, modern chernozems of the East European Plain central part were studied. The chernozems of the Srubnaya culture period were formed in an environment of noticeable bioclimatic transformations after the period of the Middle Subboreal climate aridization. It was found that the biochemical rearrangement of the profile in terms of the content of soil organic matter outplaced the morphological transformation with the formation of a thicker dark-colored part of the chernozem profile. The automorphic paleochernozems of the Srubny period were characterised by a greater homogeneity of morphological properties (in all studied areas, they were identified as typical chernozems with high carbonate table) compared to their modern analogues (two areas of chernozems were formed – leached and typical). Leached chernozems were formed in areas with lower carbonate content in the parent materials compared to the areas of typical chernozems. The general trend of the Late Holocene evolution of leached and typical automorphic chernozems consisted of an increase in the thickness of humus horizons (by an average of 20 cm) and soil profiles (by an average of 20 cm). In contrast, the thickness of the transitional part of the profile (A1B + BA1) and horizons B (Bk) remained the same. Differences were connected with different depth of leaching from carbonates in the studied soils. 

1. Akhtyrtsev B.P. and Akhtyrtsev A.B. Meadow chernozem paleosols of the Bronze Age of the Oka–Don foreststeppe. Pochvovedenie. 1990. No. 7. P. 26–38. (in Russ.)

2. Akhtyrtsev B.P. and Akhtyrtsev A.B. Paleochernozems of the Central Russian forest-steppe in the Late Holocene. Pochvovedenie. 1994. No. 5. P. 14–24. (in Russ.)

3. Aleksandrovskiy A.L. Evolyutsiya pochv Vostochno-Evropeiskoi ravniny v golotsene (Evolution of the soils of the East European Plain in the Holocene). Moscow: Nauka (Publ.), 1983. 150 p. (in Russ.)

4. Aleksandrovskiy A.L. The Holocene evolution of the chernozem occurring in the Middle Don basin. Pochvovedenie. 1984. No. 11. P. 5–13. (in Russ.)

5. Bronk Ramsey C. and Lee S. Recent and Planned Developments of the Program OxCal. Radiocarbon. 2013. Vol. 55. No. 2–3. P. 720–730. https://doi.org/10.2458/azu_js_rc.55.16215

6. Chendev Yu.G. Evolyutsiya lesostepnykh pochv Srednerusskoi vozvyshennosti v golotsene (Evolution of forest-steppe soils of the Central Russian Upland in the Holocene). Moscow: GEOS (Publ.), 2008. 212 p. (in Russ.)

7. Chendev Yu.G. and Ivanov I.V. Dynamics of soil cover in the south of Eastern Europe and in the Southern Trans-Urals in the subboreal period of the Holocene. Pochvovedenie. 2007. No. 11 P. 1298–1308. (in Russ.). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1064229307110026

8. Chendev Yu.G., Ivanov I.V., and Pesochina L.S. Trends of the natural evolution of chernozems on the East European Plain. Pochvovedenie. 2010. No. 7. P. 779–787. (in Russ.). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1064229310070021

9. Chendev Yu.G., Ivanov I.V., Kovalenko O.V., Lugovoy R.S., and Kuropata M.A. Comparative analysis of the Late Holocene chernozem evolution of the forest-steppe and steppe of the center of Eastern Europe. Problemy regional’noi ecologii. 2011. No. 2. P. 26–30. (in Russ.)

10. Chendev Yu.G., Lupo A.R., Lebedeva M.G., and Borbukova D.A. Regional specificity of the climatic evolution of soils in the southern part of eastern Europe in the second half of the Holocene. Pochvovedenie. 2015. No. 12. P. 1411–1423. (in Russ.). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1064229315120042

11. Classificatsiya i diagnostika pochv SSSR (Classification and diagnostics of soils in the USSR). Moscow: Kolos (Publ.), 1977. 223 p. (in Russ.)

12. Demkin V.A. Paleopochvovedenie i arkheologiya: integratsiya v izuchenii prirody i obshchestva (Paleopedology and archeology: integration in the study of nature and society). Pushchino: ONTI PNTS RAN (Publ.), 1997. 212 p. (in Russ.)

13. Dokuchaev V.V. Russkii chernozem (Russian Chernozem). SPb, 1883. 376 p. (in Russ.)

14. Gennadiev A.N. Time variability of the features of chernozems and the evolution of the natural environment (Stavropol Upland). Vestnik Moskovskogo universiteta. Ser. 5 Geografiya. 1984. No. 5. P. 10–16. (in Russ.)

15. Gerlach R., Baumewerd-Schmidt H., Borg K., Eckmeier E., and Schmidt M.W.I. Prehistoric alteration of soil in the Lower Rhine Basin, Northwest Germany – archaeological, 14C and geochemical evidence. Geoderma. 2006. Vol. 136. No. 102. P. 38–50. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2006.01.011

16. Gorbunov V.S. On the assessment of the socio-economic and organizational structures of the Srubnaya Cultural-Historical Community. Srubnaya culturno-istoricheskaya oblastʼ: Materialy III Rykovskikh chtenii. Octyabr’ 1994, Saratov. Saratov: Izdatel’stvo Saratovskogo Universiteta (Publ.), 1994. P. 6–7. (in Russ.)

17. Hejcman M., Součková K., Krištuf P., and Peška J. What questions can be answered by chemical analysis of recent and paleosols from the Bell Beaker barrow (2500– 2200 BC), Central Moravia, Czech Republic? Quarternary International. 2013. Vol. 316. No. 6. P. 179–189. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2013.06.014

18. Holliday V.T. Soils in archaeological research. Oxford: Oxford university press, 2004. 448 p. Ivanov I.V. Evolutsiya pochv stepnoi zony v golotsene (Evolution of steppe zone soils in the Holocene). Moscow: Nauka (Publ.), 1992. 143 p. (in Russ.)

19. Kamnueva-Wendt S., Mitusov A.V., Wendt J., and Bork H.R. Classification of buried soils, cultural, and colluvial deposits in the Viking town Hedeby. Geoarchaeology. 2020. Vol. 35. No. 3. P. 313–337. https://doi.org/10.1002/gea.21777

20. Khokhlova O.S., Zazovskaya E.P., Chichagova O.A., and Yablonsky L.T. Radiocarbon dating of different materials from kurgans of the early nomads of the southern Сis-Urals. Izvestia Rossiiskoi Academii Nauk. Seriya geograficheskaya. 2010. No. 3. P. 82–94. (in Russ.)

21. Kovaleva I.F. Srubnaya culture of the left-bank forested area of Ukraine. Arkheologicheskie issledovaniya v Tsentralʼnom Chernozemʼe v dvenadtsatoi pyatiletke: Tezisy dokladov i soobshchenii II mezhvuzovskoi nauchnoi konferentsii, Belgorod, fevral’ 1990. Belgorod: Belgorod Pedagogical Institute (Publ.), 1990. P. 111–112. (in Russ.)

22. Kristiansen S.M., Dalsgaard K., Holst M.K., Aaby B., and Heinemeier J. Dating of prehistoric burial mounds by 14C analysis of soil organic matter fractions. Radiocarbon. 2003. Vol. 45. No. 1. P. 101–112. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033822200032434

23. Margolina N.Ya., Aleksandrovsky A.L., Ilyichev B.A., Cherkinsky A.E., and Chichagova O.A. Vozrast i evolutsiya chernozemov (Age and evolution of chernozems). Moscow: Nauka (Publ.), 1988. 144 p. (in Russ.)

24. Molnar M., Joo K., Barczi A., Szanto Zs., Futo I., Palcsu L., and Rinyu L. Dating of total soil organic matter used in kurgan studies. Radiocarbon. 2004. Vol. 46. No. 1. P. 413–419. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033822200039722

25. Natsional’nyi atlas pochv Rossiiskoi Federatsii (National atlas of soils of the Russian Federation). Moscow: Astrel (Publ.), 2011. 632 p. (in Russ.)

26. Parsons R.B., Schotles W.H., and Riecken F.F. Soil of Indian mounds in northern eastern Iowa as benchmarks for studies of Soil genesis. Soil Science Society American Proceedings. 1962. No. 26. P. 491–496.

27. Prikhodko V.E. Reconstruction of natural conditions and soils of the forest-steppe in the Holocene in the Central Chernozem Region and Western Siberia. Pochvy v biosfere. Materialy Vserossiiskoi nauchnoi konferentsii s mezhdunarodnym uchastiem. Novosibirsk-Tomsk: Izdatel’skii Dom Tomskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta (Publ.), 2018. Is. 1. P. 86–94. (in Russ.)

28. Puzanova T.A., Makeev A.O., Khokhlova O.S., Aseeva E.N., and Kurbanova F.G. Holocene signals of climate dynamics in the profiles of soils buried under archaeological objects in the central part of the East European Plain. Proceedings of 17 international multidisciplinary scientific geoconference SGEM 2017, Soils, Forest ecosystems. Sofia, Bulgaria: Alexander Malinov (Publ.). 2017. No. 17. P. 273–281. http://dx.doi.org/10.5593/sgem2017/32/S13.036

29. Reimer P.J., Bard E., Bayliss A., Beck J.W., Blackwell P.G., Bronk Ramsey C., Grootes P.M., Guilderson T.P., Haflidason H., Hajdas I., Hatt C., Heaton T.J., Hoffmann D.L., Hogg A.G., Hughen K.A., Kaiser K.F., Kromer B., Manning S.W., Niu M., Reimer R.W., Richards D.A., Scott E.M., Southon J.R., Staff R.A., Turney C.S.M., and van der Plicht J. IntCal13 and Marine13 Radiocarbon Age Calibration Curves 0-50,000 Years cal BP. Radiocarbon. 2013. Vol. 55. No. 4. P. 1869–1887. https://doi.org/10.2458/azu_js_rc.55.16947

30. Ruhe R.V., and Schotles W.N. Ages and development of soil landscapes in relation to climatic and vegetational changes in Iowa. Soil Science Society of America Proceedings. 1956. No. 20. P. 264–273.

31. Serebryannaya T.A. Dynamics of the boundaries of the Central forest-steppe in the Holocene. Vekovaya dinamika biogeotsenozov. X Chteniya pamyati akademika V.N. Sukacheva. Moscow: Nauka (Publ.), 1992. P. 54– 71. (in Russ.)

32. Shumilovskikh L.S., Novenko E., and Giesecke T. Longterm dynamics of East-European forest-steppe ecotone. Journal of Vegetation Science. 2018. Vol. 29. No. 3. P. 416–426. https://doi.org/10.1111/jvs.12585

33. Skripkin V. and Kovalyukh N. Recent developments in the procedures used at the SSCER laboratory for the preparation of Lithium Carbide. Radiocarbon. 1998. Vol. 40. No. 1. P. 211–214. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033822200018063

34. Spiridonova E.A. Evolutsia rastitel’nogo pokrova basseina Dona v verkhnem pleistotsene – golotsene (Evolution of the vegetation cover of the Don basin in the Upper Pleistocene – Holocene). Moscow: Nauka (Publ.), 1991. 221 p. (in Russ.)

35. Vyslouzilova B., Ertlen D., Sefrna L., Novak T., Viragh K., Rue M., Campaner A., Dreslerova D., and Schwartz D. Investigation of vegetation history of buried chernozem soils using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS). Quarternary International. 2015. No. 365. P. 203–211. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2014.07.035

36. Zolotun V.P. Razvitie pochv yuga Ukrainy za poslednie 45– 50 vekov (The development of soils in the south part of Ukraine for the last 45–50 centuries). PhD thesis. Kiev, 1974. 74 p. (in Russ.)