Изменения окружающей среды в позднеледниковье и голоцене на юго-востоке Беларуси

Communicated by Academician Aleksey V. MatveevThe reconstruction of environmental changes in the southeast of Belarus during the last 14700 cal. BP is based on the results of palynological, radiocarbon, isotope and lithological studies of Lake Staroje deposits. Climatic fluctuations, fires and human activities played a significant role in the transformation of the vegetation cover. The beginning of the lacustrine sedimentation was dated circa 16000 cal. BP. The intensification of erosion processes on the water catchment area was marked by an increase in the mineral material flow into the lake. These events have a positive correlation with the climate cooling and humidity phases in the Late Glacial and Early Holocene, and in the Late Holocene with anthropogenic impact stages. The traces of the episodic human activity were dated to 5800 cal. BP, while the expansion of farming and pasturing areas began at 3000 cal. BP Currently the consequences of human activities (including drainage of bogs) are reflected in the treeless landscapes adjacent to the lake.Представлено академиком А. В. МатвеевымРеконструкция изменений окружающей среды на юго-востоке Беларуси в течение последних 14,7 тыс. кал. л. н. основана на результатах палинологических, радиоуглеродных, изотопных и литологических исследований отложений оз. Старое. Климатические колебания, пожары и деятельность человека играли значительную роль в преобразовании растительного покрова. Начало озерного седиментогенеза датируется около 16,0 тыс. кал. л. н. Усиление эрозионных процессов на водосборе было отмечено повышенным поступлением минерального материала в озеро. Эти события в позднеледниковье и раннем голоцене имеют положительную корреляцию с фазами похолодания и увлажнения климата, а в позднем голоцене с этапами антропогенного воздействия. Следы эпизодической деятельности человека установлены с ~5,8 тыс. кал. л. н., а начало земледелия и расширение пастбищных площадей с 3,0 тыс. кал. л. н. В настоящее время последствия хозяйственной деятельности человека (включая осушение болот) иллюстрируют безлесные ландшафты, прилегающие к озеру

Holocene fire activity during low-natural flammability periods reveals scale-dependent cultural human-fire relationships in Europe

Fire is a natural component of global biogeochemical cycles and closely related to changes in human land use. Whereas climate-fuel relationships seem to drive both global and subcontinental fire regimes, human-induced fires are prominent mainly on a local scale. Furthermore, the basic assumption that relates humans and fire regimes in terms of population densities, suggesting that few human-induced fires should occur in periods and areas of low population density, is currently debated. Here, we analyze human-fire relationships throughout the Holocene and discuss how and to what extent human driven fires affected the landscape transformation in the Central European Lowlands (CEL). We present sedimentary charcoal composites on three spatial scales and compare them with climate model output and land cover reconstructions from pollen records. Our findings indicate that widespread natural fires only occurred during the early Holocene. Natural conditions (climate and vegetation) limited the extent of wildfires beginning 8500 cal. BP, and diverging subregional charcoal composites suggest that Mesolithic hunter-gatherers maintained a culturally diverse use of fire. Divergence in regional charcoal composites marks the spread of sedentary cultures in the western and eastern CEL The intensification of human land use during the last millennium drove an increase in fire activity to early-Holocene levels across the CEL Hence, humans have significantly affected natural fire regimes beyond the local scale - even in periods of low population densities - depending on diverse cultural land-use strategies. We find that humans have strongly affected land-cover- and biogeochemical cycles since Mesolithic times

Quantitative summer and winter temperature reconstructions from pollen and chironomid data between 15 and 8 ka BP in the Baltic–Belarus area

New pollen based reconstructions of summer (May-to-August) and winter (December-to-February) temperatures between 15 and 8 ka BP along a S-N transect in the Baltic-Belarus (BB) area display trends in temporal and spatial changes in climate variability. These results are completed by two chironomid-based July mean temperature reconstructions. The magnitude of change compared with modern temperatures was more prominent in the northern part of BB area. The 4 C degrees winter and 2 C degrees summer warming at the start of GI-1 was delayed in the BB area and Lateglacial maximum temperatures were reached at ca 13.6 ka BP, being 4 C degrees colder than the modern mean. The Younger Dryas cooling in the area was 5 C degrees colder than present, as inferred by all proxies. In addition, our analyses show an early Holocene divergence in winter temperature trends with modern values reaching 1 ka earlier (10 ka BP) in southern BB compared to the northern part of the region (9 ka BP)