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Mid- and late-Holocene vegetation history, climate and human impact in the forest-steppe ecotone of European Russia: new data and a regional synthesis

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Abstract

Appropriate management of contemporary environments requires knowledge of their long-term history. We use palaeoecological data to explore how contemporary forest-steppe environments have been shaped by climate change and human impacts through the Holocene using the western Mid-Russian Upland as a case-study. Our paper presents new reconstructions of Mid- and Late Holocene climate, vegetation dynamics and local environmental change based on pollen, plant macrofossil and testate amoeba records from a site at Selikhovo (Mid-Russian Upland, Russia). Eutrophic fen vegetation dominated by Phragmites australis developed around 6800 cal year BP and has been resilient to episodes of local burning and variable input of mineral material through the Holocene. New and previously-published data show that the boundary between broadleaf forest and steppe occupied a similar position to present during the period 7000–4800 cal year BP, despite a warmer and drier climate, but shifted to the south following climate cooling and an increase in precipitation from 4800–2500 cal year BP. A subsequent decline in woodland cover was caused by both climate change and human impacts, with human activity becoming increasingly significant over the last two millennia. Prior to major human disturbance (about 1700 cal year BP) the landscape was dominated by mixed broadleaf-pine forests with some spruce covering about 60 % of the study area. Our results emphasize the variability of steppe-forest habitats over long time periods and the need to consider human impacts and climate change when setting targets for habitat conservation.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research, Projects 14-05-00550. Microscopic analysis of testate amoeba data was supported by the Grant of the President of Russian Federation (MD-4435.2014.4). The palaecological analysis of testate amoeba data provided by A. Tsyganov and Y. Mazei was supported by Russian Science Foundation (Project 14-14-00891). Analysis of experimental data in respect of project future climate changes was provided by A. Olchev within the framework of the grant of the Russian Science Foundation (14-14-00956).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Geography, M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University, Leninskie gory 1, Moscow, Russia, 119991

    Elena Y. Novenko, Nikolai I. Losbenev & Yuri A. Mazei

  2. Institute of Geography Russian Academy of Science, Staromonetny lane, 29, Moscow, Russia, 119017

    Elena Y. Novenko & Inna S. Zuyganova

  3. Department of Zoology and Ecology, Penza State University, Krasnaya str., 40, Penza, Russia, 440026

    Andrey N. Tsyganov, Kirill V. Babeshko, Richard J. Payne & Yuri A. Mazei

  4. Department of Geography, Orel State University, Komsomolskaya str., 95, Orel, Russia, 302026

    Olga V. Rudenko

  5. Department of Biology, Tula State University, Lenin avenue, 92, Tula, Russia, 300600

    Elena V. Volkova

  6. A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution of Russian Academy of Science, Leninsky Prospect 33, Moscow, Russia, 119071

    Alexander V. Olchev

  7. Environment Department, University of York, Heslington, York, YO105DD, UK

    Richard J. Payne

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  1. Elena Y. Novenko
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  2. Andrey N. Tsyganov
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  3. Olga V. Rudenko
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  4. Elena V. Volkova
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  8. Nikolai I. Losbenev
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  10. Yuri A. Mazei
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Correspondence to Elena Y. Novenko.

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Communicated by Jürgen Dengler.

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Novenko, E.Y., Tsyganov, A.N., Rudenko, O.V. et al. Mid- and late-Holocene vegetation history, climate and human impact in the forest-steppe ecotone of European Russia: new data and a regional synthesis. Biodivers Conserv 25, 2453–2472 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-016-1051-8

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