PALEOGEOGRAPHY OF THE ZAONEZHYE PENINSULA IN THE LATE PLEISTOCENE AND HOLOCENE

Abstract

The paper summarizes the results of long-term paleogeographical research of the Zaonezhye Peninsula conducted by the staff of the Institute of Biology and Institute of Geology of the Karelian Research Centre RAS, including the authors of the article. The history of landscape and Quaternary deposits evolution, vegetation dynamics affected by climate change, deglaciation and transgression-regression cycles of Lake Onega during the Late Glacial and Holocene are analyzed. Global warming in the Holocene caused a gradual change of the Late Glacial periglacial-steppe and tundra communities with light birch forest-tundra. Birch and pine-birch light northern taiga forests appeared around 9600 BP. Middle-taiga pine forests reached their distribution maximum around 8900-8000 BP. Temperature rise and increasing humidity in the Atlantic period contributed to the distribution of Ulmus, Quercus, Tilia, Acer, Corylus and Alnus glutinosa especially in the interval between 7000 and 6000 BP (6580 ± 80 BP, LU-3422) resulting in the southern taiga vegetation. Spruce forests expanded along with pine and pine-birch forests and became dominant especially in the second half of the Subboreal. Southern taiga forest types are preserved to the present day on the Zaonezhye Peninsula; secondary forests arisen from intensive human activities are also diverse. Based on the obtained data some assumptions on the possible location of settlements in different periods of the Holocene are made. It is established that agriculture in the territory began around 1100-900 BP (1140 ± 50 BP, LE-6531; 950 ± 110 BP, LE-6796).

Keywords

• paleogeography
• geomorphology
• quaternary sediments
• palynology
• vegetation dynamics
• late glacial
• holocene
• karelia
• lake onega
• zaonezhye peninsula