Peatlands store massive amounts of organic carbon, but the fate of this carbon remains unclear as global climate continues to warm. The age of peatland inception and the main drivers of peat initiation are one of the most important issues in Holocene paleoecology, especially for the numerous but under investigated peatlands in European Russia. This paper introduces new peatland initiation ages for 44 mires in three areas located in the central part of European Russia within the Polesie landscape belt. This region is characterised by waterlogged sandy plains and flat surface topography. Phases of peatland initiation were compared with Holocene fire regime derived from macro-charcoal data as well as with regional climatic reconstructions. We found that peat inception in the region started around 12,000 cal yr BP, but the most active phases of peatland initiation took place during the periods 8500–7500, 7000–6000, 5300–5800, 4000–3500 and 1700–1200 cal yr BP. Expect for rapid peat growth during the early Holocene, peatland initiation mostly coincided with warm climatic periods and increased fire frequency. Forest soil paludification in poorly drained Polesie landscapes was presumably enhanced by reduced evapotranspiration and changes in water balance due to disturbance of forest cover after wildfires. We expect that rising air temperature in the current century will cause higher fire frequencies and may encourage waterlogging of forests and ecosystem transformation.
AbramovaTA (1999) Human impact on the landscapes of Central Meshchera a in the Holocene (by palynological data). Bulletin of Moscow University. Series 5: Geography1: 47–51. (in Russian)
2.
AnnenskayaGNMamaiIITsesel’chukYN (1983) Landscapes of Ryazanskaya Meshchera and Possibility of Their Development. Moscow: Moscow State University. (in Russian)
3.
BolikhovskayaNS (1988) On the history of vegetation and climate of Podmoskovnaya Meshchera in the Holocene. In: KhotinskyNAKlimanovVA (eds) Palaeoclimate of the Holocene of European Territory of the USSR. Moscow: Nauka, pp.76–85. (in Russian)
4.
BorrenWBleutenWLapshinaED (2004) Holocene peat and carbon accumulation 715 rates in the southern taiga of western Siberia. Quaternary Research61(1): 42–51. DOI: 10.1016/j.yqres.2003.09.002.
5.
CamillPBarryAWilliamsE, et al. (2009) Climate-vegetation-fire interactions and their impact on long-term carbon dynamics in a boreal peatland landscape in northern Manitoba, Canada. Journal of Geophysical Research114: G04017. DOI: 10.1029/2009JG001071.
6.
CaseldineCHattonJ (1993) The development of high moorland on Dartmoor: Fire and the influence of Mesolithic activity on vegetation change. In: ChambersFM (ed.) Climate Change and Human Impact on the Landscape. London: Chapman & Hall, pp.119–131.
7.
CharmanDJAmesburyMJHinchliffeW, et al. (2015) Drivers of Holocene peatland carbon accumulation across a climate gradient in northeastern North America. Quaternary Science Reviews121: 110–119. DOI: 10.1016/j.quascirev.2015.05.012.
8.
CharmanDJBeilmanDWBlaauwM, et al. (2013) Climate-related changes in peatland carbon accumulation during the last millennium. Biogeosciences10: 929–944. DOI: 10.5194/bg-10-929-2013.
9.
CrawfordRMM (2013) Tundra-Taiga BiologyOxford: Oxford University Press.
10.
DavisBASBrewerSStevensonAC, et al. (2003) The temperature of Europe during the Holocene reconstructed from pollen data. Quaternary Science Reviews22: 1701–1716. DOI: 10.1016/S0277-3791(03)00173-2.
11.
DendievelAMJouffroy-BapicotIArgantJ, et al. (2020) From natural to cultural mires during the last 15 ka years: An integrated approach comparing 14C ages on basal peat layers with geomorphological, palaeoecological and archaeological data (Eastern Massif Central, France). Quaternary Science Reviews233: 106219. DOI: 10.1016/j.quascirev.2020.106219.
12.
DobrowolskiRZiółekMBałagaK, et al. (2010) Radiocarbon age and geochemistry of the infillings of small closed depressions from Western Polesie (Poland Se, Ukraine Nw). Geochronometria36: 39–46. DOI: 10.2478/v10003-010-0010-8.
13.
DyakonovKNovenkoEMironenkoI, et al. (2017) The role of fires in the Holocene landscape dynamics of the southeastern part of Meshchera lowlands. Doklady Earth Sciences477(1): 1336–1342. (in Russian)
14.
FeurdeanAGałkaMFlorescuG, et al. (2019) 2000 years of variability in hydroclimate and carbon accumulation in western Siberia and the relationship with large-scale atmospheric circulation: A multi-proxy peat record. Quaternary Science Reviews226: 105948. DOI: 10.1016/j.quascirev.2019.105948.
15.
FrelichLE (2017) Wildland fire: Understanding and maintaining an ecological baseline. Current Forestry Reports3: 188–201. DOI: 10.1007/s40725-017-0062-3
16.
GeigerR (1954) Klassifikation der Klimate nach W. Köppen [Classification of climates after W. Köppen]. In: Landolt-Börnstein – Zahlenwerte und Funktionen aus Physik, Chemie, Astronomie, Geophysik und Technik, alte Serie. Berlin: Springer. 3. pp.603–607.
17.
GlushkovIVSirinAAMinayevaTY (2016) Influences of hydrological conditions on development of the watershed forest peatlands and boggy forests in the Central Forest Reserve. Lesovedenie6: 403-417 (in Russian).
18.
GorhamE (1991) Northern peatlands: Role in the carbon cycle and probable responses to climatic warming. Ecological Applications1: 182–195.
19.
GrishutkinOG (2012) Vliyanie pozharov 2010 goda na bolotnye ekosistemy Mordovskogo gosudarstvennogo prirodnogo zapovednika [The impact of 2010 forest fires on peat ecosystems of Mordovia State Natural Reserve]. Trudy Mordovskogo gosudarstvennogo zapovednika imeni P.G. Smidovicha10: 261–265. (in Russian)
20.
HigueraPEPetersMEBrubakerLB, et al. (2007) Understanding the origin and analysis of sediment-charcoal records with a simulation model. Quaternary Science Reviews26 (13–14): 1790–1809.
21.
IUSS Working Group (2014) World reference base for soil resources 2014. International soil classification system for naming soils and creating legends for soil maps. World Soil Resources Reports No. 106. Rome: FAO.
22.
InishevaLIKobakKITurchinovichIE (2013) The waterlogging process and the rate of accumulation of carbon in bog ecosystems of Russia. Geography and Natural Resources3: 60–68. (in Russian)
23.
IPCC (2013) Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
24.
IvanovAN (1995) Mire geosystems of Central Meshchera. Bulletin of Moscow University. Series 5: Geography5: 86–94. (in Russian)
25.
KatzNYKatzSVSkobevaEI (1977) Atlas rastitelnych ostatkov v torfe [Atlas of plant remains in peat]. Moscow: Nedra-press [in Russian].
26.
KirpotinSNNaumovAVVorobiovSN, et al. (2007) Western-siberian peatlands: Indicators of climate change and their role in global carbon balance. In: LalRSuleimenovMStewartBA, et al. (eds) Climate Change and Terrestrial Carbon Sequestration in Central Asia. London: Taylor and Francis Group, pp.453–472.
27.
KorholaA (1995) Holocene climatic variations in southern Finland reconstructed from peat-initiation data. Holocene5: 43–57. DOI: 10.1177%2F095968369500500106.
28.
KorholaARuppelMSeppäH, et al. (2010) The importance of northern peatland expansion to the late-Holocene rise of atmospheric methane. Quaternary Science Reviews29: 611–617. DOI: 10.1016/j.quascirev.2009.12.010.
29.
KupriyanovDANovenkoEY (2019) Reconstruction of the Holocene dynamics of forest fires in the central part of Meshcherskaya lowlands according to antracological analysisContemporary Problems of Ecology12(3): 204–212. DOI: 10.1134/S1995425519030065.
30.
LafleurBFentonNJBergeronY (2015) Forecasting the development of boreal paludified forests in response to climate change: A case study using Ontario ecosite classification. Forest Ecosystems2(1): 1–1. DOI: 10.1186/s40663-015-0027-6.
31.
LoiselJYuZBeilmanDW, et al. (2014) A database and synthesis of northern peatland soil properties and Holocene carbon and nitrogen accumulation. The Holocene24(9): 1028–1042. DOI: 10.1177/0959683614538073.
32.
LuntPHFyfeRMTappinAD (2019) Role of recent climate change on carbon sequestration in peatland systems. Science of The Total Environment667: 348–358. DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.02.239.
33.
MacDonaldGMBeilmanDWKremenetskiKV, et al. (2006) Rapid early development of circumarctic peatlands and atmospheric CH4 and CO2 variations. Science314: 285–288. DOI: 10.1126/science.1131722.
34.
MauquoyDVan GeelB (2007). Mire and peat macrofossils. In: EliasSA (ed) Encyclopedia of Quaternary Science. Amsterdam: Elsevier, pp.2315–2336.
35.
MauquoyDYeloffD (2008) Raised peat bog development and possible responses to environmental changes during the mid- to late-Holocene. Can the palaeoecological record be used to predict the nature and response of raised peat bogs to future climate change?Biodiversity and Conservation17: 2139–2151. DOI: 10.1007/s10531-007-9222-2.
36.
MauriADavisBASCollinsPM, et al. (2015) The climate of Europe during the Holocene: A gridded pollen-based reconstruction and its multi-proxy evaluation. Quaternary Science Reviews112: 109–127. DOI: 10.1016/j.quascirev.2015.01.013.
37.
MinayevaTBleutenWSirinA, et al. (2006) Eurasian mires of the Southern Taiga Belt: Modern features and response to holocene palaeoclimate. In: VerhoevenJTABeltmanBBobbinkR, et al (eds) Wetlands and Natural Resource Management, Ecological Studies. Heidelberg: Springer, pp.315–341.
38.
MooneySTinnerW (2011) The analysis of charcoal in peat and organic sediments. Mires and Peat7: 1–18.
39.
MorrisPJSwindlesGTValdesPJ, et al. (2018) Global peatland initiation driven by regionally asynchronous warming. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences115: 4851–4856. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1717838115.
40.
NikolayevVA (2013) Paragenesis of forested lowlands (Polesye) and high plains (Opolye) in Central Russia. Bulletin of Moscow University. Series 5: Geography5: 45–50. (in Russian)
41.
NovenkoEYTsyganovANBabeshkoKV, et al. (2019) Climatic moisture conditions in the north-west of the Mid-Russian Upland during the Holocene. Geography, Environment, Sustainability12: 188–202. DOI: 10.24057/2071-9388-2018-62.
42.
NovenkoEYTsyganovANPayneRJ, et al. (2018) Vegetation dynamics and fire history at the southern boundary of the forest vegetation zone in European Russia during the middle and late-Holocene. The Holocene28: 308–322. DOI: 10.1177/0959683617721331.
43.
NovenkoEYTsyganovANVolkovaEM, et al. (2015) The Holocene paleoenvironmental history of central European Russia reconstructed from pollen, plant macrofossil, and testate amoeba analyses of the Klukva Peatland, Tula Region. Quaternary Research83: 459–468. DOI: 10.1016/j.yqres.2015.03.006.
44.
NovenkoEYTsyganovANVolkovaEM, et al. (2016) Mid- and Late-Holocene vegetation dynamics and fire history in the boreal forest of European Russia: A case study from Meshchera Lowlands. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology459: 570–584. DOI: 10.1016/j.palaeo.2016.08.004.
45.
OlchevAVGetmanovaERNovenkoEY (2020) A modeling approach for reconstruction of annual land surface evapotranspiration using palaeoecological data. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science438: 012021. DOI: 10.1088/1755-1315/438/1/012021.
46.
PajulaR (2000) Spatio-temporal development of the Soomaa mire system in SW Estonia. Proceedings of the Estonian Academy of Sciences, Biology and Ecology49(2): 194–208.
47.
PayetteSGarneauMDelwaideA, et al. (2013) Forest soil paludification and mid-Holocene retreat of jack pine in easternmost North America: Evidence for a climatic shift from fire-prone to peat-prone conditions. The Holocene23: 494–503. DOI: 10.1177/0959683612463099.
48.
PayneRJMalyshevaETsyganovA, et al. (2016) A multi-proxy record of Holocene environmental change, peatland development and carbon accumulation from Staroselsky Moch peatland, Russia. The Holocene26: 314–326. DOI: 10.1177/0959683615608692.
49.
PitkänenATolonenKJungnerH (2001) A basin-based approach to the long-term history of forest fires as determined from peat strata. The Holocene11: 599–605.
50.
PyavchenkoNI (1985) Torfyanyye bolota. Ikh prirodnoe i khozyaystvennoe znacheniye [Peat bogs. Their natural and economic value] Moscow: Nauka. [in Russian]
51.
ReichleDE (2020) The global carbon cycle and the biosphere. In: ReichleDE (ed) The Global Carbon Cycle and Climate Change. Cambridge: Elsevier, pp.183–208. DOI: 10.1016/B978-0-12-820244-9.00010-X.
52.
ReimerPJBardEBaylissA, et al. (2013) IntCal13 and Marine13 radiocarbon age calibration curves, 0–50,000 years cal BP. Radiocarbon55(4): 1869–1887. DOI: 10.2458/azu_js_rc.55.16947.
53.
SchaffhauserAPayetteSGarneauM, et al. (2017) Soil paludification and Sphagnum bog initiation: The influence of indurated podzolic soil and fire. Boreas46: 428–441. DOI: 10.1111/bor.12200.
54.
SchuldtRJBrovkinVKleinenT, et al. (2013) Modelling Holocene carbon accumulation and methane emissions of boreal wetlands – an Earth system model approach. Biogeosciences10: 1659–1674. DOI: 10.5194/bg-10-1659-2013.
55.
SimardMBernierPYBergeronY, et al. (2009) Paludification dynamics in the boreal forest of the James Bay Lowlands: Effect of time since fire and topography. Canadian Journal of Forest Research39: 546–552. DOI: 10.1139/X08-195.
56.
SimardMLecomteNBergeronY, et al. (2007) Forest productivity decline caused by successional paludification of boreal soils. Ecological Application17: 1619–1637. DOI: 10.1890/06-1795.1.
57.
TereshkinISTereshkinaLV (2006) Rastitel’nost’ Mordovskogo zapovednika [Vegetation of Mordovia Reserve]. Trudy Mordovskogo gosudarstvennogo zapovednika imeni P.G. Smidovicha7: 186–287. [in Russian]
58.
TuretskyMRBenscoterBPageS, et al. (2015) Global vulnerability of peatlands to fire and carbon loss. Nature Geoscience8: 11–14. DOI: 10.1038/ngeo2325.
59.
van BellenSGarneauMAliAA, et al. (2012) Did fires drive Holocene carbon sequestration in boreal ombrotrophic peatlands of eastern Canada?Quaternary Research78: 50–59. DOI: 10.1016/j.yqres.2012.03.009.
60.
VargotEV (2016) Mordovia state nature reserve’s 80th anniversary. Nature Conservation Research1(2): 96–102. (in Russian)
61.
VolkovaEMNovenkoEYYurkovskayaTK (2020) The age of mires of the Mid-Russian Upland. Izvestiya RAN. Seriya Geograficheskaya84(4): 551–561. DOI: 10.31857/S2587556620040135. (in Russian)
62.
WhitlockCHigueraPEMcWethyDB, et al. (2010) Paleoecological perspectives on fire ecology: Revisiting the fire-regime concept. The Open Ecology Journal3: 6–23.
63.
YelinaGA (1997) Dynamics of paludification in northwestern Russia during the Holocene. Special Paper of the Geological Survey of Finland24: 87–92.
64.
YuZ (2006) Holocene carbon accumulation of fen peatlands in boreal Western Canada: A complex ecosystem response to climate variation and disturbance. Ecosystems9: 1278–1288. DOI: 10.1007/s10021-006-0174-2.
65.
YuZ (2011) Holocene carbon flux histories of the world’s peatlands: Global carbon-cycle implications. The Holocene21: 761–774. DOI: 10.1177/0959683610386982.
66.
YuZ (2012) Northern peatland carbon stocks and dynamics: A review. Biogeosciences9: 4071–4085. DOI: 10.5194/bg-9-4071-2012.
67.
ZeidelmanFR (2013) Mineral’nyye i torfyanyye pochvy polesskikh landshaftov. Genezis, gidrologiya, agroekologiya, melioratsiya, zashchita ot pozharov torfyanikov i lesov, rekul’tivatsiya [Mineral and peat soils of Polissya landscapes. Genesis, hydrology, agroecology, land reclamation, fire protection of peatlands and forests, reclamation]. Moscow: Krasand Publishing House. [in Russian].
68.
ZhaoYYuZTangY, et al. (2014) Peatland initiation and carbon accumulation in China over the last 50,000 years. Earth-Science Reviews128: 139–146. DOI: 10.1016/j.earscirev.2013.11.003.
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
