Long-term pedolithogenic rhythms in the Holocene

Abstract

Soil-sedimentary series in subordinate (accumulative and trans-accumulative) landscapes represent the most complete and detailed record of the development of soils, topographic forms, and local geosystems in the Holocene. A new conception of centuries-long rhythms of soil formation and erosion is offered on the basis of literature analysis and original data on 80 pits within the East European Plain supplied with 180 radiocarbon dates. It is established that the Holocene (the last 10 500 years) comprises seven stages of soil formation alternating with stages of intensive erosion and sediment accumulation: 450–950, 2300–2700, 4200–4700, 6300–6600, 7700–8100, 9500–10 200 BP. The intervals of 450–150, 1050–2300, 2800–4200, 4700–6200, 6600–7700, 8300–9500, and 10 200–10 400 BP correspond to the formation of soils in the geochemically subordinate (footslopes, gully bottoms, floodplains) landscapes. The erosion–lithogenetic stages are characterized by humid warm and cold and also arid cold climatic conditions. The pedogenetic stages in subordinate landscapes of the forest-steppe and forest zones fall mainly into arid warm and, sometimes, humid warm and arid cold climatic phases of the 2000-year-long rhythm known as the Shnitnikov rhythm.