The influence of palaeo-fire activity on the dynamics of vegetation cover in the piedmont of Northern Altai for the past 16000 years

Abstract

This work presents results of reconstructing dynamics of palaeo-fires in the piedmont of Northern Altai over the past 16185 cal. yr BP on the example of sediments of the Mokhovoe mire (Altai krai). 27 local fire episodes were identified based on macro-charcoal analysis and statistical processing in the CharAnalysis software package in R space. According these data, 7 periods of maximum pyrogenic activity were identified over the entire period of the Mokhovoe mire existed. The obtained data were compared with published paleoecological reconstructions for the Mokhovoe mire. To identify relationship between vegetation and fires, we carried out a correlation analysis between macro-charcoal and pollen data using the Pearson method in the PAST program. As a result, the possible influence of fires on the change of vegetation cover (post-fire successions) was revealed. The study also recorded high pyrogenic activity during warm and humid climatic periods when fir (Abies sibirica) dominated in the vegetation cover.