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An assessment of changes in properties of steppe kurgan paleosoils in relation to prevailing climates over recent millennia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Tatiana E. Khomutova ,
Tatiana S. Demkina ,
Alexander V. Borisov ,
Natalia N. Kashirskaya ,
Maxim V. Yeltsov  and
Vitaly A. Demkin
Tatiana E. Khomutova*
Affiliation:
Institute of Physicochemical and Biological Problems in Soil Science Russian Academy of Sciences, 142290 Pushchino, Russia
Tatiana S. Demkina
Affiliation:
Institute of Physicochemical and Biological Problems in Soil Science Russian Academy of Sciences, 142290 Pushchino, Russia
Alexander V. Borisov
Affiliation:
Institute of Physicochemical and Biological Problems in Soil Science Russian Academy of Sciences, 142290 Pushchino, Russia
Natalia N. Kashirskaya
Affiliation:
Institute of Physicochemical and Biological Problems in Soil Science Russian Academy of Sciences, 142290 Pushchino, Russia
Maxim V. Yeltsov
Affiliation:
Institute of Physicochemical and Biological Problems in Soil Science Russian Academy of Sciences, 142290 Pushchino, Russia
Vitaly A. Demkin
Affiliation:
Institute of Physicochemical and Biological Problems in Soil Science Russian Academy of Sciences, 142290 Pushchino, Russia
*
*Corresponding author. Fax: +7 4967 330595. E-mail address:khomutova-t@rambler.ru (T.E. Khomutova).
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Abstract

Comparative analysis of morphological and chemical properties of the soil chronosequence on Kastanozems soils in the steppe zone of the Russian Plain, which included paleosoils buried beneath kurgans erected ca. 2000 BC, AD 50, AD 200, and AD 1250 was performed to reconstruct the paleoenvironmental conditions in this archeologically important region. Paleoenvironmental dynamics were traced using the state of microbial communities of paleo and modern soils (including the dynamics of total and glucose-reactive biomass, and the abundance of microorganisms grown on selected media). We demonstrate that the share of the glucose-reactive microorganisms in the microbial community, the ecological–trophic structure, and oligotrophicity index might serve as indicators of the state of microbial communities and be used for paleoenvironmental reconstructions. The morphological–chemical and microbial properties confirm an arid period ca. 2000 BC, slightly wetter conditions ca. AD 50, and more humid conditions ca. AD 1250.

Keywords

Steppe kurgansPaleosoilsClimate changeChemical propertiesMicrobial communities
Type
Research Article
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 67 , Issue 3 , May 2007 , pp. 328 - 336
Copyright
University of Washington

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