Holocene dynamics of forest ecosystems on the upper plateau of the Volga Upland

Abstract

Main stages in the development of forest ecosystems on the lower plateau of the Volga Upland in the Holocene have been reconstructed by analyzing palynological assemblages from peat deposits. It was established that the steppe cenosis dominated from 12000 to 8500 years ago, forest and steppe communities were equally dominant further up to 6000 years ago, mainly forest communities were dominant up to 3200 years ago, and then domination again passed to forest-steppe landscapes with a predominance of steppe communities.