Influence of Hydrological Conditions on the Formation of Forested Peatlands and Shallow-Peat Forests at Watersheds in the Central Forest Nature Reserve

Abstract

The spatial variability of the water regime determined by peat-deposit structure and surface slope is characteristic of watershed forested peatlands and shallow-peat forests that belong to similar forest types The specific features of the water regime determine the tree-stand structure, the composition of the herb–shrub and moss tiers, and the reaction to climatic changes of the past. The history of forested peatlands formation is comparable in duration to that of large peatbog massifs formation. An increase in wood-macrofossils content in peat is characteristic of warm periods of the Holocene. Conversely, a decrease in wood-macrofossils content accompanied by an increase in sphagnum moss remains, intensive growth of the deposit, and paludification of the adjacent forests were timed to the cold periods. The climatic factor was shown to determine the general direction of forested peatlands development, whereas the hydrological features of the site determined the variety of scenarios and resistance to environmental changes.