Palaeoecological aspects of an Ukrainian Upper Holocene chernozem

Abstract

A physicochemical, palynological and chronological analysis of a soil profile corresponding to a Haplic Chernozem (FAO, 2015) developed in the Ukrainian steppe allow the interpretation of recent environmental changes that have conditioned its formation. Uniformed under the blackening process, its surface horizon dark color contrasts with yellowish color loessic parental material; it is decarbonated and the organic carbon content on the surface is 2.24%.The texture is silty in surface but sandy in lower horizon denoting a clear wind selection and an energy change in aeolian sedimentation processes. The clays present similar values in the three analyzed horizons. The presence of two discontinuities in the profile has made it possible to distinguish a very sandy blackened horizon of 2500 +/- 25cal BP chronologies from another silty surface and black chromas of age 1336–1256 cal BP. A total of fifteen pollen types have been identified; superficial horizon (A11) has a high presence of pollen of the Amaranthaceae type, the Poaceae are the most abundant and Quercus gender is identified. The sandy horizon (2A/B) shows Poaceas, Pinus, and Oleaceaspresence together pollen of Rosaceas type (14%). Pollen data reveal vegetative changes in the three horizons with the presence of even non-existent species today, linked both to recent anthropic-climatic and holocene-type changes on a millennial scale since the last glacial period.