A 10 000-year pollen and plant macrofossil record from the Losiny Ostrov National Park (Moscow, Russia)

Abstract

Abstract The paper presents the first results of pollen and macrofossil analysis of a peat bog located near the Moscow city within the territory of the Losiny Ostrov National Park. Macrofossil data demonstrate that the bog development started from the stage of a spring calcetrophic fen at the very beginning of the Holocene. After 9.9 ka BP it became a meso-oligotrophic herbaceous-sphagnum bog. Pollen data manifest early spread of spruce in the Moscow region (before 10.2 ka BP). Predominance of broad-leaved temperate deciduous forests is characteristic of the Holocene thermal optimum (8.5-4.8 ka BP). The new spread of spruce forests began after 4.8 ka BP. The first signs of deforestation for agriculture date back to 1.8-1.7 ka BP (Early Iron Age). The next massive deforestation for agriculture was recorded 0.7-0.4 ka BP (Middle Age). After the 17th century, anthropogenic activity decreased, as a result of the establishment of the reserve status.