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Palaeoecological aspects of an Ukrainian Upper Holocene chernozem

Recio Espejo, José Manuel; Kotovych, O. V.; Díaz del Olmo, Fernando; Gorban, V. A.; Cámara Artigas, Rafael; Masyuk, O. M.; Borja Barrera, César

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.

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ECOLOGY AND NOOSPHEROLOGY ISSN 1726-1112 (P in ) ISSN 2310-4309 (Online) Ecol. Noosphe ., 31(2), 59–64 doi: 10.15421/032009 Palaeoecological aspec s o an Uk ainian Uppe Holocene che nozem J. M. Recio Espejo*, O. V. Ko o ych**, F. Díaz del Olmo***,V. A. Go ban**, R. Cáma a A igas***, O. M. Masyuk**, C. Bo ja Ba e a*** *Uni e si y o Co doba, Co doba, Spain **Oles Honcha Dnip o Na ional Uni e si y, Dnip o, Uk aine ***Uni e si y o Se ille, Se ille, Spain A icle in o Recei ed 15.04.2020 Recei ed in e ised o m 23.04.2020 Accep ed 29.04.2020 Uni e si y o Có doba, Campus de Rabanales, 14001-Có doba, Spain. Tel.: +003495-721-85-97 E-mail: [email p o ec ed] Oles Honcha Dnip o Na ional Uni e si y, Gaga in A e., 72, Dnip o, 49010, Uk aine. Uni e si y o Se ille, Ma ia de Padilla, 41004-Se illa, Spain. Recio Espejo, J. M., Ko o ych, O. V., Díaz del Olmo, F., Go ban, V. A., Cáma a A igas, R., Masyuk, O. M., Bo ja Ba e a, C. (2020). Palaeoecological aspec s o an Uk ainian Uppe Holocene che nozems. Ecology and Noosphe ology, 31(2), 59–64. doi:10.15421/032009 A physicochemical, palynological and ch onological analysis o a soil p o ile co esponding o a Haplic Che nozem (FAO, 2015) de eloped in he Uk ainian s eppe allow he in e p e a ion o ecen en i onmen al changes ha ha e condi ioned i s o ma ion. Uni o med unde he blackening p ocess, i s su ace ho izon da k colo con as s wi h yellowish colo loessic pa en al ma e ial; i is deca bona ed and he o ganic ca bon con en on he su ace is 2.24%.The ex u e is sil y in su ace bu sandy in lowe ho izon deno ing a clea wind selec ion and an ene gy change in aeolian sedimen a ion p ocesses. The clays p esen simila alues in he h ee analyzed ho izons. The p esence o wo discon inui ies in he p o ile has made i possible o dis inguish a e y sandy blackened ho izon o 2500 +/- 25cal BP ch onologies om ano he sil y su ace and black ch omas o age 1336–1256 cal BP. A o al o i een pollen ypes ha e been iden i ied; supe icial ho izon (A11) has a high p esence o pollen o he Ama an haceae ype, he Poaceae a e he mos abundan and Que cus gende is iden i ied. The sandy ho izon (2A/B) shows Poaceas, Pinus, and Oleaceas p esence oge he pollen o Rosaceas ype (14%). Pollen da a e eal ege a i e changes in he h ee ho izons wi h he p esence o e en non-exis en species oday, linked bo h o ecen an h opic- clima ic and holocene- ype changes on a millennial scale since he las glacial pe iod. Keywo ds: s eppe; Uk ainian che nozem; palaeoecology In oduc ion The p esen wo k ep esen s a con ibu ion o he esea ch line main ained by he au ho s in ela ionship o he ecological ac o s and geomo phological condi ions ha mo i a e he blackening and i si ica ion p ocesses o some pedological ho izons o Ve isols, Che nozems o chilean Andosols (Núñez e al., 1997; Recio e al., 2017, 2018, 2019, a, b; Guaja do e al., 2020). The s udy o a polyphasic p o ile co esponding o a Calcic Che nozem (FAO, 2015) has allowed us o deepen his p ocess as well as o e alua e some o he palaeocological condi ions ha ha e con olled i s o ma ion (Alexand o skiy and Chichago a, 1998; Khokhlo a and Ko ale skaya, 2001). This soil p o ile (Calcic Che nozem) (FAO, 2015) s udied by he au ho s (Fig. 1) a e loca ed o coo dena es posi ion 48° 45' 36.9"N, 35° 27' 40.5"E wi hin he i gin s eppe land o wa e shed pla eau in a culmina ing posi ion (sou h-eas e n pa o he And ee ka illage). The cu en majo i y ege a ion suppo by he supe icial ho izon is cons i u ed by Fes uca alesiaca Schleich o me Gaudin, (Poaceae), Koele ia mac an ha (Ledeb.) Schul (Poaceae), Thymus ma schallinus Wilid. (Lamiaceae), Linum hi su um L. (Linaceae), Sal ia nemo osa L. (Lamiaceae), Aus ian A emisia Jacq (As e aceae). Ma e ial and me hods Fo i s mo phological and physicochemical cha ac e iza ion ha e been used he guide FAO (1977), he colou pa ame e s was de e mined by Munsell (1990), ca bona es (Duchau ou , 1975), we and igni ion loss by M.A.P.A (1986), o al o ganic ca bon by Sims and Haby (1971), magne ic suscep ibili y (Dea ing, 1999) and ex u al analysis and dis ibu ion pa icle size by Soil Su ey England and Wales (1982) (Table 1, 2, 3, Fig. 1). F om his p o ile he pollen p esen on he ho izons (A11, 0–20 cm) and lowe zone p o ile (2A/B and 3BC1) has been iden i ied ollowing he me hod desc ibed by Dup é Oli ie (1979), wi h some modi ica ions p oposed by Ma ín Consueg a (1996) and by López e al. (2003). Wi h he pollen ex ac ed, i s iden i ica ion has been ca ied ou unde op ical mic oscopy h ough he use o he e e ence palino eca and di e en pollen a lases (Table 3). Ch onological da ing by C14 cal. BP was pe o med in he humine ac ion o he supe icial ho izon (A11) by he Be a Analy ic Labo a o y (Miami, Flo ida, USA) and he medium ho izon (2A/B) by he Accele a o Na ional Cen e o CSIC- Uni e si y o Se ille (Se ille, Spain) (Fig. 2). Ecol. Noosphe ., 31(2) 59 Fig. 1. Loca ion o s udied a ea Fig. 2. Haplic Che nozem (FAO, 2015) Ecol. Noosphe ., 31(2) 60 Resul s and discussion Table 1 shows he physical-chemical cha ac e iza ion ca ied ou in he p o ile. The da k colo o he su ace ho izon (10YR 4/1) con as s sha ply wi h he yellowish ones o he pa en al loess (10YR 7/4), a 130cm om he su ace, and equally a ec s he wo su ace ho izons (A11 and 2A/B), uni o med unde he blackening p ocess. The o ganic ca bon con en on he su ace is 2.24%, and a 80 cm dep h (3BC1) i becomes 0.72%, g ea e han in he o e lying ho izon. The loss on igni ion is 7.88% on he su ace, so we can conside ha 49% o i is humidi ied, compa ed o 20% in 2A/B and 35% in 3BC1 espec i ely (Table 1). I is deca bona ed, hese being accumula ed in he o m o powde y spo s on he 3BC1 ho izon (14.6%). Magne ic suscep ibili y alues a e low, highligh ing hose ound in 2A12 much lowe han he es o he ho izons. In ela ion o he densi y and po osi y ha he ho izons p esen , coincide wi h he alues p e iously ound by Nuñez e al. (1997) and e y di e en om hose p esen ed by blackening ho izons Andosol (FAO, 2015) s udied by Guaja do e al. (2020) and de eloped on yellowish ash o olcanic o igin. I s ex u e is sil y excep in he 2A12 ho izon whe e he sand ac ion is he dominan one wi h 42.1% and whe e e y hick ac ions a e ep esen ed (Table 2). In he supe icial ho izons, he dominan sand ac ion is ha o diame e 0.25– 0.125 mm. deno ing a clea wind selec ion. On he con a y, he 3BC1 ho izon shows a loamie cha ac e , wi h a dominan ac ion (74%) in he ac ion wi h he smalles diame e (0.125–0.063 mm. In his sil ac ion, he la ges ac ions (0.063 o 0.015 mm) a e always he mos ep esen a i e (Table 2), deno ing hei wind selec ion. The clays p esen alues a ound 40% in he h ee analyzed ho izons (Table 1). Ano he hand a o al o 15 pollen ypes has been iden i ied. The quan i y has been exp essed in pollen g ains pe g am o soil ho izon (Table 1). Supe icial ho izon A11 (0–20 cm) has a high concen a ion wi h 473 pollen g ains pe g am, 45 a e in 2A/B, while BC1 (40–130 cm) has 64 pollen g ains pe g am (Table 3). The 2A/B ho izon p esen s only 4 pollen ypes, compa ed o 12 o he o he ho izons. Table 3 Type polinics and i s equency in he di e en ho izons Type polinics (%)/ Ho izons A11 2A/B 3BC1 Co ylus 2.33 (O) 0.00 (–) 8.57 (F) Pinus 3.72 (O) 14.29 (C) 5.71 (F) Oleaceae 3.26 (O) 14.29 C) 11.43 (C) My aceae 0.00 (–) 0.00 (–) 2.86 (O) Cup essaceae 0.00 (–) 0.00 (–) 2.86 (O) Cas anea 0.93 (R) 0.00 (–) 8.57 (F) Que cus 10.70 (C) 0.00 (–) 20.00 (C) Poaceae 16.28 (C) 57.14 (A) 5.71 (F) Ama an haceae 55.81(A) 0.00 (–) 11.43 (C) U icaceae 1.40 (O) 0.00 (–) 2.86 (0) Echium 2.33 (O) 0.00 (–) 2.86 (O) Apiaceae 1.40 (O) 0.00 (–) 0.00 (–) Salix 0.47 (R) 0.00 (–) 0.00 (–) Rossacea 0.00 (–) 14.29 (C) 0.00 (–) Composi ae 0.93 (R) 0.00 (–) 5.71 (F) No de e mina ed 0.47 0.00 11.43 Types polinic 12 4 12 G ains by sample g ams 473 45 64 Abundan >25.0% (A) Common 10.1–25.0 (C) F equen 5.1–10.0 (F) Occasional 1.1–5.0 (O) Ra e 0.3–1.0 (R) Ve y a e < 0.3% (VR) Absen (–) No e he high p esence o pollen o he Ama an haceae ype ollowed by Poaceae on he su ace ho izon wi h alues o 55% (A, abundan ) and 16% (C, common ) espec i ely. The Que cus gende is also ep esen ed (10%) in bo h ho izons wi h a common cha ac e (C). The 3BC1 sample has a lowe concen a ion o pollen g ains and i s la ges ep esen a i e is Que cus (C) ollowed by Ama an haceae and Oleaceae. (F, equen and C, common). In his deepes le el he g ains o pollen om che ies a e he bes ep esen ed, p esen ing wo pollen ypes no p esen in he p e ious one (My aceae and Cup essaceae) wi h an occasional (O) ecuency (2.86%). The in e media e sandy ho izon shows, like he o he s, he p esence o Poaceas, Pinus, and Oleaceas, and pollen belonging o he Rosaceas amily 14% (C) a e only ep esen ed he e. The majo i y ege a ion suppo ed by he cu en soil supe icial ho izon is Poaceae; some speci ic gende s de e mina es a e no cu en ly ep esen ed in he a ea. In iew o hese esul s, he e seems o be a clea disag eemen in he p o ile linked o an ene gy change in eolian sedimen a ion p ocesses. E osi e-sedimen a y p ocesses o a sandy na u e ha e come o in e up he ini ial and inal sil - loessic sedimen a ion p ocesses ound in he p o ile, and which ha e shaped changes in he s a ing pa en al ma e ial linked o an h opiza ion (ag icul u al e osion) o o en i onmen al humidi y-a idi y changes ela ed o Bond cycles (Bond e al., 1997). This palaeoen i onmen al condi ions and he p o ile ch onology ob ained may sugges his o ma ion unde he in luence o millennial-scale clima e cycles. The da ing has e ealed a ch onology o 1336–1256 cal BP o ho izon uppe sil y supe icial ho izon (A11), and 2500 +/-25 cal BP o he middle ho izon (2A12) de eloped on sandy pa en al ma e ial (Fig. 3). Fig. 3. Ch onology da ing Ecol. Noosphe ., 31(2) 61 Table 1 Physicochemical cha ac e iza ion o Che nozem soil p o ile s udied Ho iz./Dep h (cm) Colou (d) Colou (w) CO3= (%) We (%) TOC (%) O.M. (%) L. Ign. (%) M.S. (X10-9) Dap. (g/cm3) D eal. (g/cm3) Po osi y (%) Sand (%) Sil (%) Clay (%) A11 (0–20) 10YR 4/1 10YR 6/2 1 4,61 2,24 3,85 7,88 900 1,13 1,94 41,75 10,1 47,4 42,5 2A/B (20–40) 10YR 6/2 10YR 4/1 2,3 3,88 0,48 0,82 4,01 65 1,23 2,01 38,50 42,1 20,4 37,5 3BC1 (40–130) 10YR 7/4 10YR 5/4 14,6 3,01 0,72 1,23 3,51 500 1,17 2,1 44,28 2,6 59,9 37,5 Table 2 Pa icle size dis ibu ion o sand and sil ac ion o Che nozem soil p o ile s udied  Ho iz./Dep h (cm) 2,0–1,0 (%) 1,0–0,5 (%) 0,5–0,25 (%) 0,25–0,125 (%) 0,125–0,063 (%) 0,063– 0,031 (%) 0,031– 0,015 (%) 0,015– 0,007 (%) 0,007– 0,0039 (%) 0,0039– 0,0019 (%) A11 (0–20) 0 0 3,55 63,95 32,48 7,5 22,5 5 5 2,5 2A/B (20–40) 1,09 3,03 23,15 63,27 9,45 n.d n.d n.d. n.d. n.d. 3BC1 (40–130) 0 0 2 24 74 17,5 25 10 5 5   To explain he ege a ion clima e changes wi h he ini ial deepes ho izon, we could use he Types o Bioclima ic Regimes o Cáma a (2004) applied in o he geog aphic egions (Cáma a e al., 2005) om he Wo ldclim clima e da abase (Hijmans e al., 2005). The change om d y- Conclusions The blackening p ocess ha a ec s he uppe pa o he p o ile s udied comes o mask he p esence o wo e y di e en ho izons o med unde di e en en i onmen al condi ions. As a consequence o hese e osi e phases, he pedogenesis ha subhumid mesoc yo-mesophylle condi ions (16) wi h he p esence o pines and deciduous o es s owa ds he cu en subhumid-d y and semia id c yo-mesophylle condi ions (7 and 8) co esponding o he s eppe could explain he p esence o some o he pollen ypes ound (Fig. 4). a ec s he ini ial pa en al loessic ma e ial appea s independen o ha o hese highe ho izons. These changes ha e occu ed on a his o ical scale wi h ecological signi icance o he las 2500 yea s BP de i ed om an h opogenic and/o clima ic ac ion wi h he p esence o di e en species om hose cu en ly p esen . Fig. 4. Types o bioclima ic egimen changes zones (Cáma a, 2004) om clima e da a base wo dclim (Hijmans e al., 2005) Ecol. Noosphe ., 31(2) 63 Ecol. 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