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Dynamics of peat plateau near the southern boundary of the East European permafrost zone

  • Genesis and Geography of Soils
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Abstract

Detailed study of a peat plateau near the southern boundary of the East European permafrost zone has been performed. The botanical and palynological compositions of the peat to the depth of 10 m, its radiocarbon dates (the AMS method), and its physical and chemical characteristics have been determined. The accumulation of peat in this area began about 8300 years ago at the end of the Boreal period. In the middle of the Atlantic period, the rate of peat accumulation reached 1.44 mm/yr. During the warming phase in the Middle Subboreal period, the peat plateau was subjected to active thermal erosion; part of the peat was eroded. The processes of thermal erosion are also active at present and destroy the edges of peat mounds. At the same time, the gradual accumulation of peat on the plateau continues. An increase in the degree of peat mineralization is expected upon the establishment of aerobic conditions against the background degradation of the permafrost. Peat plateaus and large peat mounds have been the sinks of atmospheric carbon for a larger part of their history. In this context, we do not expect their significant negative influence on the climate in the future.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Biology, Komi Science Center, Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, ul. Kommunisticheskaya 28, Syktyvkar, Komi Republic, 167982, Russia

    A. V. Pastukhov & D. A. Kaverin

  2. Institute of Geology, Komi Science Center, Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, ul. Pervomaiskaya 54, Syktyvkar, 167982, Russia

    T. I. Marchenko-Vagapova

  3. Tomsk State University, prosp. Lenina 36, Tomsk, 634050, Russia

    S. P. Kulizhskii

  4. Institute of Biology, Karelian Research Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences, ul. Pushkinskaya 11, Petrozavodsk, 185910, Russia

    O. L. Kuznetsov

  5. Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, ul. Akad. Laverent’eva 17, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russia

    V. S. Panov

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  1. A. V. Pastukhov
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  2. T. I. Marchenko-Vagapova
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  3. D. A. Kaverin
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Correspondence to A. V. Pastukhov.

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Original Russian Text © A.V. Pastukhov, T.I. Marchenko-Vagapova, D.A. Kaverin, S.P. Kulizhskii, O.L. Kuznetsov, V.S. Panov, 2017, published in Pochvovedenie, 2017, No. 5, pp. 544–557.

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Pastukhov, A.V., Marchenko-Vagapova, T.I., Kaverin, D.A. et al. Dynamics of peat plateau near the southern boundary of the East European permafrost zone. Eurasian Soil Sc. 50, 526–538 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1064229317030097

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S1064229317030097

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