The Holocene palaeogeography of Paanajärvi National Park, northwestern Russia

Abstract

The Holocene palaeogeography of Paanajärvi National Park was studied by geobotanical, palaeobotanical, palynological and radiocarbon methods, and certain classes of living organisms such as Algae, Fungi, Rhizopoda and Rotatoria were analysed microscopically for the first time in the area. To increase the reliability of the reconstructions, sub-recent spectra for all the major types of habitats used to obtain habitat-vegetation relation coefficients were analysed. Time boundaries were determined for the evolutionary stages of the zonal and local palaeovegetation by direct 14-C dating or by the estimation of peat increment. Forests were shown to have predominated from the mid-Boreal period (8500 B.P.) onwards. The following succession occurred: north-taiga pine forests combined with thin birch forests (8500–8000 B.P.), north-taiga birch-pine forests (8000–7200 B.P.), mid-taiga pine forests (7200–5200 B.P.), mid-taiga spruce forests with thin pine forests (5200–2500 B.P.) and north-taiga spruce forests with some pine stands (2500 B.P.– present time). The evolutionary stages of the forest and mire vegetation are correlated with changes in hydrological regime and climate. It is shown that the former lake regime can be reconstructed by analysing the composition of the algae and other organisms.