Slash-and-burn cultivation was among the earliest systems of land use that allowed agriculture to expand into forested and less naturally fertile zones beyond the regions where it first developed, but the chronology of this agricultural system is debated. The development and history of slash-and-burn cultivation on the Eastern European Plain was established for the first time using a novel approach. A dataset of 120 radiocarbon dates was obtained on charcoal from swidden soil horizons in major river basins. The earliest swiddens appeared in the Bronze Age in the Dnieper basin, becoming widespread in the beginning of the Early Iron Age. Radiocarbon dates reflect four major waves of expansion of groups practicing swidden agriculture into new territories between 4000 and 500 years ago, and more numerous and asynchronous basin-scale migrations. The expansions alternated with centennial-scale breaks when swiddens became sporadic or disappeared. After the last prolonged break, 200 BCE to 100 CE, slash-and-burn cultivation rapidly expanded and persisted in the forest zone of Eastern Europe. The onset of swidden cultivation and peaks in swidden occurrence coincided either with climate cooling or with climatic transitions.

This study aimed to analyze pollen indicators of slash-and-burn agriculture in soils and aquatic deposits of the southern forest zone of Eastern Europe. Pollen spectra from buried swidden soils (500 - 1800 cal BP) were compared with coeval peat layers and modern surface soils. Swidden horizons exhibited highly distinctive pollen spectra, characterized by Betula dominance, low conifer pollen, and the presence of cultivation indicators (Cerealia) and post-fire succession taxa ( Chamaenerion, Pteridium, Marchantia ). The abundance of insect-pollinated Chamaenerion angustifolium - the most prominent indicator - suggests both its wide distribution in swidden landscapes and a possible link to ground-nesting bee activity, which may aid in identifying buried swiddens. In peat records, the onset of slash-and-burn agriculture was marked by microcharcoal, a decline in late-successional trees, a rise in pioneer taxa, and the appearance of agricultural indicators. Betula dominance in both archives reflects secondary stands typical of long-term swidden use. However, indicators of cultivation and succession were much less pronounced in peat. Our results show that paleosol pollen spectra provide reliable, site-specific evidence of swidden agriculture through local indicator taxa and traces of bee activity, though they tend to overrepresent local vegetation. In contrast, peat and lake records offer broader regional perspectives but detect swidden activity only indirectly. These insights provide a methodological basis for localizing ancient agricultural practices in future archeology and palaeoecology-related studies. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. AAUW, 018870

### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. AAUW, 018870

В этой статье рассматриваются климатические данные и анализируются изменения количества осадков и температуры воздуха с течением времени. Этот анализ послужит разработке потенциальных планов адаптации к практикам устойчивого управления водными ресурсами в этом районе. Сурхандарьинская область, расположенная в южной части Узбекистана, была выбрана из-за проблем нехватки воды и проблем нехватки воды, усугубляемых изменением климата. В исследовании использовались наборы данных Отдела климатических исследований (CRU), которые предоставляют ежемесячные данные об изменении климата с января 1901 года по декабрь 2019 года. Был проведен многолетний анализ температуры воздуха и осадков за последнее столетие, данные были разделены на два 26-летних периода: 1964-1990 и 1990-2016 гг. Результаты показывают, что температура воздуха в районе исследования увеличилась на 0,7°C, что влияет на таяние ледников в районах, расположенных выше по течению, что приводит к воздействию на доступность воды и безопасность.

Abstract The interaction between climate change and disturbances affects forest composition and dynamics, but most of our empirical knowledge comes from short‐term studies of the past century. Pollen and charcoal analyses of lake sediment cores retrieved from three sites in Nova Scotia were used to produce a landscape‐level analysis of long‐term forest cover dynamics and fire disturbances of the past ~2500 years. The present‐day forests had been established by that time, although a long‐term increase in Picea at the expense of northern hardwoods was seen at all sites, consistent with other pollen records found across New England and Eastern Canada. The driving influences of forest change prior to European settlement were a combination of climate and disturbance, acting on site characteristics of each region. Fires were relatively infrequent in this region and did not have a major impact on the evolution of the forests of central Nova Scotia. Changes in the relative abundances of the tree taxa occurred in response to long‐term cooling during the past 3000 years and century‐scale climate variability such as the Little Ice Age (ce 1450–1850) and Medieval Warm Period (ce 800–1300). The impact of climate variability on the fire regime depends on the landscape and vegetation type. “Borealization” of the Acadian Forest, noted during the period of European colonization, has been occurring for millennia.

The history of the development of landscapes and land-use systems on the northern border of the forest-steppe zone of Russia (basin of the Tuskar River, Kursk region) is reconstructed. A multidisciplinary approach includes geomorphological, lithological, paleopedological, micromorphological, radiocarbon, paleobotanical (spore-pollen, carpological, pedoanthrocological) analyzes in the study of soil-sedimentation archives of floodplains (Shumskaya section), slopes (Pereverzevo section), and ravines (Senovaya gully section). The sequences of sediments and soils within accumulative and trans-accumulative archives are one of the most complete and reliable sources of information not only about climate changes, the evolution of ecosystems in the Holocene but also about the history of land use. The formation of a floodplain and a new ravine-gully network in the Late Ice Age backfilled the geomorphological basis for Holocene landscapes. Alluvium, proluvium, and colluvium partially filled the Late Pleistocene floodplain and ravine. In the early Holocene, with limited sedimentation, a well-developed soil, Luviс Gleyic Phaeozem, formed on the stable surface of the newly formed landforms. Its 14C-age is 8.1-8.7 ka yrs cal BP. This paleosol is widespread not only in the forest-steppe area of the Russian Plain but throughout the world. At the beginning of the middle Holocene, during droughts, as a result of strong fires and increased erosion, this paleosol in the floodplains and bottoms of ravines was buried by alluvium and colluvium. An episode of afforestation of the area is also noted. The slopes were covered with deciduous forests with oak and linden. This led to the formation of Gleyic Cutanic Luvisol (Humic, Siltic), as evidenced by the humus-clay cutans in the Ah horizon and degradation of Phaeozem. Strong fires during droughts periodically resumed and were accompanied by a subsequent catastrophic increase in runoff and accumulation of colluvium in the bottoms of ravines. They happened around 8.1, 7.4, and 5.2 ka yrs cal BP, as evidenced by the finds of oak coals, and ferruginous-manganese nodules with a carbonaceous core in colluvial loams. The oak was preserved on the slopes, while other parts of the catchment were essentially treeless. In the late Holocene, the afforestation process intensified. However, about 2.8-2.5 ka years ago, arable farming began to spread in the studied area. In the immediate vicinity of the study site, there were settlements and numerous villages of the Scythian culture population. Deforestation and plowing of land with wooden ralo (ancient Slavic plow) caused slight soil erosion and accumulation of agro-colluvium in the bottoms of the ravines and on the floodplain. With the appearance of iron parts on wooden ralo, the plowing depth increased. Due to the increase of population since the beginning of the new era (4-5 centuries AD), the catchments were cleared for arable land. The onset of continuous erosion and intensive redeposition of the soil mass containing pollen of weeds and cultivated cereals correlates chronologically with the expansion of the population of the Chernyakhov culture into this region. Since that time, the agricultural use of the catchment area and anthropogenic deforestation has continued. The study was supported by the RFBR, project N19-29-05024mk.

The paper presents the results of spore-pollen analysis of 47 surface soil samples from the Middle Volga region, taken both in territories with vegetation close to zonal one and in heavily disturbed vegetation areas and agricultural lands. The analysis showed an ambiguous relationship between subrecent spectra and modern vegetation, both local and regional. This is explained by strong anthropogenic transformation of landscapes and the spread of conifer plantations, which form the basis of the modern “pollen rain”. Comparison of the soil subrecent spectra with the spectra of the buried soils uncovered during archaeological excavations in Bolgar showed that the soils of different archaeological eras differ in the composition of the pollen preserved in them, which reflects significant changes in the landscape over time. These changes are associated mainly with the change of the dominant types of land use. It is shown that the pollen spectra of the trampled open areas (roadsides, wastelands and cattle tracks) have characteristic distinctive features, which can be used in the interpretation of the results of archaeological-soil studies.

The article summarizes the results of a comprehensive landscape-archaeological study of the dynamics of human-environmental interaction in the Middle Sura region during the first millennium AD. The data resulted from the study of the River Sura floodplain at the former confluence of the Sura and the Malaya Sarka. The analysis of the sediments and buried soils indicates that the period between the first millennium BC and the first millennium AD saw a series of climatic cycles changing each other, with the floodplain periodically being available for various types of economic development. The Early Iron Age (first millennium BC – 2nd–3rd centuries AD) saw the formation of grey forest soils in the part of the floodplain under study. During this period, the area remained uninhabited, while the population was involved in the development of the elevated terraces and riverbanks. In contrast, in the second quarter of the first millennium AD the floodplain covered at the time by broadleaf forest had the most favorable conditions for settlement; the area was developed by the population that belonged to the Middle Volga variant of the Kiev culture. Their economic activity resulted in the gradual deforestation of the floodplain, with meadow landscapes arising instead of the forest. The second half of the 5th century saw drastic intensification of the floods and an increased runoff. The sites assigned to this period represent the developed stage of the Imen´kovo culture; these were located on the elevated terraces. The new stage of low flooding dates to the medieval period (8th–13th centuries), the soils bearing traces of steppe formation and subsequent development of the floodplain. Later, in the late Middle Age and the early Modern period, tillage shifted to watersheds and intensified, while the accumulation of layered alluvial deposits on the floodplain started again, with frequent and intense floods taking place. The study of the dynamics of the moistening of the Sura floodplain is asynchronous with the data of other studied regions of the Russian Plain, which raises the question of a relationship between the availability of floodplains for economic development and migration processes.

The Beganchik locality is a stratigraphic sequence of loessic deposits, pedogenic horizons and Paleolithic occupations located at the Kama-Volga confluence. The sequence is exposed on a bluff formed on the west side of an erosional remnant between the Kuybyshev Reservoir and the former channel of the Aktay River. Although the site is known for its Terminal Paleolithic-Mesolithic occupations of the Pleistocene-Holocene transition, evidence of older occupations and remains of fauna has been identified. Our research team identified evidence of human presence associated with a pedogenic horizon of MIS 3 age. Two AMS radiocarbon ages from a hearth produced ages around 47 000 years BP. Pollen and phytoliths from two soils horizons, including the one associated with the hearths indicate a steppe environment coincident with the formation of correlative soils elsewhere in the Russian Plain.

The article examines the materials of the beginning of the Migration period from the Biklyan’ settlement, located in the Lower Kama region. The area of 100 m2 was excavated in 2018, where a rectangular structure slightly deepened into subsoil loam with a large pit in the central part was revealed. The finds are mainly represented by fragments of ceramics, as well as an iron sickle, spinning whorls, a fragment of a crucible and ceramic objects of unknown purpose. The artifacts from the Biklyan’ settlement have close analogies in the materials of the sites dated to the beginning of the Migration period in the Middle Volga region (3rd–4th centuries CE) and reflect the traditions of several different population groups. The bulk of the ceramics collection is similar to the vessels of the Middle Volga variant of the Kiev culture; there are also fragments that find analogies in the assemblages of the forest-steppe peripheral sites of the Late Sarmatian world and in the simultaneous cultures of the Kama region. Stratigraphic records and radiocarbon dating testify in favor of the relatively short-term functioning of the site in the late 3rd – early 4th centuries.

The article summarizes the results of a comprehensive landscape-archaeological study of the dynamics of human-environmental interaction in the Middle Sura region during the first millennium AD. The data resulted from the study of the River Sura floodplain at the former confluence of the Sura and the Malaya Sarka. The analysis of the sediments and buried soils indicates that the period between the first millennium BC and the first millennium AD saw a series of climatic cycles changing each other, with the floodplain periodically being available for various types of economic development. The Early Iron Age (first millennium BC – 2nd–3rd centuries AD) saw the formation of grey forest soils in the part of the floodplain under study. During this period, the area remained uninhabited, while the population was involved in the development of the elevated terraces and riverbanks. In contrast, in the second quarter of the first millennium AD the floodplain covered at the time by broadleaf forest had the most favorable conditions for settlement; the area was developed by the population that belonged to the Middle Volga variant of the Kiev culture. Their economic activity resulted in the gradual deforestation of the floodplain, with meadow landscapes arising instead of the forest. The second half of the 5th century saw drastic intensification of the floods and an increased runoff. The sites assigned to this period represent the developed stage of the Imen´kovo culture; these were located on the elevated terraces. The new stage of low flooding dates to the medieval period (8th–13th centuries), the soils bearing traces of steppe formation and subsequent development of the floodplain. Later, in the late Middle Age and the early Modern period, tillage shifted to watersheds and intensified, while the accumulation of layered alluvial deposits on the floodplain started again, with frequent and intense floods taking place. The study of the dynamics of the moistening of the Sura floodplain is asynchronous with the data of other studied regions of the Russian Plain, which raises the question of a relationship between the availability of floodplains for economic development and migration processes.

The article presents the results of the study of the hillfort at Bolshie Algashi village (Chuvashia, Russia) conducted in 2016–17. The study provides new data on the cultural and economic dynamics in the region during the Bronze and Early Iron Ages. A mixed group of Khula-Syuch and Chirki population can be identified as pastoralists and, probably, also farmers, who developed floodplains and forestless landscapes of the elevated riverbanks. Our research, therefore, provides evidence of almost the oldest farming activity episode in the lower reaches of the Sura River. The Early Iron Age occupation of the site is associated with the Andreevka-Piseraly population, who used the site mostly for its military functions.

Filled mammal tunnels (krotovinas) are the most common traces in modern grassland soils and trace fossils in loess paleosols. Krotovinas are still insufficiently used in paleogeographic reconstructions owing to the absence of a procedure for documenting their features. When their tracemaker can be identified, krotovinas complement body fossil evidence for past geographic ranges of fossorial mammals. Moreover, local palaeoenvironments can be reconstructed more precisely based on the preferred habitat of the identified species. However, the morphology of krotovinas has rarely been reported in detail that would allow their identification.

The development of landscapes of the central part of the Middle-Volga region in the last 2500 years was a discontinuous process of the explosive growth of population and land utilization alternating with stages of depopulation and desolation. The periods of depopulation and transitions of cultures occurred at similar times to climate changes. Some cultures were associated with distinct climatic episodes, such as the association of the Dark Ages Cold Period with Hun, post Hun, Heraldic, and Khasarian times, and the Medival Warm Period with the time of Volga Bulgaria. A combination of archaeological and paleoecological analyses allowed us to reconstruct a sequence of landscape and land use changes in relation to the historical development of the region. The first millennium CE was a time of major changes in population, agricultural technologies, social structure, and settlement patterns in the forest-steppe zone. The MiddleVolga region underwent a transition from a non-populated, mainly-forested landscape of first centuries CE to a highly deforested agricultural landscape of the Volga Bulgarian state by the 11th century CE. Within several centuries, the landscape was transformed by shifting cultivation, wood and ore extraction, and the formation and expansion of pastures and road networks. The process of deforestation in the region was facilitated by the relatively warm climates of the Medieval Warm Period.

The paper features the results of a comprehensive study of the fortifications of the Troitskii-Urai I hillfort. An analysis of a rampart section using the archaeological, geomorphological, palynological and soil science methods has made it possible to draw the following conclusions. The hillfort was built at the site of a community of the Bronze Age – the beginning of the Early Iron Age (12th – 9th centuries B.C.), and the rampart is connected to a saddle, which became an additional element of fortification. Two stages of the rampart’s construction were identified, which was completed by the population of the Post-Maklasheevka culture of Ananyino cultural and historical area. The early rampart is dated the 8th – 5th centuries B.C., and the late rampart was constructed in late 5th – 3rd/2nd centuries B.C. No information on the participation of representatives of the Imenkovo and Bolgar pre-Mongol cultures in the construction of the rampart has been revealed in this section. Throughout the entire period of the hillfort’s existence in the Early Iron Age, its inhabitants were engaged in agriculture, and the predominant consumed food items at its initial and late stages were fish and meat, respectively. The Troitskii-Urai II hillfort was built to the west of the Troitskii-Urai I hillfort in the Imenkovo period (4th –6th centuries).The second one significantly differs in terms of rampart morphology.

An experimental slash-and-burn (SABC) site and a site included in the cycle of SABC in 19th century were used as a reference to describe a signature of this cultivation method in sandy soils. Documented slash-and-burn layers were compared to pyrogenic layers from other sites and time periods in attempt to differentiate between results of slash-and-burn cultivation and wild fires. The swidden layers in sandy soils appeared as 5 to 10-cm thick, dark-coloured "humus" layers with a characteristic scalloped lower boundary, formed by numerous constructions of fossorial insects, predominantly sweat bees. The dark coloration originates from high concentrations of charcoal fragments with a median length of 4 to 5 mm, pebbly shape and silt coating, uniformly distributed within the swidden layers. A low proportion of bark and presence of foliage (buds and needles) in charcoal assemblages are characteristic for SABC layers. The phytolith content of SABC layers varied from tens to hundreds of thousands per gram of soil, with up to 50% of phytoliths being charred. The SABC layers contained dendritic and/or panicoid phytoliths and cereal glumes and paleas indicative of in situ cultivation of crops. The palynological signature of swiddens is a pollen spectrum of forest ecosystem with a proportion of fire-dependant taxa, such as Onagraceae pollen and Marshantia spores.

Several episodes of past afforestation were reconstructed in a grassland area of the Yamskaya Steppe site within the “Belgorie” natural reserve on the Central-Russian Upland. The pedological, palinological, pedoanthracological, and phytolith analyses were applied for studying paleosols buried under artificial and natural mounds, colluvial fan deposits in gullies, and closed depressions on watersheds. The watershed area was covered by the forest vegetation until 6000 years BP, as indicated by palinological spectra in the paleosol of this age. The Bk horizon of the Chernozemic paleosol buried under a burial mound of the Bronze Age (4630 ± 180 years BP) contained Fe-lamellae indicative of the preceded forest phase of soil formation. Micro-depressions within the local watershed contained charcoal-cored iron-manganese concretions with the radiocarbon age varying from 6055 ± 20 to 6155 ± 20 years BP. This age marked a deforestation of the area after large-scale fires. From that time on, the watershed was dominated by the grassland vegetation. The next phase of afforestation was recorded in the beginning of the Subboreal period of Holocene (4600 BP), but the forest appeared to be limited to gullies. Starting with the Subboreal period, the anthropogenic impact on the landscape became apparent.