During the Late Holocene forest-steppe areas of the Russian Plain were influenced by climatic fluctuations. A soil chronosequence that included two buried and five surface soils located in the Late Sarmatian kurgan cemetery (Lipetsk region, Russia) was studied by pedological and microbiomorphic methods with numerical dating control. This research aims to reconstruct the paleoenvironments of the studied area over the period preceding the kurgan construction. Both buried and surface soils, formed in close proximity within the same geomorphic position and in the similar parent material, are presented by Greyzemic Luvic Phaeozem. The topsoil horizons of the buried soils were truncated while constructing the earthen mounds by 20 and 35 cm. The buried soils are similar to the surface soils, indicating the similarity of environmental conditions. However, the climate at 1700 years cal BP was slightly less humid than nowadays, that is evidenced by higher TOC and crystalline forms of iron oxides content. The microbiomorphic data show that the vegetation of the study site in the 3rd c. AD had a higher portion of thin-leaved arboreal species, a lower portion of meadow herbaceous species and less developed understory than nowadays. The earthen kurgan construction consists of a core part made of the earthen bricks and then covered by a mound. The brickwork includes bands of light and dark material, which are closely intertwined and are hard to separate from each other. In the dark parts were formed well-organised artificial clay coatings; light parts contain a high amount of phytoliths of hygrophytes.

The loess-paleosol sequence of the Striguny outcrop is located in the Belgorod region, in the forest-steppe area. The study of the depositional environment, pedogenesis, and pedostratigraphy of the MIS5 paleosols within the OSL chronological framework is the focus of this paper. Field data are supported by micromorphology, grain size distribution, chemical, and geochemical properties. The buried paleosols reveal the dramatic environmental trend (progressive aridization and cooling) from the Last Interglacial to the end of the Early Glacial. The lower paleosol (Albic Retisol) corresponds to the moderately warm and humid climate of boreal mixed forests during the Last Interglacial (MIS5e). Throughout the transition to the Early Glacial, boreal forests were replaced by productive boreal steppe with Chernozems and then by cold, arid steppe with Calcic Cambisols. Cryogenesis accompanied pedogenesis during the whole Early Glacial period. The diagenetic impact resulted in a decrease in organic carbon and the calcification of Albic Retisol. The tripartite pattern of the MIS5 chronozone of LPS Striguny may serve as a good stratigraphic marker for the onset of the Late Pleistocene, allowing correlation with loess-paleosol sequences of the Northern Hemisphere and linking it with global climatic fluctuations recorded in marine sediments. The buried Glossic Albic Retisol is similar to the modern soils of the Southern Taiga, which now occur 500 km to the north of the study area. This means that the bioclimatic pattern during the last interglacial was different than it is today. The present study establishes the current most southerly position of the forest soil of the Last Interglacial on the Russian Plain.

The morphology, age, and genesis of the river valleys within the area of Quaternary ice sheets is still a matter of debate despite their long study history. In the upper reaches, the Volga River flows across the Moscow (Late Saalian, MIS 6) glacial area and, like other rivers in the glacial areas, was deeply influenced by the glacier. Two bedrock steps within the valley, its slopes, and adjacent uplands are covered with a uniform mantle of bipartite sediments left by the Moscow glacier. This indicates that the ancient valley was buried by a glacier and no flood terraces formed. The paper provides the first systematic study of soils in bipartite sediments across the Upper Volga River valley, including depositional environments, pedostratigraphy, and a more reliable chronological framework by luminescence dating and altitude references. Field investigation is supported by micromorphology, grain size distribution, and chemical properties. Soil horizons formed in the glacial till exhibit features similar to those in bipartite soils on the uplands. These include those acquired prior to deposition and those related to pedogenesis and frost impact from the Last Interglacial to the present. In contrast, the cover layer of soils within the river valley differs from the upland soils, being reworked by aeolian processes in the Late Glacial environment (17.5-12.4 ka). Its thickness varies with topographic position, reflecting the intensity of aeolian sedimentation. Argic horizons of soils buried by a thick layer of silty sand in the Late Glacial are similar to those of unburied soils, providing the first direct indication that these properties were largely formed during the Last Interglacial. The mantle distribution of soils in bipartite sediments confirms that the topography of the study area represents a relic glacial relief of Moscow (Late Saalian, MIS 6) time.

The soils buried under the early medieval mounds of the 9th and early 11th centuries AD were studied. The reconstruction of environmental trendу and their influence on soils was carried out on the basis of a comparative analysis of the properties of soils buried under mounds of different ages, surface soils, and newly formed soil on mound structures supplemented with data on the time of soil formation on sandy parent rocks in the taiga zone. The study area belongs to the Baltic province of soddy-podzolic soils of the southern taiga subzone. Soils buried under mound structures characterize periods with different climatic conditions. Soils that developed before burial in the cool and humid climate of the 8th–9th centuries AD are specified by the mobility of iron compounds in the profile and a morphologically pronounced accumulation of bleached quartz grains in its upper part. The influence of relatively warm and dry climate of the 10th century AD on the processes of soil formation is manifested in the lower mobility of iron compounds, more active humus accumulation, and less pronounced bleaching of mineral grains. The time of formation of the profile of soddy podbur in the material of mound structures was estimated at 1000 years. The construction of the mound structures consisted in successive filling of the mound from the edges to the center of the site, so that the material of middle horizons of the initial natural soil turned out to be in the upper part of the mound.

Paleopedology is a booming scientific discipline that studies the soils of the past geological epochs in order to assess the paleoenvironmental evolution. The scope of paleosol studies embraces not only soils themselves, but also the products of their involvement in biogeosphere cycles. This ensures the planetary role of pedogenesis, which includes the transformation of the upper layers of the lithosphere leading to the increase in fine earth, formation of new minerals, and residual or accumulative concentration of elements. In the geological history of the Earth, pedogenesis is realized within the framework of exogenesis, which includes weathering, soil formation, sedimentation, diagenesis, and geochemical migration. The pedolithosphere records the critical points in the landscape evolution of the Earth from the very onset of the geological record, including the oxygenation of the atmosphere, the emergence of the higher plants and herbaceous biomes, the dynamics of Interglacial–Glacial cycles, etc. Paleosols are the base for paleogeographic reconstructions and predictive models of the future climate change. Paleopedology expands the horizons of soil science within the system of biogeosphere sciences and determines the development of new scientific disciplines—bacterial paleontology, paleogeochemistry, biogeomorphology, astropedology, geoarchaeology, ecological paleopedology, soil paleocryogenesis and cryobiosphere studies. The historical dimension granted by paleopedology makes pedology a mature historical science.

Soils buried under five defensive ramparts of the Early Iron and Middle Ages were studied in the forest-steppe zone of the Russian Plain (Lipetsk region, Russia). The time of the burial differs from each other for hundred years allowing studying variation of soil properties based on short-term chronosequences within these ranges and reconstructing the comparatively short climatic trends. Similar topographic positions, particle-size distribution, bulk elemental composition, and major morphological features were the base for comparing buried and surface soils, aiming to link the differences in the pedofeatures with climatic fluctuations. The studied soils display polygenetic features that were formed under forest (clay cutans) or steppe (carbonate neoformations, mollic horizons) environments. Generally, the Early Iron Age environment was similar to the modern one, which is confirmed by the similarity between the soil buried similar to 2500 yrs BP and the surface soils (Greyzemic Luvic Phaeozems). The detailed chronosequence allows distinguishing alternating humid and arid phases during the studied time interval. Soil response to climatic phases is recorded by rather dynamic pedofeatures: carbonate, gypsum and greyzemic properties, and the properties of the mollic horizon. Following climatic fluctuations, these pedofeatures can appear and then be erased or transformed, evidenced by a multi-layered cutan complex with alternating clay and carbonate coatings. As a result, the surface soils of the study area are polygenetic and combine features formed under steppe and forest environments. The alternating phases of forest and steppe pedogenesis throughout the entire Holocene, especially in the Late Holocene, when ancient tribes influenced the studied areas, testifies against the decisive role of anthropogenic input in the formation of Chernozems.

The chronosequence of soils buried under constructions of different ages at the large (3.5 m in height and 74 m in diameter) Shumny Kurgan in the Krasnodar region has been studied. The kurgan was built sequentially by the people of Catacomb (28th–22nd centuries BC) and Srubnaya (15th–10th centuries BC) cultures and includes five constructions made of the material of local soils and anthropogenic admixtures. Each of the subsequent constructions overlapped the previous one and went beyond it, covering some additional space. This allows us to study a consecutive series of soils buried under the constructions. During the kurgan building (28th–10th centuries BC), the morphological and physicochemical properties of the soils changed: the content of organic matter and magnetic susceptibility increased, whereas the mixing up of the upper horizons by burrowing animals, the content of carbonates, and the exchangeable sodium percentage decreased. The direction of these changes in the properties of the materials of kurgan constructions over time agree with changes in the properties of corresponding buried soils. For the uneven-aged constructions of the kurgan, local soils were used, which had different properties at the stages of the construction. These soils occupied a significantly larger area than the kurgan, which increases the reliability of the study. Evolutionary changes in the properties of buried soils and earth materials of kurgan structures are indicative of the climatic trend during the long-term kurgan construction—an increase in atmospheric moistening and a decrease in the mean annual temperature from the Early Catacomb to Srubnaya cultures. An independent palynological analysis of buried paleosols confirms this conclusion about the tendency of climate changes. According to micromorphological data, the Early Catacomb time can be additionally characterized as an arid epoch, which manifested itself in soil cracking and accumulation of carbonates in the upper part of soil profiles. Based on the structure and properties of the kurgan, it is possible to identify technologies of the construction, which included tamping down of earthy material in dry and wet states; its mixing; and adding of river silt, charcoal, and bones.

Paleosols are frequently used to recreate past climates. In the forest-steppe zone of the Russian Plain (Lipetsk region, Russia), Early Iron and Middle Ages defensive ramparts' buried soils were discovered. The parent material and similar topographic situations served as the foundation for the comparison of buried and surface soils. Following the dynamics of the landscape from 2500 years ago to the present is possible according to detailed chrono-sequences of soils positioned in similar relief positions and in the same parent material. In this article, an analysis of 8 soils buried at various times is described. The data add to the original research and include detailed morphological descriptions that conform to international standards. Physico-chemical analysis includes determination of pH, organic and carbonate carbon, exchange cations, macro- and microelements. Numerous analytical techniques can be used to investigate issues including the genesis and deterioration of the mollic horizon, the influence of human activity on the production and preservation of Chernozems, and the degree and rate of changes in soil features driven on by climatic changes.

The Late Quaternary history of the Caspian Sea remains controversial. One of the major disagreements in this debate concerns the stratigraphic correlation of various deposits in the Caspian Basin. In this paper we identify and date, for the first time, the Enotaevka regression, lying between the two major phases of the largest Late Quaternary Caspian Sea transgression, the Khvalynian transgressive epoch, and provide a minimum estimate of sea level decrease during this regression. The River Volga is the major source of water to the Caspian; the Lower Volga region is unique in its record of palaeogeographic events, and this provides the opportunity to build a single stratigraphic and palaeogeographic history for the Pleistocene of Central Eurasia. Here we use luminescence to establish a new chronology for the largest Late Quaternary transgressive epoch of the Caspian Sea. The existing radiocarbon chronology does not allow the resolution of the two transgressive phases of this epoch (Early and Late Khvalynian). Based on clear palaeontological and geomorphological evidence, these must be very different in age, but shells associated with both transgressions gave very scattered ages of between 8 and 50 ka. This ambiguity has led to considerable discussion concerning the existence or otherwise of a deep Enotaevka regression phase between the two Khvalynian transgressions. Recently we have again identified these deposits at Kosika, on the right valley side of the Volga River. The new luminescence chronology described here, based on quartz OSL and K-feldspar pIRIR(290) ages, allows us to reconstruct the complicated history of Late Quaternary sedimentation in the southern part of the Lower Volga valley. The Kosika section reflects the following major stages: (1) the earlier Khazarian transgressive epoch; (2) a decrease in the sea level with the development of a freshwater lake/lagoon in the Volga valley; and (3) the Khvalynian transgressive-regressive epoch, including both the Early and Late Khvalynian transgressive periods, and the intercalated Enotaevka regression. Sea level during the early stage of the Khvalynian transgression reached Kosika at about 23-22 ka (approx. -1 to -2 m asl). This event is of the same age as the "grey clay" strata at the base of the Leninsk section marine unit (Kurbanov et al., 2021), also formed at the beginning of the Early Khvalynian transgression. Around 15-14 ka the Khvalynian basin moved to a regressive stage, and in the northern part of the Lower Volga the top part of the well-known 'Chocolate Clay' accumulated. In the southern part of the valley marine accumulation stopped at about 12-13 ka. This allows us to reconstruct a decrease in Early Khvalynian basin sea level between 15-14 ka and 13-12 ka ago, of about similar to 15 m. At the Kosika section sediments derived from the Enotayevka regression are visible as a weakly developed palaeosol with evidence of surficial erosion, and these sediments are now dated to 13-12 ka. At 8.6 +/- 0.5 ka, during the period of the Mangyshlak regression, aeolian deflation processes reworked sediments deposited by immediately preceding Late Khvalynian transgression.

A study was conducted on the buried soils identified at the base of the foundation of the Cabin of Peter the Great in Saint Petersburg, Russia, to help trace the Late Holocene landscape evolution in the lower reaches of the Neva River. The Cabin is a small wooden house, which was the first residence of Peter the Great in a newly emerged Saint-Petersburg. The house was built of pine logs on the Neva River's right bank. The time of its construction is now regarded as the city's founding date (1703). The pedocomplex with two buried soils has not been truncated and retains a record of the depositional environment, pedogenesis, vegetation history, and human activity before the construction of the city of Saint Petersburg. This pedocomplex was studied using various field and laboratory methods including soil morphology at macro-, meso-, and microlevels, and a full set of microbiomorphic analyses (diatoms, pollen, spores, phytoliths, plant detritus, and amorphous organic matter) supported by radiocarbon dating. The sediment sequence was formed in a contrasting depositional environment. The microbiomorphic studies indicated that the initial substrate was formed in aquatic environments. The analysis of diatoms suggested that these sediments were accumulated as a result of the River Neva breakthrough from Lake Ladoga to the Gulf of Finland ca 3500 yrs BP, which provided additional evidence for the River Neva formation. Soil analyses revealed two inundation events, with the earlier flood related to the termination of the Lake Ladoga transgression (LT) and the breakthrough of the Neva River, whereas the latter flood was likely to be connected with an increase of the fluvial activity. Those two inundation events were followed by two stages of pedogenesis. Both soils indicated the hiatus in sedimentation and were represented by Subquatic Umbric Gleysols that were the most widespread indigenous soils in the XVII century. The pollen data suggest that human impact started at ca 800 yrs BP and eventually resulted in the deforestation and the initial agricultural exploration of the study area. Saint Petersburg is the only large city in Russia that could be at risk from flooding if the sea level rises due to continuing global warming. Our research shows that the city's historical center was twice subjected to flooding in the Late Holocene, even without rises in the sea level. Therefore, the detailed analysis of the environmental dynamics within the Lower Neva area and the assessment of its possible consequences for the city are of great importance.

The normally-closed Caspian Sea is known for large changes in relative sea-level (of similar to 170 m) during the late Quaternary. These transgressive/regressive events influenced the topography, sedimentation and ecosystems of a large area, of up to 1 million km(2). The Volga River has played an important role in the water balance of the Caspian Quaternary basins but our understanding of the temporal evolution is poorly constrained. Recent studies on the evolution of the Lower Volga have focused mainly on the subaerial sequence of loess-palaeosol series corresponding to a long-duration Caspian low stand (the so-called "Atelian regression" from similar to 90 to similar to 25 ka). In this study we address, for the first time, the temporal evolution of the Volga River during the late Quaternary, as recorded in the many layers of alluvial sands at the Raygorod reference section. This 50 m high outcrop contains a complicated sequence of different types of interlayered alluvium (channel and floodplain facies), a loess-palaeosol sequence with a weakly developed palaeosol, and marine sediments of the Khvalynian transgression (Chocolate Clay facies). The new chronology, based on 35 samples, is derived using optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) analysis of sand-sized quartz, with support from post-infra-red infra-red stimulated luminescence (post-IR IRSL) from K-rich feldspar grains to date the older parts of the section. The new ages identify five stages of the topography development in the northern parts of the Lower Volga: (1) an MIS 5a flood-plain in deltaic/estuary environments (>90 ka) during a high-stand of the Caspian Sea (Hyrcanian transgression); (2) a transition from deltaic/estuary conditions to a river valley with normal alluvial sedimentation and sporadic stabilization reflected in palaeosol development (80-70 ka); (3) a palaeo-Volga channel migration at elevations of 4-8 m msl during 69-62 ka, evidence of a brief increase in Caspian Sea-level and blocking of the Volga flow; (4) a subaerial stage with high-speed accumulation of loess during MIS 4 to MIS 2, containing one weakly developed palaeosol (MIS 3c) and pedocomplex of three combined palaeosols of the beginning of MI52 (30-24 ka); (5) a rapid Khvalynian transgression, starting at the Raygorod location at similar to 18.3 ka, with relatively weak marine erosion of the top 40-60 cm of loess cover, presumably because of the rapid migration of the coastline in the flat Northern Caspian Lowland.

Retisols are the most spread soil in the boreal forests of the Russian Plain. Their features are usually linked to the Holocene pedogenesis. However, Retisols formed in the bipartite sediments of Moscow age (sandy cover layer on top of the glacial till) could have experienced pedogenic and cryogenic impact much earlier, starting from the last Interglacial. The subdivision of relic and modern features is still incomplete. In our work, OSL datings together with micromorphological studies indicate that the cover layer was formed by local rewashing of the glacial till during the deglaciation of the Moscow glacier. GPR investigation shows the mantle bedding of the cover layer and proves the stability of uplands and slopes since deposition, which confirms their exposure to long time pedogenesis. Detailed morphology, micromorphology, microtomography, clay mineralogy and AMS dating confirm the presence of polygenetic modern and relic features in the profile of Retisols. Within the cover layer, pedogenesis resulted in a set of embedded soil profiles that have been formed in balance with the modern environment. In the glacial till pedogenesis is mostly exhibited on the ped faces as a set of multi-layered clay and clay-humus coatings. Based on AMS dating of the inner layer of the clay infilling, it was argued that clay illuviation had started during the last interglacial (MIS5e) and continued through the Holocene. The studied soils should be considered as surface paleosols (polygenetic soils) with the palimpsest type of soil memory, reflecting environmental evolution during the last interglacial-glacial cycle and the Holocene.

We present a detailed luminescence chronology of the loess-palaeosol sequences in the Lower Volga region of Russia at the Leninsk site - an important palaeogeographic archive describing the climate and environmental conditions of regressive stages of the Caspian Sea. The chronology of these sediments has received very little attention compared to the under- and overlying marine deposits. The degree of bleaching was addressed by making use of the differential resetting rates of quartz and feldspar. Our results show that the quartz OSL and feldspar pIRIR(50)(,)(290) signals were sufficiently bleached before deposition and uncertainties in bleaching have a negligible impact on the reliability of the luminescence ages. The combined quartz OSL and K-feldspar pIRIR(50)(,)(290) chronology constrains the main stages of the Northern Caspian Lowland evolution during the Late Quaternary. During early MIS 5 (130-120 ka), the northern part of the Lower Volga was covered by a shallow brackish water estuary of the warm Late Khazarian Caspian Sea transgression. After similar to 122 ka, the Volga incised the Northern Caspian Lowland surface following sea-level decrease and the start of subaerial conditions at Leninsk. Loess accumulation rate increased towards the end of MIS 5 and two palaeosols of presumably MIS 5c and MIS 5a age formed, exhibiting features evidencing a dry, cold climate, influenced by long seasonal flooding by the Volga River. Cryogenesis affecting the MIS 5a soil is a regional phenomenon and is dated to between similar to 70 and 90 ka. The overlying thick Atelian loess unit formed during the cold periods of MIS 4 and MIS 3. Clear erosional features at the top of the Atelian loess are constrained by luminescence to similar to 35 to similar to 24 ka, allowing reconstruction of erosion of 150-200 cm of loess.

An archaeological pit with a buried paleosol overlain by four cultural layers was studied at the site of Tula Kremlin (Central Russian Upland) using macro- and micromorphological, microbiomorphic and physicochemical methods. As a result, we obtained a paleoenvironmental reconstruction of landscape changes, characteristics of early human occupation stages and an explanation of why this large cultural and economic center of the late Middle Ages was located within the floodplain of the Upa River. The absence of fluvial deposits and gleyic features within the profile of the buried soil indicates that the site, confined to the basement terrace, has never been flooded. The buried soil of Tula Kremlin and the surface soils on the adjacent uplands are formed in similar loess sediments and have similar profiles. Prior to the construction of fortifications, the study site was used as a ploughland or a garden for a short period. Pedogenic features that were preserved within the cultural layers showed that cultural layer 1 (17th-18th centuries) was formed under relatively humid climatic conditions, whereas cultural layer 2 (16th-17th centuries) developed under slightly drier and cooler conditions. The paleosol buried under those cultural layers at the end of 15th- beginning of 16th centuries, as compared to the surface soil, showed clearer signs of humus accumulation and weaker greyzemic features, what allows us to reconstruct a warmer climate with drier summers during the Medieval Climate Anomaly.

Изучение свойств палеопочвы и культурных слоев разреза Тульского кремля позволило провести палеоэкологическую реконструкцию этапов преобразования ландшафта, охарактеризовать ранние стадии человеческой деятельности на данной территории, а также объяснить расположенность крупного культурного и хозяйственного центра позднего Средневековья на низком гипсометрическом уровне в непосредственной близости от уреза реки Упы. Были изучены морфологические и физико-химические характеристики погребенной почвы и культурных слоев, рассчитаны геохимические коэффициенты, а также проведены микроморфологический и микробиоморфный анализы. Показано, что участок, на котором расположена крепость, никогда не заливался рекой. Почва на покровных (лёссовидных) отложениях характеризуется строением профиля, типичным для окружающих водораздельных пространств, в ней признаки оглеения (переувлажнения) выражены слабо или не выражены вовсе. Перед возведением укреплений на данном участке недолго была пашня или огород. В культурных слоях за счет привноса различных строительных материалов отмечается накопление веществ и элементов, не свойственных окружающим почвам. Педогенные признаки, сохранившиеся в культурных слоях, позволили реконструировать динамику палеоклиматических условий в разные периоды строительства или перестройки кремля. Культурный слой 1 (XVII-XVIII вв.) формировался в сравнительно влажных климатических условиях, а во время формирования культурного слоя 2 (XVI-XVII вв.) было немного суше, но и холоднее. The study of the buried soil and cultural layers in the Tula Kremlin allowed providing paleoenvironmental reconstruction for the period between 16th century and present, to reveal the early land use practices, and also to explain the location of a large cultural and economic center of the late Middle Ages at a low hypsometric level in the immediate vicinity of the edge of the Upa River. The research is based on the morphology, micromorphology and analytical features of the buried soil and cultural layers, including geochemical ratios and phytolith assemblages. It is shown that the site where the fortress is located has never been flooded with a river. The soil is formed in mantle (loesslike) loams and is similar to the soils of the surrounding uplands; gleying (waterlogging) features in it are nearly absent. In a short period before the erection of fortifications, this site was used for arable land or vegetable garden. The cultural layers show accumulation of artifacts and elements that are foreign to the soils of the area. Pedogenic features preserved in the cultural layers made it possible to reconstruct the paleoclimatic dynamics in different periods of the Kremlin's construction or rebuilding. Thus, cultural layer 1 (17th-18th centuries) was formed in relatively humid climate, and during formation of cultural layer 2 (16th-17th centuries) it was slightly drier, but also colder than today.

The southern steppes of European Russia are rich in archaeological monuments that were extensively studied for many decades. Nevertheless, paleosols buried under the burial mounds and especially the big kurgans of the Bronze Age in the Ponto-Caspian area did not receive proper attention. The paper focuses on soil evolution and climate dynamics during the Bronze Age based on the study of soils buried during several stages of earthen mound construction within one big kurgan in the Kuban-Azov Plain, Russia. The kurgan 1 in the Beysuzhek-9 kurgan cemetery of the Bronze Age, situated in the Korenovsky District, Krasnodar Region, consists of three earthen mounds made at different times. The soils, buried under three mounds of the kurgan, are located in close vicinity from each other and have similar lithology and geomorphic position. They form a chronosequence representing three time slices. Moreover, the chronosequence displays a certain chronological order of burial: paleosols were first buried in the center of the kurgan and later closer to its periphery. The height of the kurgan is about 4 m that ensures good preservation of the buried soils. The research is based on the comparative analysis of morphology, micromorphology and analytical properties of three paleosols buried under different constructions in the kurgan and surface soil. Also, the palynological analysis was performed for the uppermost layers (0?5 cm) of three paleosols. During the first stage of the kurgan construction, the Novotitorovo archaeological culture of the Early Bronze Age at the 27th-22nd centuries BC, the climate of the region was sufficiently humid and provided a high bioproductivity for surrounding landscapes. The interval between the second and third stages of kurgan construction was marked by the gradual increase in aridity. During the third stage of the kurgan construction (the Catacomb archaeological culture, the Middle Bronze Age, the 21st-16th centuries BC), the climate was mostly arid. The results of the palynological analysis are in agreement with the study of paleosols. During the construction of the kurgan, the vegetation pattern corresponded to a Southern forest-steppe. The percentage of herbaceous plants increased markedly, and steppe species appeared during the time of Catacomb culture.

Srednaya Akhtuba outcrop provides a detailed record of the Late Pleistocene continental and marine deposits and paleosols from MIS5 to MIS1. The MIS5 chronozone is presented by a continuous pedosedimentary sequence with three well-developed paleosols. The paper is based on the study of depositional environment and pedostratigraphy, with OSL chronological framework and precise altitude references. Field data are supported by chemical analyses, micromorphology, and clay mineralogy. A detailed study of MIS5 paleosols was first conducted for the Lower Volga area. Pedosedimentary sequence at that time developed on the river terrace in a backswamp and/or wetland influenced by extremely slow-moving stream after long seasonal floods. Thin loess layers were deposited during the brief episodes of low flood activity, while fluvial heavy loams – at the time of more intensive flooding. Mollic Gleysols and Fluvic Chernozems have been formed in the arid or semi-arid climate with seasonal freezing under productive wet meadows. Changes in the depositional environment resulted in the formation of welded paleosols, marked by textural difference, cryogenic levels, and accretionary humus horizons. Despite the complicated depositional pattern and the influence of seasonal floods, the MIS5 pedosedimentary sequence may serve as a good stratigraphic marker for the onset of Late Pleistocene allowing correlation with loess-paleosol sequences of the whole Ponto-Caspian region and linking it with the global stratigraphic schemes.

During the second half of the Holocene, the Russian Plain experienced several climatic oscillations giving rise to changing vegetation patterns. The spatial variability of vegetation changes and its effects on soils is still a matter of debate. In the present study landscape response to Holocene climatic cycles was analysed on the base of detailed morphological, chemical and microbiomorphic analyses of a paleosol buried under the kurgan of the Abashevo culture (Middle Bronze Age) and a surface soil. Both soils located at the Tokhmeyevo kurgan cemetery (the Middle Volga region, Chuvash Republic, Russia) developed from the same parent material (mantle loam), at the same elevation and in close proximity to each other. Both soils, classified as Retisols, show a similar morphology and key analytical features indicating similar environment. The pollen and phytolith spectra confirm that both buried and surface soils formed under similar forest vegetation. The buried and surface soils at the Tokhmeyevo cemetery could be compared with the previously studied soils of the Sareevo settlement of the Early Iron Age and the Taushkasy kurgan cemetery of the Bronze Age. These studies confirm the stability of the forest environment at the southern boundary of the forest belt since the Bronze Age. At the same time, the buried soil at the Tokhmeyevo cemetery has a thick mollic horizon and black organic coatings overlaying brown clay cutans in the argic horizons, which sets it apart from the surface soil. The radiocarbon dates for the humus in the mollic horizon and black coatings in the argic horizon are surprisingly close to each other (about 5.5 cal ka BP and 5.2 cal ka BP, respectively). The data indicate that the black cutans are derived from degradation of the mollic horizon caused by a sudden increase in humidity during the episodes of extreme summer rainfall events. Our study also prove that the Abashevo people had complicated burial funeral rites. The earth mounds are made of the upper horizons of soils cut off from the surface in the vicinity. The central part of the mound consists of soil bricks with albic material used for the interior, while artificially rumpled material of the argic horizon was used for coverage. The use of albic and artificially rumpled material of argic horizon for earth mound construction implies the similarity between the buried and surface soils since the Bronze Age until today. Thus, the study of such construction techniques is important both for archaeology and paleogeography (paleopedology).

This paper presents the results of geological, geomorphological, geochronological investigations and the analysis of the biological composition of deposits within the high-mountainous Boguty river basin. The main stages of landscape evolution during the last 14 ka have been investigated through 32 radiocarbon dates. The area is located in the most arid southeastern part of Russian Altai and constitutes the eastern periphery of the Chuya intermountain depression, and the western side of the Chikhachev range.Postglacial landscape development of the upper reaches of the Chuya River began from the degradation of its vast glaciation. By 14 ka cal BP the glaciers had either completely melted or retreated above 2500 m above sea level. As a result, numerous lakes occupied open places and five types of these basins can be seen in the modern topography. They are large moraine-dammed lakes connected with the Boguty River, while some basins have been dammed by uplifted tectonic blocks and numerous lakes are of thermokarst origin or are small cirque lakes and temporal lakes fed by seasonal meltwater from meteoric, ground water and permafrost degradation.Large moraine-dammed lakes within the Boguty basin were developed before the Holocene. The water filling these basins was controlled by the height of moraine dams and by the depth of the Boguty river incision. The moraine-dammed Low Boguty Lake formed earlier than 10 ka cal BP. Its partial draining and transformation of littoral zone into peat bog took place about 8.2-7.6 ka cal BP. As a result of the analysis of biological composition, four stages of water level fluctuations in the lacustrine-boggy system were recognized.The specific geomorphic and sedimentary features in the middle part of the Boguty basin determined the recurrence of debris flow events at about 8-7; 2.9-1; 0.65 and 0.3 ka cal BP, but the last event occurred in June 2017.The occurrence of fossil forest soils dating to about 11-8.5 ka cal BP and of charcoals (Larix sibirica Ledeb) of about 8.5-7.8 ka cal BP indicate a prolonged period of developing forest vegetation in the Boguty basin, which is currently treeless. In general, the data suggest that in SE Altai the climate in the first half of the Holocene was warmer and more humid in comparison with the modern one. The second half of the Holocene has been characterized by colder climate conditions accompanied by aridity intensification, which became especially pronounced during the last 2-1.5 ka.