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In the floodplain of the Moskva-river near Nikolina Gora 3, well-developed buried soils have been revealed. The lower soil of Boreal-Atlantic age, a Chernozem, contains pollen of steppe plants but no pollen of conifers. Subboreal and Subatlantic soils have light humus-eluvial horizons. Subatlantic soils also have a well-developed Bt horizon. The pollen data shows the distribution of the spruce forests in the second half of the Holocene. Some signs of economic activities, such as the pollen of ruderal plants and coal, appear at the end of the formation of the Atlantic soil and correspond to the Neolithic. In the Subatlantic soils, there are many traces of intensive development of the floodplain associated with the economic activity of the population of Iron Age and early Middle Ages. The pollen and soil characteristics indicate deforestation of the floodplain and the continued existence of anthropogenic grasslands and meadows within a radius of 1 km from the settlements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to radiocarbon dating, the ages of the four major soils developed on the floodplains are as follows: (1) modern, (2) 2500–800 cal BP, (3) 4700–3000 cal BP, and (4) 7000–5300 cal BP. The Late-Holocene soil 2 is usually defined as Albeluvisol or Luvisol. It has a developed profile with clearly expressed argic horizons (Bt). It is markedly different from the underdeveloped soil 1 (Fluvisol) and soil 4 (Phaeozem or Chernozem) that have a dark humus (mollic, chernic) horizon. Soil 2 has a typical light gray color of the humus horizon and is characterized by the accumulation of clay fraction in the Bt horizon as compared with the overlying E horizon. Micromorphological data indicate that the Bt horizon has well-developed clay films on pore walls and on the surface of aggregates. Cultural layers belonging to the Iron Age or early Middle Ages are sometimes located in Soil 2. Pollen analysis of this soil attests to its development under forest vegetation, which corresponds to the genesis of Luvisols and Albeluvisols. However, in some places near ancient settlements, characteristic features of the E and Bt horizons become weakly pronounced, and a well-developed dark humus (umbric) horizon is diagnosed in the soil profiles. These soils are marked by the abundance of pollen of herbs, including cultivated cereals and weeds. This is evidently related to the anthropogenic activity and the propagation of secondary grassy and ruderal vegetation that replaced forests on the floodplains. Floodplain environments are considered unsuitable for the development of Luvisols and Albeluvisols within a larger part of the Holocene. These soils appeared on the floodplains in the Late Holocene in relation to the propagation of forest vegetation and extremely low floods within a relatively long time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Floodplain deposits in the valley of the Moskva River contain a series of buried soils of the Holocene age, which can be an important source of paleoecological information. These soils were dated as follows: Soil 1 — 100 BP, Soil 2 — cal 1200 AD–500 BC, Soil 3 — 900–2700 BC, and Soil 4 — 3700–6000 BC. Archeological monuments associated with these soils belong to the Neolithic (Soil 4), Early Bronze Age (Soil 3), and Iron Age and Middle Ages (Soil 2). Buried soils have well developed profiles and diagnostic features. Dark-colored soils of the Atlantic period (Soil 4) in most cases can be attributed to Phaeozems. Pollen analysis shows that these soils were formed under forest-steppe communities. Buried soils of the Subatlantic period (Soil 2) are usually referred to as Luvisols. Unlike them, the soils of the Subboreal period (Soil 3) are traced in rare cases and have no clear diagnostic features allowing reconstruction of the paleoenvironment. These soils have a light-colored humus horizon, which does not allow them to be classified as Phaeozems. However, they do not have the Bt horizon characteristic of Luvisols. This paper describes the results of a new comprehensive study of the Moskva River floodplain near the Zvenigorod Biological Station (ZBS) of Moscow State University. The buried soils of the Atlantic and Subboreal periods were studied by palaeopedological and palynological methods. The findings confirmed previously obtained results and indicated that the buried Soil 3 at the ZBS site could be developed under mixed forests dominated by spruce. These results suggest that the landscapes of the lower levels of the valley changed dramatically between 5000 and 4500 cal BP. The forest-steppe communities were replaced by dense forests due to the early Subboreal climate change. The paper also examines the specifics of soil and pollen records of the landscape evolution. The anthropogenic influence on the floodplain landscapes is also considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]