Soil development on the Crimean Peninsula in the Late Holocene

The study of soils of different ages in different physiographic regions of the Crimean Peninsula made it possible to reveal the main regularities of pedogenesis in the Late Holocene (in the past 2800 years). With respect to the average rate of the development of soil humus horizons, the main types of soils in the studied region were arranged into the following sequence: southern chernozems and dark chestnut soils > mountainous forest brown soils > gravelly cinnamonic soils. In the newly formed soils, the accumulation of humus developed at a higher rate than the increase in the thickness of humus horizons. A sharp decrease in the rates of development of soil humus profiles and humus accumulation took place in the soils with the age of 1100-1200 years. The possibility for assessing the impact of climate changes on the pedogenetic process on the basis of instrumental meteorological data was shown. The potential centennial fluctuations of the climate in the Holocene determined the possibility of pulsating shifts of soil-geographic subzones within the steppe part of the Crimea with considerable changes in the rates of the development of soil humus horizons in comparison with those in the Late Holocene.