Impact of fires on the dynamics of forest ecosystems in Central Evenkia during the last 3.5 ka

The paper discuss new evidence of vegetation changes and fire frequency over the past 3,5 ka BP in the middle part of the Lower Tunguska River basin (Central Evenkia) based on multyproxy studies of the sediment core from a swampy larch forest. The sampling plot is located within the area of the Evenki scientific station of the V. N. Sukachev Institute of Forest, SB RAS. New paleobotanical data, the results of macroscopic charcoal analysis and detailed radiocarbon dating of the sediment core are presented.
The example of the local ecosystem under study proves that fires were an important factor in the evolution of forest ecosystems within the cryolithozone of Central Siberia and triggered the paludification process during the Late Holocene. Five stages of fire frequency changes were identified. During the first stage (3600-2700 cal. yr. BP), the fire-free interval was 150 years, and during the next stage (2700-1500 cal. yr. BP) it increased up to 300 years. Between 1500 and 700 cal. yr. BP, including the climate warming of the Medieval Climatic Anomaly, the fire-free interval went down to 115 years. The significant cooling during the Little Ice Age (700-200 cal. yr. BP) led to reduction in the number of fires, and the fire-free interval was 275 years. The data obtained showed that during the period under review (3,5 ka), the frequency of forest fires in the study area reached its maximum within the last 200 years. The fire return period was about 80 years, which is close to the average fire-free interval in the study area reconstructed by dendrochronological data for the same period. The reconstruction of the fire regime demonstrated that the frequency of forest fires was higher during warm phases of the Late Holocene and decreased in the cold intervals. We suggest that during the periods of cooling the shorter and possibly colder summers reduced the evaporation and increased the ground moisture in many habitats, which was unfavorable for the initiation and expansion of forest fires.

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