Journal of Siberian Federal University. Biology / Macrocharcoal in Upper Sediments of the Lakes of North-Minusinsk Valley (Southern Siberia) as a Proxy of Fires on the Surrounding Territory

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Issue
Journal of Siberian Federal University. Biology. 2023 16 (2)
Authors
Rogozin, Denis Yu.; Burdin, Leonid A.; Bolobanshchikova, Galina N.
Contact information
Rogozin, Denis Yu.: Institute of Biophysics SB RAS Federal Research Center “Krasnoyarsk Science Center SB RAS” Krasnoyarsk, Russian Federation; Siberian Federal University Krasnoyarsk, Russian Federation; ; ORCID: 0000-0002-9350-2936; Burdin, Leonid A.: Institute of Biophysics SB RAS Federal Research Center “Krasnoyarsk Science Center SB RAS” Krasnoyarsk, Russian Federation; Siberian Federal University Krasnoyarsk, Russian Federation; Bolobanshchikova, Galina N.: Siberian Federal University Krasnoyarsk, Russian Federation
Keywords
wildfires; charcoal particles; lake sediments
Abstract

Samples of the upper part of bottom sediments collected from saline lakes Shira and Uchum, which are located in the steppe region of southern Siberia (Khakasia and Krasnoyarsk Krai), were analyzed to investigate the distribution of charcoal particles >100 μm. The sediments of ages up to 400 years BP were sampled by a freeze-corer in order to avoid mixing of the uppermost semi-liquid layers. Charcoal particles were divided into three classes according to their morphology. The first-class particles had an elongated shape, and they were interpreted as the remains of herbaceous plants. The second-class particles looked like thin flat plates, and they were interpreted as the remains of leaves. The third group consisted of solid particles of irregular shapes, which presumably were remains of burnt wood and coal. In the last century, the sedimentary flux of third-class particles has increased significantly, which most likely reflects an increase in the amount of solid fuel (wood and coal) burned by people in settlements around the lakes. The contents of the first- and second-class particles, which were presumably traces of wildfires, were not lower in the past than in the recent time. Thus, the intensity of wildfires in the study region does not tend to increase in the modern period. The data obtained will be useful for the reconstruction of fire regimes from longer cores, covering a period of a few millennia

Pages
252–266
EDN
VHDLJR
Paper at repository of SibFU
https://elib.sfu-kras.ru/handle/2311/150842

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