TY - JOUR

T1 - Between the bog and the slope: Colluvial soils of Siberian taiga and their potential for paleogeographical and geoarchaeological research

AU - Kurasova, Alina

AU - Konstantinov, Alexandr

AU - Loiko, Sergey

AU - Dudko, Alexandr

AU - Vasilyeva, Yulia

AU - Menshanov, Petr

AU - Konstantinova, Elizaveta

AU - Kulizhskiy, Sergey

N1 - This research was supported by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation (state assignment No. FSWM-2024-0006: laboratory work and data processing). Some of the samples were dated using a unique scientific facility, the Accelerator Mass Spectrometer, Budker Institute of Nuclear Physics of the Siberian Branch of the RAS.

PY - 2026/9

Y1 - 2026/9

N2 - Colluvial soils and sediments are important terrestrial archives for reconstructing past land use and erosional dynamics in landscapes with pronounced topography. In boreal Western Siberia, however, the potential of these paleo-archives remains insufficiently explored due to extensive Holocene bog formation. This study investigates the distribution, stratigraphy, and properties of colluvial soils and sediments in the central boreal zone of Western Siberia and evaluates their paleogeographical and geoarchaeological significance. Footslope soils from the Kondinskaya Lowland and the Yugan River Valley (Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug–Yugra, Russia) are broadly similar in morphology and physicochemical characteristics. Most profiles are classified as Albic Podzols or Gleyic Albic Podzols developed over series of burials. Pyrogenic layers or pedosediments demarcate discrete phases of pedogenesis. Podzolization and gleying represent the dominant soil-forming processes in both ancient and modern soils. Vertical trends in organic carbon, particle size fractions, and iron forms closely correspond to morphological boundaries and the stratigraphy of burial sequences. Radiocarbon dating and Bayesian chronological modeling along with analysis of archaeological data reveal four main phases of increased erosional–pyrogenic activity during the Holocene, broadly coinciding with major cultural periods. The first identified phase corresponds to the Eneolithic period, the second to the transition between the Early and Middle Bronze Age, the third to the Early Iron Age, and the fourth to the Early to High Middle Ages. The results demonstrate that colluvial soils and sediments in the Western Siberian taiga represent underutilized records of Holocene slope processes and fire activity, offering valuable insights into past landscape-human interactions.

AB - Colluvial soils and sediments are important terrestrial archives for reconstructing past land use and erosional dynamics in landscapes with pronounced topography. In boreal Western Siberia, however, the potential of these paleo-archives remains insufficiently explored due to extensive Holocene bog formation. This study investigates the distribution, stratigraphy, and properties of colluvial soils and sediments in the central boreal zone of Western Siberia and evaluates their paleogeographical and geoarchaeological significance. Footslope soils from the Kondinskaya Lowland and the Yugan River Valley (Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug–Yugra, Russia) are broadly similar in morphology and physicochemical characteristics. Most profiles are classified as Albic Podzols or Gleyic Albic Podzols developed over series of burials. Pyrogenic layers or pedosediments demarcate discrete phases of pedogenesis. Podzolization and gleying represent the dominant soil-forming processes in both ancient and modern soils. Vertical trends in organic carbon, particle size fractions, and iron forms closely correspond to morphological boundaries and the stratigraphy of burial sequences. Radiocarbon dating and Bayesian chronological modeling along with analysis of archaeological data reveal four main phases of increased erosional–pyrogenic activity during the Holocene, broadly coinciding with major cultural periods. The first identified phase corresponds to the Eneolithic period, the second to the transition between the Early and Middle Bronze Age, the third to the Early Iron Age, and the fourth to the Early to High Middle Ages. The results demonstrate that colluvial soils and sediments in the Western Siberian taiga represent underutilized records of Holocene slope processes and fire activity, offering valuable insights into past landscape-human interactions.

KW - Holocene

KW - Podzols

KW - Western Siberia

KW - buried soils

KW - colluvial deposits

KW - erosion

KW - pyrogenic events

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105039705563

UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/d58220f3-813c-3e3a-a021-980c9eda3879/

U2 - 10.1016/j.catena.2026.110214

DO - 10.1016/j.catena.2026.110214

M3 - Article

VL - 271

JO - Catena

JF - Catena

SN - 0341-8162

M1 - 110214

ER -