Radiocarbon age of Holocene paleosols of the East European forest-steppe zone

Comparison of the radiocarbon ages of soils buried under previously dared burial mounds with those of surface (background) soils in surrounding areas indicates the rate of humus renewal and aids the dating of paleosols (buried soils and relic horizons in surface soils). Together with evidence for the development of soils of watersheds in the Holocene, the soils of depressions indicate reactivation of erosion processes in the last 3-8 centuries (agricultural erosion). There is also evidence of erosion during the periods of 7-8 ka and 4-5 ka BP, which was associated with abrupt climatic and environmental changes. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.