The Age of Peatlands and Peatland Formation Stages in Polesie Landscapes of the East European Plain

This paper presents the results of a study on peat deposits and radiocarbon dating of basal peat horizons in 43 peatlands located on three key sites within Meshchera Lowlands and Moksha Polesie. Peatlands formed by upland paludification processes and located on watersheds and terraces rising above floodplains were selected for the analysis. The obtained data indicate that the peatland formation process has been ongoing in these regions throughout the entire Holocene epoch and that this process has been affected by the fire regime in the area. In periods with higher wildfire frequencies (8800–5800 and 4200–3200 calendar years BP), changes in the water balance on flat and poorly drained plains occurring after the destruction of forest stands intensified the waterlogging processes.