CATASTROPHICALLY LANDSCAPES CHANGES WITHIN NORTH ARID ZONE (PRECASPIAN) SINCE 13–11,5 KA AGO

Detail geological and palinology investigations ascertained complicated and fast paleolandscape changes within North Precaspian area during last 1500 year. There are three landscapes types during the end of Raunissian interglacial period. At the beginning Pine’s forest with Picea and Betula predominated. The grass cover was produced by motley grass meadow. After that forest-steppe with small forest (Betula, Pinus) islands were emerged. Pine’s forest landscape were the final stage of Raunissian interglacial.

Forest-steppe with forest (Betula, Pinus) island predominated during Early Drias; and there are Artemisia and Chenopodiaceae as a grass cover.

Forest landscapes with different wetting degree predominated during fist stage of Belling. Ther is next forest landscape’s sequence: Pinus- Picea with Chenopodicia grass, Pinus forest with Artemisia and spores, and Picea -Pinus and Pinus- Picea with Chenopodiaceae. Forest-steppe with Pinus and Birch islands predominated during the end of Belling, there is cereals-wormwood.

The desert was appeared in the beginning of Middle Drias, and changed into dry steppe with Artemisia and Chenopodiaceae and cereal steppe more late.

Diferrent types of forest (Pinus, Pinus- Picea, Picea -Pinus with Betula) landscapes predominated during Allerod. The desert with Chenopodiaceae arised again in Late Drias.

Consequently, very fast catastrophic landscapes’ changes took place during last 1500 years of Pleistocene. There are no any gray areas. Established landscape changes are correlated with climatic fluctuations and controlled by stable isotopes data. Radio carbon dating realized correlation with global climatic and stratigraphical units of Late Pleistocene (project 3.8. DSG RAS)