Paleosols in Depressions of the Central Russian Upland in the Early Valdai Time

The genesis, evolution, and paleoecology of soils of the Early Valdai interstadials were investigated in the Aleksandrov quarry (Kursk oblast), a key section of the Late Pleistocene deposits in the periglacial area of the East European Plain. The soils developed in the uppermost parts of the buried hollows (investigated in 2009) were compared with the soils developed in the lower parts of the same hollows (investigated in 1988). The data obtained suggest that the soils in the upper parts of the hollows were developed under wetter and, at the same time, more percolative water regime than the soils in the lower parts of the hollows. These soils were formed in a semihumid climate under the forest-steppe vegetation. Forest groves existed in the upper parts of the erosional network amidst herbaceous meadow steppes. In general, the soil cover pattern of the Early Valdai interstadials corresponded to the modern soil cover pattern within the analogous landscapes.