Investigations of vegetation changes on the basis of palsa mires of the Kola Peninsula

A detailed research of the fiat palsa mire on the Kola Peninsula (vegetation, stratigraphy of deposits, pollen analysis, age and genesis of mire), conducted by mire researchers from the Institute of Biology, Russian Academy of Sciences in Petrozavodsk, under the guidance of Professor G .A. Elina, allowed to distinguish six stages of palsa mire development (9ka BP). The temporal-spatial stages of palaeovegetation in two study areas (Tumannoye and Lovozero) were analysed for the following intervals: 8500, 5500, 3000 and 1000 BP. Six models of palaeovegetation development for the Kola Peninsula and Karelia were differentiated: tundra - forest-tundra; tundra - northern taiga; tundra - central taiga; tundra - central southern taiga; tundra - southern taiga; tundra – subtaiga