Earth’s Cryosphere, 2012, Vol. XVI, No. 2, p. 38-42

CRYOGENIC LANDSCAPE CHANGES IN THE WEST SIBERIAN NORTHERN TAIGA IN THE CONDITIONS OF CLIMATE CHANGE AND HUMAN-INDUCED DISTURBANCES

N.G. Moskalenko

Earth Cryosphere Institute, SB RAS, 625026, Tyumen, Malygina str., 86, Russia; nat-moskalenko@mail.ru

The results of monitoring of cryogenic landscape changes in the West Siberian northern taiga during 1970–2010 in the conditions of the varying climate and human-induced disturbances have been presented. Process of formation of the frozen cloudberry-wild rosemary-peat moss-lichen flat peatland instead of the thawed cotton grass-sedge-moss mires has been considered. The cotton grass-peat moss bogs with the lowered permafrost table are formed after the removal of vegetation cover on flat peatlands as a result of development of thermokarst and bogging. The impact of increase in amount of atmospheric precipitation on the development of bogging on flat poorly drained sites has been examined.This bogging leads to the replacement of the pine-larch cloudberry-wild rosemary-lichen-peat moss open wood with permafrost lenses by the andromeda-cotton grass-sedge-peat moss thawed mires.

Key words: Cryogenic landscape, permafrost, Western Siberia, permafrost temperature, active layer thickness, vegetation, climate, human-induced disturbances.

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