Vegetation and Climate Changes in the Bolshoe Inyaptukskoe Lake Basin (North Baikal Plateau) in the Middle and Late Holocene

This article presents new interdisciplinary observations relating to environmental changes in the Bolshoe Inyaptukskoe Lake Basin, North Baikal Plateau. A column taken from a loam/turf deposit at 1320 m above sea level is shown to reflect changes in vegetation and climate over the last 8–9 thousand years through its palynology, radiocarbon chronology, and the count of charcoal particles. The chronology of the reconstructed changes in the vegetation around the Ozernyi-5 trench agrees well with existing regional and global climatic trends. However, the local processes also show their own peculiarities. The discrepancies are associated with the elevation and the altitude of the site.