Phytolithic and Paleolandscape Evidences of Environmental Change in the South of the East-European Plain in the Pleistocene

The aim of the study is the reconstruction of paleoclimatic patterns in the formation of the Chumbur-Kosa (MIS-17…MIS-1) loess–soil sequences and the assessment of the possibility of using phytolithic analysis to reconstruct the vegetation cover in the interglacial and glacial periods of the Pleistocene. Mean annual precipitation was calculated using the magnetic susceptibility. It has been established that in the Pleistocene there was a directed climate change towards aridization, in which the amount of precipitation during the interglacial periods decreased from 600 to 550 mm/year, and during the glacial periods it did not exceed 200–250 mm/year. Aridization of the climate led to xerophytization of plant communities, a decrease in bioproductivity and landscape diversity. In the warm periods of the Pleistocene, meadow–forb associations prevailed, which were replaced by steppe associations at the onset of the glacial stage. Natural and climatic zones were within the modern boundaries, demonstrating the relative stability of the steppe landscapes to global climatic fluctuations.