Composition of humus in chronosequences of buried soils in the tundra zone

The humus characteristics in buried Holocene and Late Pleistocene paleosols of the tundra zone have been studied. It is shown that the paleosol sequences encompassing the time span from 55 to 2.5 ka BP contain paleosols with analogous types of humus, attesting to the cyclic repeatability of the corresponding stages of soil formation. A tendency for an increase in the degree of humification in the course of soil development has been revealed. Within the ultracontinental areas of East Siberia, the accumulation of salts accompanied soil formation in the Late Pleistocene and Holocene.