ABSTRACT
This chapter was written in collaboraton with I. A. Egorova and is based on a number of publications (Egorove and Khomentovsky, 1988; Khomentovsky and Egorova, 1990, 1991) updated and revised.
3 . 1 APPROPRIATENESS OF USING SPORO-POLLEN SPECTRA AND THEIR REPRESENTATIVITY IN RECONSTRUCTING THE HISTORY OF THE PLANT
COVER IN KAMCHATKA
To objectively restore the plant cover pattern of the past, it is essential to investigate the current sporo-pollen spectra (SPS) of the region in order to reveal peculiarities of their formation and degree to which they reflect present and past vegetation. Both the radiocarbon method and tephrostratigraphy (tephrochronology) were used in dating material. The latter was particularly effective under Kamchatka conditions where volcanic ash is ubiquitous, interbedded in soils and peat beds. The ash layers could be dated very precisely, providing a basis for stratigraphic correlations (Egorova, 1980; Braitseva et al., 1985).
