Changes in the organic carbon pool of abandoned soils in Russia (1990–2004) (original) (raw)

The pool of organic carbon in the soils of Russia

Eurasian Soil Science, 2013

An automated information system making it possible to estimate spatial distribution of soil organic carbon pool with a high spatial resolution (1 km 2 ) has been developed. According to the obtained esti mates, the total pool of organic carbon in the 1 m deep soil layer on the territory of Russia reaches 317.1 Pg; the average organic carbon density in this layer for the entire Russia constitutes 19.2 kg C/m 2 . Of this amount, 14.4 Pg (or 0.90 kg C/m 2 ) is stored in the litter horizon. The developed algorithm allows us to refine the results with the acquisition of new data on soils, vegetation, and the degree of their disturbance, which is particularly important in the changing world.

Carbon balance in the soils of abandoned lands in Moscow region

Eurasian Soil Science, 2007

A quantitative assessment of the carbon balance was performed in gray forest soils of the former agricultural lands abandoned in different time periods in the southern part of Moscow oblast. It was based on the field measurements of the total and heterotrophic soil respiration and the productivity of biocenoses. Geobotanical investigations demonstrated that the transformation of the species composition of herbs from weeds to predominantly meadow plants occurred in five-ten years after the soil was no more used for farming. The amount of carbon assimilated in the NPP changed from 97 g C/m 2 year in the recently abandoned field to 1103 g C/m 2 year in the 10-year-old fallow, and the total annual loss of carbon from the soil in the form of CO 2 varied from 347 to 845 g C/m 2 year. In five years, the former arable lands were transformed into meadow ecosystems that functioned as a stable sink of carbon in the phytomass and the soil organic matter.

Soil Organic Carbon Dynamics in Response to Tillage Practices in the Steppe Zone of Southern Russia

Processes, 2022

Soil organic carbon (SOC) content is a vital indicator for soil health. The use of moldboard (traditional) plowing for many years had led to a prominent decline in the SOC and soil organic matter (SOM) in Southern Russia. Application of no-tillage (NT) is a sustainable alternative to conventional tillage (CT) as it offers an advantage for SOC store. The aim of the study was to assess soil organic carbon dynamics in response to tillage practices in the steppe zone of Southern Russia. The conservation of SOC under different tillage systems (CT and NT) was evaluated in comparison with the soils of the virgin soils (VS) in three different regions of the steppe zone of the Lower Don region (Southern of the European part of Russia). The SOC content under the conditions of CT was significantly lower than that in the VS and demonstrated an inclining trend when using NT technology. We estimate that the transition to NT over an area of 5.5 million hectares will lead to a significant reduction...

Projected changes in the organic carbon stocks of cropland mineral soils of European Russia and the Ukraine, 1990?2070

Global Change Biology, 2007

In this paper, we use the Rothamsted Carbon Model to estimate how cropland mineral soil carbon stocks are likely to change under future climate, and how agricultural management might influence these stocks in the future. The model was run for croplands occurring on mineral soils in European Russia and the Ukraine, representing 74 Mha of cropland in Russia and 31 Mha in the Ukraine. The model used climate data (1990–2070) from the HadCM3 climate model, forced by four Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) emission scenarios representing various degrees of globalization and emphasis on economic vs. environmental considerations. Three land use scenarios were examined, business as usual (BAU) management, optimal management (OPT) to maximize profit, and soil sustainability (SUS) in which profit was maximized within the constraint that soil carbon must either remain stable or increase. Our findings suggest that soil organic carbon (SOC) will be lost under all climate scenarios, but less is lost under the climate scenarios where environmental considerations are placed higher than purely economic considerations (IPCC B1 and B2 scenarios) compared with the climate associated with emissions resulting from the global free market scenario (IPCC A1FI scenario). More SOC is lost towards the end of the study period. Optimal management is able to reduce this loss of SOC, by up to 44% compared with business as usual management. The soil sustainability scenario could be run only for a limited area, but in that area was shown to increase SOC stocks under three climate scenarios, compared with a loss of SOC under business as usual management in the same area. Improved agricultural soil management will have a significant role to play in the adaptation to, and mitigation of, climate change in this region. Further, our results suggest that this adaptation could be realized without damaging profitability for the farmers, a key criteria affecting whether optimal management can be achieved in reality.

Influence of land use on the dynamics of soil organic carbon in northern Kazakhstan

Soil Science and Plant Nutrition, 2007

The practice of monoculture land use without regard for local environmental conditions can accelerate organic matter decomposition. In the agriculturally and environmentally important soils of northern Kazakhstan, which primarily support cereal cultivation, economic rewards might encourage such monoculture practices. The purpose of this study was to clarify the influence of land use on the dynamics of soil organic carbon in situ for the three different soil classes, Dark Chestnut (DC), Southern Chernozem (SC) and Ordinary Chernozem (OC), in this region. Fluctuations in CO2 emission from the soils showed a similar pattern to temperature fluctuations. Land use markedly influenced the seasonal variation of CO2 emission, in particular fluctuations in CO2 sensitivity to soil temperature. To estimate daily CO2 emission, a prediction equation of CO2 emission using stepwise multiple regression of the Arrehenius model was derived from environmental soil factors by soil type and land use type. Using soil environmental factors, 40–80% of the variation in CO2 emission could be estimated. For cereal fields, the mean annual CO2 emission was estimated to range from 0.75 (DC) to 1.14 (SC) Mg C ha−1, and carbon input as plant residues ranged from 0.75 (DC) to 1.82 (SC) Mg C ha−1. The annual carbon budget ranged from 0.10 to 0.35 Mg C ha−1. In contrast, the carbon budget of summer fallow fields was approximately −0.8 Mg C ha−1. Thus, the carbon budget of the typical 4-year crop rotation system was estimated to range from −0.42 (DC) to 0.25 (OC) Mg C ha−1. It should be noted that carbon budgets were negative at DC and SC sites. Although the carbon budget of meadow fields ranged from 0.81 to 1.26 Mg C ha−1, meadow management at all sites contributed to carbon sequestration. Therefore, to prevent depletion of soil organic carbon in northern Kazakhstan, we recommend that meadow management be introduced as part of the crop rotation system, especially at SC and DC sites.

Changes in Organic Carbon Pool in Agricultural Soils and its Different Development in Individual Agro-Climatic Regions of Slovakia

Agriculture (Pol'nohospodárstvo), 2013

Soil organic carbon (SOC) is one of the basic parameters of soil productivity and quality. Generally soil has potential to sequestrate or release organic carbon depending on land use/management and climatic conditions. The main aim of this article is to show changes in SOC in agricultural land of Slovakia over almost the last 40 years on the basis of modelling data of SOC stock by the RothC model and unequal development of SOC stock on agro-climatic regions of Slovakia. The results received show that average SOC stock [t/ha] in Slovakia is higher on grasslands in comparison to arable land. However, total SOC pool (t) in top of 0.2 m of soil on the modelling area of agricultural Slovak land shows that a considerable part of SOC stock is located in arable land and is approximately four times greater than on grasslands because the arable land represents about 80% of the modelling area. In the first modelling period (1970-1994), the SOC stock gradually increased, but in the second model...

Simulated soil organic matter dynamics in forests of the Leningrad administrative area, northwestern Russia

Forest Ecology and Management, 2002

The assessment of carbon balance in forest soils of the Leningrad administrative area (south boreal sub-zone of east European plain) has been carried out using: (1) previous data on carbon pools of forest soils without considering mires area as initial data (organic layer plus 50 cm soil); (2) inventory data on forest stands that has been converted into biomass and data on litter input; (3) meteorological data concerning the mean monthly air temperature and precipitation. The most recent model version of soil organic matter (SOMM) dynamics was applied for a 100-year simulation of carbon dynamics in the 3:22 Â 10 6 ha of forest soils of the Leningrad area considering a constant forest-age structure and climate. The results demonstrate unique carbon dynamics in various soils, and an 8% increase of the total carbon pool of the area's forest soils during the 100-year simulation (from 266 to 286 million tons of carbon). The total carbon input to the soil, in the form of litter carbon, was 8.3 million tons annually, and the carbon emission, in the form of carbon dioxide released from the soils, was 8.1 million tons annually at the end of simulation.

Estimating organic carbon in soils modified by technical processes in Kula Municipality (Bulgaria)

Forum geografic

The current study focuses on the investigation of soil organic carbon in Technosols in Kula Municipality. It has several aims. There is a need of a provision of more data, regarding carbon sequestration rates in topsoils in plains that are formed in subhumid climatic conditions. Another aim is to check the comparability of the in-profile cultural layer with other ones that are built in different climatic conditions. Objects of the research are contemporary since buried soil horizons play a major part on the provision of essential ecosystem services. The characteristics of soil organic matter are determined by a chemical analysis of six soil samples in the laboratories of the Institute of Soil Science, Agrotechnologies and Plant Protection (ISSAPP) "N. Pushkarov". The total carbon content is determined by the test of Turin and soil color is determined by Munsell Soil Color Charts (1975). Soil organic carbon values in topsoil vary from 670,000 tons/ha to 1,240,000 tons/ha. Organic carbon in the studied sites represents less than 1% of the soil sample. The study may be regarded as the first step in the assessment of Bulgarian Technosols and their role in the global carbon cycle.