Dynamics of carbon balance components in fallow arable lands on the Valdai Upland (original) (raw)

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.

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.

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...

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

Eurasian Soil Science, 2010

The assessment of the changes in the organic carbon pool in the soils of the Russian Federation that occurred in 1990-2004 was carried out using approximation, soil geoinformation, and simulation approaches. As a result of the changes in the system of land use, after 1990, the organic carbon storages in the 0 to 20 cm thick soil layer could be 196-319 Mt depending on the methodology of the calculation applied and taking into account the abandoned area of 14.8 million ha. As compared to the beginning of the 1990s, the organic matter stock in the former plow layer increased by 1.6-5.8%. The great scatter of the data is mainly related to the incertainty of the estimates of the area of arable soils not used any more in agriculture.

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.

Soil Organic Carbon Loss Following Land Use Change in a Semiarid Environment

Bulgarian Journal of Agricultural Science

Soil organic carbon is an essential part of soil and a valuable natural resource. Due to land use change SOC stocks are usually altered, which can seriously affect the environment and the ecosystem. The objective of this study was to investigate effects of different land use regimes (cropland, meadow and forest) and different soil types (Fluvisols, Chernozems, Vertisols and Solonetz) on SOC stocks. The results imply that soil type was the principal factor affecting SOC stocks. Topsoil SOC stocks (0-30 cm) decreased in the following order: Vertisols (93 t ha-1) > Chernozems (68 t ha-1) > Solonetz (65 t ha-1) > Fluvisols (48 t ha-1). The conversion of native ecosystems (forests and meadows) to croplands induced a significant SOC stock decrease and a considerable degradation of soil. Forests contain 72 t ha-1 of SOC, meadows 71 t ha-1 and cropland 62 t ha-1. The highest historical loss of SOC stock due to the conversion of native ecosystems was obtained in Chernozems (16-18%),...

Carbon and nitrogen contents and greenhouse gas fluxes of the Eurasian steppe soils with different land-use histories located in the Arkaim museum reserve of South Ural, Russia

Soil Science and Plant Nutrition, 2012

The effects of different land-use histories on contents of soil carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) and fluxes of greenhouse gases [carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O)] measured using the closed chamber method were investigated in the Arkaim museum reserve located in the South Ural of Russia. A natural forest site (NF) and two grassland sites that had different land-use histories (CL: cropland until 1991; PST: pasture until 1991; both sites have been fallow for 18 years) were selected for soil sampling and gas flux measurements. The vegetation in NF was mainly Betula pendula Roth. with steppe cherry and grassy cover. Perennial grasses (Stipa spp., Festuca spp. and others) have been planted in CL and PST since 1991 to establish reserve mode, and the projective cover of these plants were > 90% in both sites in 2009. Soil samples were taken from the A horizon in the three sites, and additionally samples of the O horizon were taken from NF. The contents of soil C and N [total C, total N, soluble organic C, soluble N and microbial biomass C (MBC)] in the O horizon of NF were the largest among all investigated soils (p < 0.05). Additionally, the total C, total N and MBC in PST were significantly larger than in CL (p < 0.05). Positive CO2 fluxes (i.e., CO2 efflux) in all three investigated sites were observed. The CO2 efflux in NF was significantly larger than in CL and PST (129, 30 and 25 mg C m−2 hour−1, respectively, p < 0.05), although there was no significant difference in values of CO2 efflux between CL and PST. There were no significant differences in the fluxes of CH4 and N2O among NF, CL and PST (p > 0.05). Our current research indicated that, in soils of the Eurasian steppe zone of Russia, total C, total N and MBC were affected not only by current land-use (i.e., fallow grassland vs. natural forest) but also by past (until 18 years ago) land-use.

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...

Stocks and annual fluxes of organic carbon in the mineral soil cover of Estonia

Estonian Journal of Ecology, 2011

Annual cycling of soil organic carbon (SOC) is the main driving force in the formation and functioning of soil cover. Therefore knowledge about it forms the scientific base for sustainable management and ecologically sound soil protection. Systematized parameters of the mean annual cycling of SOC by soils are analysed on the basis of the SOC stock densities (Mg ha -1 ) of 16 mineral soil groups. The SOC stocks according to soil groups for the soil cover (solum) as a whole and for their epipedon were calculated on the basis of mean SOC densities and their distribution area of soil types. In the Estonian mineral soil cover (32 351 km 2 ) a total of 323 ± 46 Tg (10 12 g) SOC is retained; 42% of this is sequestered into stabilized humus, 40% into unstable raw humus, and 18% into forest (grassland) floor and shallow peat layers. Of the total SOC stock, 75% is situated in biologically active epipedons and 25% in subsoil. The annual SOC inputs and outputs in natural soils, which were calculated on the basis of annual productivity, ranged from 0.2 to 3.6 Mg ha -1 yr -1 . The influence of land management peculiarities on the annual cycling and balance of SOC has been demonstrated by our own experimental research, as well as by data published in the literature. In this work the pedo-ecological causal regularities of SOC sequestration in mineral soil cover (SOC concentration, soil thickness, moisture regime, texture, carbonate content), and agro-technological possibilities for its regulation (crops and their rotation, level of subsidization and soil amelioration) are discussed.

Soil carbon pools in two natural grasslands of Serbian highlands

Bulletin of the Faculty of Forestry, 2019

Grasslands are a major player in the global carbon cycle, although carbon stocks in grasslands are influenced by human activities and natural disturbances. The aim of this study is to determine differences in carbon stock on two test areas of grassland ecosystem in the highlands of Stara Planina and Zlatar Mountains (Serbia). The investigated sites are natural mountain grasslands of the same vegetation community (Agrostietum capillarisPavl. 1955) and soil type (Umbric Leptosol (Dystric) and Haplic Cambisol (Dystric)), but with different grazing intensity. Aboveground and belowground biomasses were measured in each sample plot, and soil was sampled at fixed depths of 0-10, 10-20 and 20-40 cm. The estimation of C stock and the rate of soil C accumulation were determined by the Tier 2 method IPCC (2003). Carbon mineralization potentials were determined via sequential incubation procedure in the laboratory conditions. According to the obtained results, the greater amount of precipitatio...