The pool of pedogenic carbon in the soils of different types and durations of use as croplands in the forest-steppe of the Central Russian Upland

• Published in: Eurasian soil science Vol. 46; no. 5; pp. 530 - 540
• Main Authors: Khokhlova, O. S., Chendev, Yu. G., Myakshina, T. N., Shishkov, V. A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht SP MAIK Nauka/Interperiodica 01.05.2013; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Agricultural land; Carbon; Carbon content; Carbon dating; Carbon dioxide; carbon sinks; Carbonates; Earth and Environmental Science; Earth Sciences; Forest soils; Forests; Geotechnical Engineering & Applied Earth Sciences; Grasslands; plowing; soil; Soil Chemistry; Soil formation; Soil sciences; Soils; Steppes; Russia; Central Russian forest-steppe; pedogenic carbon; agrochronoseries; carbonate pool; C dating
• ISSN: 1064-2293; 1556-195X
• DOI: 10.1134/S1064229313050062

Based on studying five agrochronoseries, including recent forest (dark) gray soils and soils plowed for 100, 150, and 200–240 and more years in the forest-steppe zone of the Central Russian Upland, the dynamics of the pedogenic carbon pool, including the C org and C carb , are considered. In the 2-m-thick layer of the agrogenic soils studied, the pedogenic carbon pool was shown to increase by 15–30% (up to 50%) mainly due to the changes in the C carb content. The insignificant (by ∼10%) growth of the C org content was found in the soils that were plowed for more than 200–250 years. As the hydrothermal regime changed when passing from the forest to croplands, the C carb reserves increased due to the ascending of carbonates from the parent rock through the capillary pores, probably, in colloid solution-suspensions. This process proceeded without exchange with the soil CO 2 , since the 14 C age and the content of the newly formed carbonates became higher. These carbonates may be called pedogenic-lithogenic agrocarbonates, since they appear in soils as a result of the (agro-) pedogenesis. In this case, their additional source is the lithogenic carbonates, which bring in the “old” carbon. The process of carbonates ascending could be referred to the rapid soil-forming ones with their implementation time being close to ≤50 years.