Stable carbon and oxygen isotopes in pedogenic carbonate coatings of chernozems in the Southern Cis-Baikalia as indicators of local environmental changes

Carbonate coatings formed on the lower surfaces of pebble inclusions in the Holocene-Late Pleistocene sediments on the Irkutsk-Cheremkhovo Plain have been studied. The coupled analysis of the carbon isotope composition of the soil organic matter and carbonate coatings has indicated the formation of coatings under conditions of phytocenoses with the predominance of C3 plants. A significant effect of the atmospheric CO₂ on the carbon isotope composition in the coatings has been noted, which could be related to their formation under low soil respiration rates. The latter was apparently due to the periodic freezing of the soil, which affected the structure of the coatings and was most manifested in the formation of spherulites in their outer layers. The carbonate coatings consist of two laminae significantly differing in their structure and stable isotope composition, which allows separating two main stages of their formation. The lightening of the carbon isotope composition in the outer (younger) layers of the coatings compared to their inner (older) ones coincides with the increase of the δ¹⁸O values, which points to changes of the environmental conditions in the studied area during the formation of the coatings.