Mountainous meadow chernozem-like soils of high mountains in the North Caucasus region

Original and literature data on the soil-forming conditions and the morphology, physicochemical properties, and bulk chemical and mineralogical composition of mountainous meadow chernozem-like soils of the North Caucasus region indicate that these soils are developed from the coarse-textured pebbly colluvium of calcareous bedrock under the impact of humus accumulation and clay formation. The intensity of these processes is directly related to the activity of soil biota. Suggestions aimed at improving the classification of high-mountain soils are discussed.     

Mountain-meadow soils of the highlands in the Western Caucasus

The published and author’s data on soil-forming conditions, morphology, substance composition and physicochemical properties, total chemical and mineralogical composition, and micromorphology of mountain-meadow soils of the Western Caucasus Range are analyzed. On the basis of the analytical data obtained, the transformation of minerals and features of chemical element profile patterns developed in the course of soil formation are characterized. The main processes accompanying the transformation of mineral and organic parts of the soil mass and migration of soil-formation products are described. Soil formation is shown to be accompanied by two major elementary soil processes developing with participation of soil biota: humus accumulation and clay formation. Ways to improve the classification of mountain-meadow soils are proposed.     

The influence of carbonates in parent rocks on the biological properties of mountain soils of the Northwest Caucasus region

The biological activity of different subtypes of soddy-calcareous soils (rendzinas) of the Northwest Caucasus region was studied. In the Novorossiisk-Abrau-Dyurso region (dry subtropics), typical soddy-calcareous soils with the high content of carbonates predominate; in the more humid conditions of the Lagonaki Plateau (Republic of Adygeya), leached soddy-calcareous soils carbonate-free down to the parent rock are spread. The number of microarthropods, the populations of fungi and bacteria, and the enzyme activity (catalase, dehydrogenase, and invertase) testify that the biological activity of these soils significantly differs. In the typical soddy-calcareous soils of the dry subtropics, the content of carbonates does not affect the characteristics mentioned; in the more humid conditions of the West Caucasus region, the presence of carbonates in the parent rocks intensifies the biological activity of the soddy-calcareous soils.     

Soils of Ancient Agricultural Terraces of the Eastern Caucasus

Eurasian Soil Science - The morphological and chemical properties and biological activity of soils on ancient agricultural terraces in the middle-high mountains of the Eastern Caucasus are...     

Natural radionuclides in rocks and soils of the high-mountain regions of the Great Caucasus

The results of the radioecological survey in the high-mountain regions of the Great Caucasus at the heights from 2200 to 3800 m a.s.l. are considered. This survey encompassed the territories of Dagestan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Chechnya, Northern Ossetia-Alania, Kabardino-Balkaria, Karachay-Cherkessia, and the Stavropol and Krasnodar regions. The natural ?? background radiation in the studied regions is subjected to considerable fluctuations and varies from 6 to 40 ??R/h. The major regularities of the migration of natural radionuclides ²³⁸U, ²³²Th, ²²⁶Ra, and ⁴⁰K in soils in dependence on the particular environmental conditions (the initial concentration of the radionuclides in the parent material; the intensity of pedogenesis; the intensity of the vertical and horizontal migration; and the geographic, climatic, and landscape-geochemical factors) are discussed.     

Assessment of phenotypic variation of Malus orientalis in the North Caucasus region

Malus orientalis Uglitzk. is the predominant Malus species of the Caucasian forests distributed in the north of Anatolia, Armenia, Russia as well as in Iran. It is considered as one of the probable minor ancestors of domestic apples. Although M. orientalis has a lower diversity of fruit quality, other valuable traits such as later blooming, adaptation to a wider array of habitats, and capacity for longer storage of the apples should be taken into account for improving the genetic makeup of the domestic apple. A joint expedition of scientists of the Julius Kühn-Institute from Germany and the Nikolaj I. Vavilov Research Institute of Plant Industry from Russia was performed into the North Caucasus region during August/September 2011. Altogether 101 M. orientalis accessions were collected from eight sites at the North Caucasus. Twenty-six traits such as size, color, shape, flavor and firmness of fruit and tree habit were used for phenotypic evaluation of the accessions. A high phenotypic diversity within the collected material of M. orientalis was indicated. Accessions characterized by suitable fruit traits like bigger size, larger cover color, less bitterness and better firmness as well as more sweetness and better flavor were found. However, small-sized flavorless fruits were also detected. Tree habit varied widely from upright to weeping. Subsequently, a comprehensive phenotypic and genetic evaluation of M. orientalis increases the knowledge of diversity, may provide new resources of agronomically important traits for breeding purposes, and gives support to determine accessions for a core collection.     

Andepts in some high mountains of East Africa

Soils at elevations of 2,500 m to 4,000 m above sea level in the Semien Mountains of Ethiopia and on Mount Kenya in east Africa are classified in the current American system as Andepts. The Cryandepts are situated above the forest line in a tussock grass vegetation or in dwarf forests at elevations of 3,000 to 3,800 m a.s.l. In the tall forest above 2,500 m a.s.l. and below 3,000 m there are Dystrandepts with an isothermal soil temperature of more than 8°C. In the legend of the FAO-Unesco soil map of the world the soils could be classified as Humic Andosols.Histosols may take the place of the Andepts where relative humidity of the atmosphere is high and rainfall is more than 2,000 mm per year.     

The origin of sulfate salts in soils developed on Maikop clays in the North Caucasus region (According to data of the isotope composition of sulfur)

The ratio of ³²S/³⁴S stable isotopes was determined for soils developed on the Maikop clay sediments in the North Caucasus region in order to study the salt geochemistry in the soils. The soil sulfates were proved to be polygenetic. Three groups (generations) of sulfates of different geneses were distinguished according to their isotopic composition (³⁴S). In the underlying deposits and, partially, in the salt-bearing horizons of the soils, secondary sulfates originated from the oxidation of sulfides contained in the marine clay predominate. In the soil profiles, the sulfates inherited from the parent material (marine clay) are mixed with sulfates arriving with the atmospheric precipitation. The portion of the latter reaches about 30% of the total amount of sulfates in the soils. The salt (gypsum)-bearing horizons were formed in the course of the eluvial-illuvial redistribution of salts to the depth of seasonal wetting. The mobilization of sulfate salts from the underlying deposits and their transport to the upper parts of the soil profile with ascending water flows in the course of evaporation from the soil surface did not play a significant role in the accumulation of sulfates in the studied soils.     

Transformation of carbonate pedofeatures in paleosols buried under kurgans in the North Caucasus region

Carbonate concentrations in a chronosequence of paleosols buried under kurgans in the North Caucasus region at the end of the 4th century and the first half of the 5th century AD have been studied with the use of a set of morphological and isotopic methods. It is demonstrated that morphologically different phases of calcite—the collomorphic phase and the crystalline phase—in carbonate pedofeatures (calcareous pseudomycelium) and in the calcareous horizon have different elemental compositions and different isotopic compositions of carbon. Hence, these forms of calcite should have different origins. An addition of colloidal carbonates migrating in colloidal solutions from the lower soil horizons to the surface horizons during the periods of climatic aridization to the acicular calcite may be responsible for a sharp and irregular increase in the radiocarbon age of the newly formed carbonate pseudomycelium.     

Organic phosphorus species in humic acids of mountain soils along a toposequence in the Northern Caucasus

Organic P was investigated in humic acids extracted from mountain soils developed in the subalpine, upper subalpine and alpine zones of the Northern Caucasus. P contents of humic acids varied between 3.4 and 14.2 g P kg^?1, depending on P contents of the parent vegetation and on site conditions. Organic P was accumulated at sites where microbial activity is restrained due to soil acidity, low soil temperature and hydromorphy.³¹ P NMR spectroscopy revealed that orthophosphate monoesters were the dominent P species (72–85% of extract- able P), orthophosphate diesters amounted to 12–21%, and phospho- nates ranged between 0 and 9%. Humic acids of soils under cold and wet climatic conditions showed highest concentrations in phospho- nates and orthophosphate diesters. Hence, the accumulation of organo-P in the Caucasian mountain soils was partly due to increasing proportions of potentially available organic P species.     

Ecological assessment of soils in high-mountain landscapes of northeastern part of the Greater Caucasus (Azerbaijan)

The current state of soils and bioproductivity of high-mountain pastures and hayfields in the northeastern part of Great Caucasus within Azerbaijan were studied, and the quality assessment of soils was performed. The ecological evaluation of soils was based on special assessment scales and soil bonitet scores. The soils suitable for the development of meadow vegetation were identified. The highest score (89 points) was given to mountainous meadow chernozemlike soils (Eutric Mollic Leptosols); these soils are most suitable for pasturing. Mountainous meadow soddy soils (Dystric Umbric Leptosols) ranked second (76 points). Mountainous meadow-steppe soils (Eutric Mollic Leptosols) were estimated at 72 points; these soils are suitable for plant communities of subalpine meadows. Mountainous meadow soddy–peaty soils (Brunic Umbric Leptosols) had the lowest score of 68 points mostly because of the excessive precipitation against the background of relatively low mean annual temperature limiting the biological productivity of alpine meadows.     

Regolith and soils in Bhutan, Eastern Himalayas

Bhutan lies at altitudes of 100–7500 m on the steep, long and complex southern slopes of the Eastern Himalayas. Soil surveys show that, despite steep gradients, there are many moderately or deeply weathered soils. Many slopes are mantled with polycyclic, layered drift materials, so soil horizons owe as much to regolith heterogeneity as to pedogenesis. In the limited arable areas soil profiles are further complicated by rice cultivation and the construction, maintenance and irrigation of flat terraces on steep slopes. Some natural pedogenic horizonation is apparent, and there is an altitudinal zonation of soil types. Although the climate is warm and seasonally wet, most soils on the subtropical southern foothills are not particularly weathered and leached. The foothills are seismically active, and many soils are formed in unstable landslide debris. Elsewhere the regoliths are more stable. The main soils up to about 3000 m in the inner valleys are moderately weathered and leached, and have bright subsoil colours and thin dark topsoils. Above these there is a zone of bright orange‐coloured non‐volcanic andosolic soils. Further upslope there are acid soils with thick surface litter, stagnogleyic topsoils, and drab brown subsoils with organic cutans. These grade to weak podzols, which extend from about 3500 m up to the treeline, around 4000 m. Above this, alpine turf soils, with deep, dark, and friable topsoils and yellowish friable subsoils, are intermixed with unweathered glacial deposits. The interactions between pedogenesis and the deposition of the varied and layered drift materials complicate mapping and classification of the soils.     

Buffering capacity of cashew soils in South Eastern Tanzania

Abstract. Cashew soils of South Eastern Tanzania become acidified due to sulphur used for controlling powdery mildew disease ( Oidium anacardii Noack). The buffering capacity of surface and subsurface horizons of 35 soil profiles of major cashew growing areas –- the Makonde plateau, its piedmont and inland plains –- was studied. The buffering capacity of surface and subsurface horizons was strongly correlated with clay content and weakly with organic carbon content. In addition, it was only weakly correlated with total exchangeable bases and available P of the surface horizon, but strongly with soil pH, base saturation and cation exchange capacity of the clay fraction of the subsurface horizon. Highly weathered sandy soils, dominant on the Makonde plateau and common on the Piedmont, had the lowest buffering capacity. Soils from the inland plains had better buffering capacities as they are generally more clayey or are less weathered. The risk of severe acidification and of a decline in productivity of cashew and of food crops is highest on the Makonde plateau. Further development and dissemination of methods which can reduce the use of sulphur are required.     

辽东山区生态修复的辅助措施

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Mercury in humus horizons of soils in the Transbaikal region

The total mercury content has been determined in gray forest soils, chernozems, chestnut soils, and in different parent materials in the Transbaikal region. The mercury content is below the clarke value in the intrusive, effusive, and alluvial soil-forming rocks (0.004–0.024 mg/kg). In the humus horizons of the soils, it reaches 0.011–0.026 mg/kg, which is higher than the clarke value for the pedosphere. The mean background content of mercury in the soils of the Transbaikal region is 0.018 mg/kg. No significant positive correlation between the mercury content and the humus content of the soils has been revealed.     

Genesis and characterization of manganiferous soils in the Eastern Piedmont, USA

Manganese is normally a trace element in soils, but it is important due to its effects on soil chemistry and morphology. There are rare, Mn-rich soils in the Eastern Piedmont of the USA that have not been previously studied. The morphology, mineralogy, and chemical and physical properties of these manganiferous soils were documented in order to better understand their pedogenesis. The soils were found to contain as much as 169 g kg⁻¹ Fe and 140 g kg⁻¹ Mn as oxides (dithionite-citrate-bicarbonate extractable). These high levels of Mn oxides impart an extremely dark color to the soil material (moist Munsell value and chroma commonly < 2/1). Manganiferous soil materials have unusual physical properties such as high particle density (up to 3.25 × 10⁻⁶ Mg m⁻³ on bulk soil), low bulk density (as low as 0.39 × 10⁻⁶ Mg m⁻³), and extremely high porosity (maximum calculated 88%). X-Ray Diffraction and Fourier Transform Infrared spectra show that the dominant Fe oxide and Mn oxide minerals in the soils are hematite and lithiophorite, respectively. Samples of the parent marble were dissolved in acid for Fe and Mn analysis and collection of non-carbonate residues (NCR). Based on the quantities of Fe and Mn in the bedrock, the mineralogy of the NCR, and micromorphological observations, it appears that the black, porous, Mn-rich material is derived directly from the dissolution of marble bedrock and accumulation of silicate residues plus Mn and Fe from within the rock. These soils, which appear to have a similar origin to Mn wad deposits, offer a unique opportunity for future studies of soil Mn due to the naturally high concentration of this metal.     

Carbon and nitrogen stocks in the soils of Central and Eastern Europe

Abstract. Soil organic carbon and total nitrogen stocks are presented for Central and Eastern Europe. The study uses the soil geographic and attribute data held in a 1:2 500 000 scale Soil and Terrain (SOTER) database, covering Belarus, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Poland, Romania, the Russian Federation (west of the Urals), Slovakia, and Ukraine. Means and coefficients of variation for soil organic carbon and total nitrogen are presented for each major FAO soil grouping. The mean content of organic carbon, to a depth of 1 m, ranges from 3.9 kg C m^–2 for coarse textured Arenosols to 72.9 kg C m^–2 for poorly drained Histosols. Mean carbon content for the mineral soils, excluding Arenosols, is 15.8 kg C m^–2. The top 1 m of soil holds 110 Pg C (Pg=10¹⁵ g), which corresponds to about 7% of the global stock of soil organic carbon. About 44% of this carbon pool is held in the top 0.3 m of the soil, the layer that is most prone to be changed by changes in soil use and management. About 166 million ha in Central and Eastern Europe have been degraded by compaction, erosion of topsoil, fertility decline and crusting. The achievable level of carbon sequestration for these soils, upon adoption of 'best' management practices or restorative measures, is estimated.     

Vertigenesis in soils of the central chernozemic region of Russia

On the basis of soil studies along routes and on key plots, 35 new areas of soils with definite features of vertigenesis have been identified in Belgorod and Voronezh oblasts and in the northern part of Volgograd oblast (in the Don River basin). Earlier, vertic soils were not noted for these areas. In the studied region, their portion in the soil cover is much less than 1%. All the delineated areas of vertic soils are confined to the outcrops of swelling clay materials of different origins (marine, lacustrine, glacial, and colluvial sediments) and ages (Quaternary or Tertiary) that may be found in four landscape positions: (1) in the deep closed depressions within vast flat watersheds; (2) in the bottoms of wide hollows on interfluvial slopes and, sometimes, on steeper slopes of local ravines; (3) in the hydromorphic solonetzic soil complexes, and (4) on step-like interfluvial surfaces with the outcrops of Tertiary clays. Within the studied areas, soils with different degrees of expression (six grades) of vertic properties are present. These soils belong to the type of dark vertic soils proper and to vertic subtypes of different soil types according to the Russian soil classification system; according to the WRB system, they belong to Vertisols proper and to reference soil units with a Vertic prefix in the groups of Chernozems, Phaeozems, and Solonetzes. Statistical data on the morphometric indices of the vertic properties (the depth and thickness of the soil horizons with slickensides, a wedge-shaped structure, and cracks filled with material from the upper horizons) and the depth and thickness of the Vertic horizon are analyzed.     

Mycelial fungi in saline soils of the western Transbaikal region

Mycelial fungi in a solonchakous chestnut soil, a sulfate solonchak, and a soda solonchak were studied in the western Lake Baikal basin. The humus content, the degree of salinization, and the composition of salts affected the structure of the micromycete communities. In the chestnut soil, more than half of the species identified were found. The species diversity was higher in the nonsaline and humus horizons. The eolian deposit on the soda solonchak was characterized by the presence of six species of fungi that did not occur in other soil horizons. Their occurrence in the fresh deposit seems to be related to the eolian transfer of fungi with the fine earth from the adjacent areas with the nonsaline soils. The soda solonchak fungi are dominated by the haloalkalitolerant and alkalophilic micromycetes, among which the representatives of the Acremonium (A. antarcticum and A. rutilum) and Verticillum genera and Mycelia sterilia were identified. There was also an alkalophilic ascomycete, which is an indicator of soda salinization??Heleococcum alkalinum. On the whole, the soda solonchak had the lowest number of fungal germs and the lowest species diversity of mycelial fungi among the soils compared.     

Enzyme activities in hill land soils of the Appalachian region

Abstract

The top two horizons of 14 major hill land soils of the Appalachian Region were evaluated for activities of add phospha‐tase (AP), pyrophosphatase (PP1), arylsuifatase (AS) and urease (UR) enzymes. A relationship between enzyme activities and soil properties was examined. Surface horizons contained higher enzyme activities than the subsurface horizons. Overall, enzyme activities were positively correlated with soil moisture content, percent water‐filled porosity, C, N, K, Mn and CEC. Activities of AP and PP1 were negatively correlated with soil pH. The AP and UR activities were positively related to various forms of P. Enzyme activities were positively related to total and organic S. Pot trial was performed 1n green house conditions to evaluate the relationship between enzyme activities and snapbean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) growth and N, P, and S uptake. With a few exceptions, activities of AP, AS and UR were positively related to snapbean shoot wt. and shoot content of N, P, and S. The PP1 activities of subsurface horizons were positively related to shoot wt. and mineral content. Enzyme activities varied from one soil horizon to another. The effects of various soil properties and their interacting factors on activities of the four enzyme systems are discussed.