Radiocarbon ages of humic substances in chernozems

Data on radiocarbon ages of different fractions of humus (humic acids, fulvic acids, and humin) in the profiles of chernozems are analyzed. A chronoecological grouping of humus in modern and buried (fossil) soils is suggested. An increase in the radiocarbon age of humic substances down the soil profile has a stepwise character. It is shown that the ¹⁴C content in chernozems decreases down the soil profile more somewhat slower than the ¹²C content. The dependence of a decrease in the humus content of buried soils on the age of burying is traced for a time span of 800 ka.     

Postagrogenic migrational-mycelial chernozems of abandoned fields of different ages in the southern forest-steppe of European Russia

The restoration of the properties and morphology of migrational-mycelial (typical) chernozems under the impact of natural vegetation successions on abandoned fields of different ages (from 1 to 60 years) was studied in the forest-steppe zone of the Russian Plain. The stages of the postagrogenic transformation of the chernozems were identified, the rates of restoration of the particular soil properties were determined, and the time required for the restoration of the properties of virgin chernozems was estimated.     

The carbonate profile and water regime of migrational-mycelial chernozems in different ecosystems of Kursk oblast

The carbonate profiles of migrational-mycelial (typical) chernozems under regularly mown and absolutely reserved steppes in the V.V. Alekhin Central Chernozemic State Biospheric Reserve and under cropland with cereals (Kursk oblast) were studied in 2007–2009. A comparison of the results of these studies with previous results obtained in the mid-1970s attests to certain changes in the carbonate profiles of the soils. They are conditioned by the activation of the migration of carbonates and the more pronounced manifestation of differently directed processes of the leaching and accumulation of carbonates. The reasons for the observed transformation of the carbonate profiles are related to the increased moistening of the upper 3-m-deep chernozemic layer in different ecosystems because of a general rise in the humidity of the local climate in the recent decades (1973–2006).     

Biological mineralization of organic matter in the modern virgin and plowed chernozems,buried chernozems,and fossil chernozems

The phenomenon of mineralization (biological mineralization) of organic matter in chernozems has been studied. A decrease in the content of C_org with time can be considered an index of the organic matter mineralization. It is suggested that the humus horizons of modern chernozems contain the pools of organic matter of different ages: easily decomposable organic matter, labile biologically active humus, stable biologically active humus, and relatively inert humus. The composition and mean residence times of these pools and their contribution to the total organic matter content have been estimated. The particular types of the biological mineralization have been determined on the basis of the comparison between the velocities of mineralization (M) and humification (H) processes: total unidirectional mineralization (M ≫ H), equilibrium mineralization (M ∼ H), nonequilibrium mineralization (M> <H), and zero mineralization. The separation of subtypes is based on data on the relative rates (%) of the organic matter mineralization. On the basis of available experimental data on chernozems buried under kurgans and in loess sediments (with the age of up to 800 ka), the quantitative relationship of the humus content in the buried soils on their age has been found; it has an exponential shape. During the first 100 ka after the soil burial, the soil humus content gradually (with a slowing intensity) decreases from 100–75 to 6.5% of its content in the virgin chernozems. Then, 100–1000 ka after the soil burial, the soil humus content remains approximately constant (6.5% of the initial level, or 0.3% of the soil mass). The rates of mineralization have been estimated. It is shown that the elemental composition (C, H, N, O) of humic acids remains relatively stable for a long time due to the regeneration of the chemical structure of humus (matric restoration of humus). It is suggested that several different forms of humus related to pedogenesis should be distinguished in the biosphere. The renewable humus in the equilibrium state with the environment is typical of the open biospheric (soil) systems. The fossil humus, whose content decreases with time, and whose composition remains stable, is typical of the semiclosed and closed systems. With time, it transforms into residual humus, whose content and composition remain stable. The fossilized organic matter in the fossil soils and sediments of the past geological epochs (Mesozoic and Paleozoic) considerably differs from the renewable, fossil, and residual humus.     

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.     

Micromorphology, submicroscopy and microprobe study of carbonate pedofeatures in a Vertisol gilgai soil complex, South Russia

Carbonate nodules and soft masses were studied in a gilgai soil complex in the North Caucasus, South Russia. Microrelief with an amplitude about 30 cm resulted in a wetter environment with stronger leaching in the microlow and a drier pedoenvironment with carbonate accumulation in the microhigh. Various macroforms of carbonate nodules and soft masses were identified in soil pits and sampled for micromorphology, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and microprobe analyses to better characterize them and elucidate their pedogenesis. Common and unique attributes were described for carbonate pedofeatures depending on loci in gilgai soil complex. The most probable hypothesis for their formation is as follows. Nodules represent early pedogenic products that were initiated before gilgai formation. Modern hydrology resulted in variability of dissolution/recrystallization of the nodules along the gilgai microtopography. The variability in degree of impregnation, aggregation into pellets, and presence of hard nodular cores reflects several generations of soft masses.     

Characteristics of silica-rich pedofeatures in a buried paleosol

Whitish and whitish-light brown milky-like textural pedofeatures and impregnations were found in the voids and the matrix of buried paleosols older than 2.7 million years in a site in Sardinia, Italy. The pedofeatures were described and analysed using micromorphology, X-ray diffraction and microprobe techniques, and their spatial distribution correlated with field evidence. The suite of analyses showed that the main components of the pedofeatures were more or less ordered silica phases. As well as forming a matrix cement, these pedofeatures also occurred as coatings and infillings in pores. Significant amounts of alumina and, less, Mg, Ca and Fe were also present in the pedofeatures, possibly in the form of silicate coatings and inclusions/impurities, or alumino-silicates of the adjacent soil matrix. A number of hypotheses are drawn on the possible mechanisms of formation of these silica-rich pedofeatures, including the possibility of prolonged weathering of volcanic materials and the resulting formation of colloids and more or less ordered silica phases, with successive dehydration and progressive ordering of phases during the at least 2.5 million years.     

Mathematical modeling of water fluxes in arable chernozems under different land use

The hydrologic regimes of arable chernozems were simulated for two plots located within a watershed. For the last fifty years continuous corn monoculture was practiced in one plot, and permanent bare fallow was practiced in the other plot. Carbonates are detected from a depth of 140–160 cm under corn and from 70–80 cm under bare fallow. The objective of the simulation study was to test the validity of the hypothesis that the shallower depth to carbonates under bare fallow is related to carbonate rise due to changes in the hydrologic regime of bare soil compared to soil under vegetation. Mathematical modeling using the HYDRUS-1D software and the FAO56 method confirmed that the hydrologic regimes of arable chernozems within the two plots are different. The soil water content under bare fallow is generally higher than that under corn. The downward soil water fluxes for the two plots are comparable. The upward soil water fluxes under bare fallow significantly exceed those under corn and affect a thicker soil layer. The changes in the hydrologic regimes of chernozems under bare fallow favor the upward movement of carbonates through both the direct transfer by upward water fluxes and the diffusion of ions.     

Heavy metals in ordinary chernozems on slopes of different gradients and aspects

The impact of slope aspect and gradient on the contents and distribution of heavy metals (Mn, Cu, Zn, Co, Ni, Pb, and Cd) in the profiles of ordinary chernozem (Haplic Chernozems) was studied in Kursk oblast. Slope aspect was found to be a significant factor controlling the distribution of most of the bulk, mobile, and acid-soluble compounds of heavy metals, whereas the position on the slope (slope gradient) did not exert a significant influence on the distribution of elements. Bulk compounds of Co, Ni, Pb, and Cd showed the eluvial type of distribution in the soil profiles along with accumulation in the lower horizons. Distribution patterns of the mobile Cu, Co, Ni, Pb, and Cd were similar to those of the bulk ones. The latter phenomenon may be attributed to the high content of carbonates, an increased content of clay, and some alkalization of the soil solution in the lower horizons.     

Long-term dynamics of the properties of leached chernozems under different forest plantations

The long-term dynamics of the main morphological, physical, chemical, and physicochemical properties of leached chernozems under introduced (Weymouth pine and Siberian larch) and aboriginal (English oak, Scotch pine, and whitewood) trees are discussed. The trees were sown in 1928–1930 in the Mokhovoe Forestry of Orel oblast (the Shatilovo Forest). A comparative analysis of published data and the results obtained in our study has shown some positive changes in the humus horizons under the impact of forest vegetation. The thickness of the humus layer (A + AB) has increased. It has become less compact. The soil structure and the water stability of the soil aggregates in the upper 30-cm-deep layer have improved. The total humus content in the A horizon and its reserves in the layers of 0–20, 0–50, and 0–100 cm have increased. In general, the properties of the leached chernozems have improved under the impact of the artificially planted trees.     

Nonhydrolyzable residue in humus of chernozems

Mismanagement of chernozems results in a decreasing humus content at the expense of the carbon of the nonhydrolyzable residue (the humin fraction). This conclusion is proved by the original data obtained by the authors and by other scientists. It is also shown that the newly formed humus is dominated by the carbon of nonhydrolyzable residue. These facts attest to the presence of labile humus compounds subjected to mineralization in the humin fraction of chernozems.     

Rheological properties of typical chernozems (Kursk oblast) under different land uses

Rheological parameters of humus horizons from typical chernozems under different land use—on a virgin land (unmown steppe) and under an oak forest, long-term black fallow, and agricultural use—have been studied by the amplitude sweep method with an MCR-302 modular rheometer at water contents corresponding to swelling limit and liquid limit. From the curves of elastic and viscous moduli, the ranges of elastic and viscoelastic (plastic) behavior of soil pastes—as well as that of transition from viscoelastic to viscous behavior—have been determined. It has been shown that the rheological behavior is largely determined by the content of organic matter, which can act as a binding agent structuring the interparticle bonds and as a lubricant in the viscous-flow (plastic) state of soil pastes. Soil samples enriched with organic matter (virgin land, oak forest, forest belt) have a more plastic behavior and a higher resistance to loads. Soil samples with the lower content of organic matter (long-term fallow, plowland) are characterized by a more rigid cohesion of particles and a narrower range of load resistance. Soil pastes at the water content of liquid limit have a stronger interparticle cohesion and a more brittle behavior than at the water content of swelling limit. Methodological aspects of testing soil pastes at the constant sample thickness and the controlled normal load have been considered. For swelling soil samples, tests under controlled normal load are preferred.     

Water stability and labile humic substances of typical chernozems under different land uses

The water stability of typical chernozems was studied, as well as the content and composition of the labile humic substances (LHSs) in the structural units of perennial experiment treatments: C_org was 4.68% on an unmown steppe (fallow), 3.55% under continuous winter wheat without fertilizers, and 2.92 and 2.78% in two treatments of permanent black fallow. It was shown that the water stability of the chernozem??s structure depended on the land use; it deteriorated in the following series: fallow > winter wheat > permanent fallow. No clear relationship was found between the content of C_org in the aggregates obtained by dry sieving and the size of these aggregates. At the same time, the content of C_org in the water-stable aggregates was shown to increase with their size. A positive correlation between the size of the water-stable aggregates and their content of LHSs was found for the unmown steppe and continuous winter wheat treatments.     

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.     

The influence of climate cycles on the water regime and carbonate profile in chernozems of Central European Russia and adjacent territories

The influence of long-term “dry” and “wet” climatic cycles on the water regime, hydrological parameters, and carbonate profiles of chernozems in Central European Russia and adjacent territories was studied. The hydrological and carbonate profiles were found to change during the wet cycle. However, the upper part of the hydrological profile is basically unchanging, whereas in its lower part, the number of hydrological horizons and contrast in their moistening decrease in the forest-steppe chernozems and increase in the steppe chernozems. The frequency of through wetting of chernozems increases during the wet cycles. The vertical lithological heterogeneity of the parent material affects the soil moisture status. In the wet climatic cycle, the moisture content above the lithological contact increases resulting in the development of the features of soil hydromorphism. In the carbonate profile, the character of pedofeatures is changing: some carbonate neoformations disappear, while the other ones develop. Possible variations of the periodically percolative water regime were revealed in chernozems. The classification of water regime proposed by A.A. Rode may be updated based on the data obtained during the dry climatic cycle. Rode’s hypothesis about cyclic variations in the soil water regime is confirmed.     

Potassium status and clay mineralogy in ordinary chernozems treated with different rates of potassium fertilizers

The effect of a single instance of potassium fertilization at rates of 0, 70, 140, and 280 kg/ha on the potassium status and clay mineralogy was studied in a field experiment on ordinary chernozems. The content of exchangeable potassium determined by the Maslova method and the potassium potential vary with greatest reliability in response to increasing fertilizer rates. The content of easily exchangeable potassium and the potassium-buffering capacity are insignificantly affected by the application rate of potassium fertilizers. The chernozems under study without fertilization are characterized by a low supply of available potassium. When potassium fertilizers are applied at rates of 70 and 140 kg/ha, the soils pass into the category of unstable or high supply according to different gradation systems. The lower limit of the high or optimal supply category is reached only at the application of 280 kg/ha of potassium fertilizer. However, even in this case, chernozems are characterized by a low potassium supply according to the value of potassium potential and the content of nonexchangeable potassium. A single application of potassium fertilizers does not cause significant changes in the contents of illites in the clay fraction.     

Changes in clay minerals of vertic chernozems under the impact of different ameliorants in a model experiment

The interaction of different ameliorants and fertilizers with the solid phase of clayey vertic chernozems was studied in a model experiment. Changes in the organization and properties of the mineral mass from the plow horizon under the impact of ameliorants took place at several hierarchical levels. At the level of soil aggregates, both the disaggregation of the soil mass and the formation of agronomically valuable soil aggregates under the impact of different ameliorants were observed. The method of fractional peptization of the soil mass was applied to study the behavior of clay minerals. The specificity of the crystallochemistry of smectitic minerals and their changes under the impact of introduced substances were studied in different fractions of clay.     

The number and biomass of microorganisms in ancient buried and recent chernozems under different land uses

The size, number, and biomass of bacteria and microscopic fungi were studied in chernozems of different land uses (forest, fallow, pasture, and cropland), in paleosols under mounds of different ages in the territories adjacent to the background recent chernozems; and in the cultural layer of an ancient settlement of the Bronze Age, Early Iron Age, and Early Middle Age (4100–1050 years ago). The method of cascade filtration revealed that bacterial cells had a diameter from 0.1 to 1.85 μm; their average volume varied from 0.2 to 1.1 μm³. Large bacterial cells predominated in the soils of natural biocenoses; fine cells were dominants in the arable soils and their ancient analogues. The bacterial biomass counted by the method of cascade filtration was first found to be 10–380 times greater than that determined by luminescence microscopy. The maximal bacterial biomass (350–700 μg/g) was found in the soils of the birch forest edge (~80-year-old) and under the 80-year-old fallow. In the soils of the 15–20 year-old fallows and pastures, the bacterial biomass was 110–180 μg/g; in the arable soils and soils under the mounds, it was 80–130 and 30–130 μg/g, respectively. The same sequence was recorded in soils for the content of fungal mycelium and spores, which predominated over the bacterial mass. With the increasing age of the buried paleosols from 1100 to 3900 years, the share of the biomass of fungal spores increased in the total fungal and total microbial biomasses. In the cultural layer of the Berezovaya Luka (Altai region) settlement that had been functioning about 4000 years ago, the maximal biomass and number of fungal spores and the average biomass of bacteria and fungal mycelium comparable to that in the studied soils were revealed. In this cultural layer, the organic matter content was low (Corg, 0.4%), and the content of available phosphorus was high (P₂O₅, 17 mg/g). These facts attest to the significant saturation of this layer with microbial cenoses 4000 years ago and to their partial preservation up to now owing to the high concentration of ancient human wastes there.     

不同树龄骏枣树养分吸收差异研究

【目的】旨在明确不同树龄骏枣树形成单位产量所需的各器官营养元素年吸收量的异同点,以期为骏枣生产中的科学均衡施肥提供理论依据。【方法】以新疆阿克苏地区4、 7和10年生骏枣树作为试材,从枣树地上部分各器官分别采样,测定N、 P、 K、 Ca、 Mg、 Mn、 Fe、 Zn和Cu含量。【结果】骏枣树形成地上部各器官单位生物量所需要的养分含量,不同树龄间相比差异均不显著,但其生物量在总生物量中所占的百分率有差异,4、 7、 10年生骏枣树果实占地上部年总生物量的百分率依次为72.9%、 73.7%、 75.7%,叶片依次为5.4%、 5.2%、 5.1%,花依次为1.3%、 1.5%、 1.4%,茎枝依次为20.4%、 19.5%、 17.6%,三个树龄骏枣树各器官生物量的大少顺序均为果实＞茎枝＞叶片＞花。每形成1000 kg果实的总生物量随着树龄的增大而逐渐减少,茎枝保留和剪掉部分生物量均降低。采前落果率随树龄增加上升,叶片生物量减少,受精花生物量上升,而其掉落部分生物量表现先上升后下降。三个树龄骏枣地上部分生物量年增加量所需要的各营养元素量顺序均为K＞N＞Ca＞Mg＞P＞Fe＞Zn＞Mn＞Cu,每形成1000 kg果实所需要吸收的养分量非常接近,4年生骏枣树为N 22.8 kg、 P 1.7 kg、 K 34.0 kg、 Ca 7.4 kg、 Mg 5.0 kg、 Mn 54.5 g、 Fe 916.9 g、 Zn 202.8 g、 Cu 42.5 g; 7年生骏枣树为N 22.7 kg、 P 1.7 kg、 K 33.9 kg、 Ca 7.3 kg、 Mg 4.9 kg、 Mn 53.9 g、 Fe 907.2 g、 Zn 204.5 g、 Cu 42.0 g; 10年生骏枣树N 22.1 kg、 P 1.7 kg、 K 33.4 kg、 Ca 6.8 kg、 Mg 4.7 kg、 Mn 51.8 g、 Fe 871.3 g、 Zn 204.8 g、 Cu 40.4 g。【结论】3种树龄骏枣树地上部年总生物量中果实生物量与其余生物量的比例约为3∶1,且形成1000 kg果实所需的养分量也基本一致。由于总生物量和果实产量随树龄的增加而增加,因此,对养分的总需求量增加。但是由于果实生物量所占比例有所增加,测算单位产量所需要的各营养元素年吸收量时,也应考虑果实以外器官的年生物量所需要的养分吸收量,才能得到较准确的肥料施入量和各营养元素的比例。