The composition of humus in permafrost-affected soils of the Bol’shezemel’skaya and Kolyma tundra areas

Tundra soils (except for the soils of barren circles) in the moderately and extremely continental tundra areas are characterized by the pronounced surface accumulation of humic substances. The humate-fulvate nature of humus is typical of the upper horizons of surface eluvial-gley soils, gley soils, and raw-humus mountainous brown soils; the C ha/C fa ratio in them varies from 0.5 to 0.91. The fulvate-humate nature of humus (C ha/C fa = 1.27–1.50) is typical of cryozems and sandy podburs. The first and the third fractions of humic substances (hs 1 and hs 3) predominate in the composition of humus. The coefficients of correlation (R) between the major parameters of soil humus and the physicochemical characteristics of tundra soils have been calculated. These coefficients between the contents of C org, C ha, C fa, C ha1, and C ha3 and the total acidity are equal to 0.73, 0.76, 0.72, 0.85, and 0.67, respectively; for the exchangeable Mg²⁺, their values are equal to 0.66, 0.88, 0.85, 0.74, and 0.90, respectively; and for the exchangeable Ca²⁺, 0.55, 0.47, 0.39, 0.41, and 0.61, respectively (p < 0.05). The composition of exchangeable cations and the total acidity specify the conditions of fractionation of humic substances in the studied soils. The differentiation of the qualitative composition of humus in the profiles of tundra soils is well pronounced and is mainly controlled by the distribution of clay and fine silt particles.     

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons and Carbon Isotopes in a Palsa Peat (Bol’shezemel’skaya Tundra)

Eurasian Soil Science - The content of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and carbon isotope composition in the peat of a palsa near Eletsky settlement, Vorkuta urban district, Komi Republic...     

Hydrocarbon contamination of arctic tundra soils of the Bol’shoi Lyakhovskii Island (the Novosibirskie Islands)

Data on the distribution of the components of oil products that have accumulated in the arctic tundra soils of the Bol’shoi Lyakhovskii Island (the Novosibirskie Islands) under the impact of technogenic loads are analyzed. The examined soils differ in the vertical and lateral distribution patterns of the methanenaphthenic and naphthenic hydrocarbons and in the degree of their transformation. This is determined by the position of particular soils in the catenas and by the sorption of particular hydrocarbon compounds in the soils. The portion of light molecular-weight hydrocarbons in the upper horizons decreases by two-ten times in comparison with the deeper soil layers. In the lateral direction, the twofold difference in the contents of the methane-naphthenic and naphthenic hydrocarbons in the upper horizons is seen. The degree of transformation of the hydrocarbons under the impact of microbiological processes depends on the aeration conditions, the depth of permafrost table, the composition of oil products, and the soil organic matter content.     

Erratum to: Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons and Carbon Isotopes in a Palsa Peat (Bol’shezemel’skaya Tundra)

Eurasian Soil Science - An Erratum to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1134/S1064229321990011     

Base-buffering properties of native and agrogenically transformed dark-humus gley soils of the Primor’e region

The base-buffering properties of native and agrogenically transformed dark-humus gley soils of the Khanka Valley were studied using the method of equilibrium potentiometric titration. The major buffering systems of the soils under study were characterized. The highest base-buffering capacity was observed in the humus horizon of the dark-humus gley soil, where correlations between the buffer intensity, the exchangeable and total acidities, and the carbon content were revealed. In the agrogenically transformed soil, the base-buffering capacity decreased by an order of magnitude.     

Soils of the Bol’shoi Zayatskii Island

Soils of the Bol’shoi Zayatskii Island of the Solovki Archipelago (the White Sea) have been studied. Data on the morphology and properties of these soils are presented. The genesis and evolution of the soils as related to the glacioisostatic uplift of the island in the Holocene are discussed.     

Physical properties of soils and the simulation of the hydrothermal regime for the complex soil cover of the Vladimir Opol’e region

A methodological approach to the physically sound mathematical simulation of the hydrothermal regime for a complex soil cover on an agricultural field scale was proposed. To realize the approach, it is necessary (1) to restore the hydrothermal regime of two contrasting soils using a physically sound mathematical model on the basis of the experimental thermophysical and hydrophysical characteristics, (2) to adapt and optimize the model using the available experimental regime data, (3) to determine the hydrophysical and thermophysical properties for the entire plot under study using pedotransfer functions, and (4) to restore the hydrothermal regime of the entire soil plot using a mathematical model and the meteorological data for a specific time period. The proposed procedure allows simulating the hydrothermal regime of an agrogray soil complex in the Vladimir Opol??e region with a normalized standard error of about 8%. The analysis of the hydrothermal regime for the soil cover of the studied plot calculated from the meteorological data for the period from May to August of 2009 showed that the lower temperature values were confined to the areas of the agrogray soils with the second humus horizon: their average temperature was lower than the temperature of the agrogray soils by 0.44, 0.93, and 1.32°C at depths of 20, 40, and 70 cm, respectively, and the differences between their sums of the active temperatures for the considered period of 2009 reached 89 and 74°C at depths of 20 and 40 cm, respectively.     

The content of microelements and iron in soils and plants in the basin of lake Kotokel’ in Western Transbaikalia

The content of microelements (Mn, Zn, Cu, Co, Ni, Cr, Pb, and Cd) and Fe is determined in the soils and plants of the Lake Kotokel’ basin. Their content in the soils is proved not to exceed the regional background and the existing MPC and APC. The content of Cd is revealed to exceed its clarke value for the world soils, which is related to the natural origin of this element. The concentrations of Mn, Co, and Pb are close to their clarke values, and those of Zn, Cu, Ni, and Cr are lower than their clarkes. The studied soils are specified by the maximal amount of the mobile forms of microelements. The profile distribution of the microelements differs depending on the genetic soil type. For Mn, Zn, and Cu, a significant biogenic accumulation is pronounced in the organic soil horizons. The content of microelements in the aboveground phytomass exceeds the maximal permissible levels for Mn, Co, Cr, and Fe. The intensity of the microelements absorption by the plants varies widely, being specified by the high coefficient of the biological adsorption (except for Fe). Mn, Zn, and Cu are accumulated in the plant phytomass the most intensely.     

Phytoindication of the water status and nutrient supply of oil-polluted soils in the middle reaches of the Ob’ River

The method of phytoindication of the soil water status and nutrient supply was applied to natural and oil-contaminated soils in the middle reaches of the Ob’ River. These soil characteristics were indirectly assessed using the ecological scales developed by L. G. Ramenskii. On this basis, changes in the soil water status and nutrient supply under the impact of soil contamination with oil and oil products were estimated for the particular soil and landscape conditions     

On some general regularities of the formation and changes in properties of mn‐fe concretions in soils of humid landscapes

An attempt is made to formulate general regularities of changes in the amount and composition of Mn‐Fe conoretions in soils of humid landscapes, confined to various soil‐forming rocks within the Russian platform. It is concluded, that the intensive formation of concretions is highly conditioned by waterlogging degree of soils and their hydrological regime. The content of concretions is always maximum in gley‐like soils (seldom in gley ones), independing on genesis of parent rocks; the fraction distribution of Mn‐Fe concretions proves to be stable in time; Mn amount is declined with increasing the waterloggiing degree of soils, while the content of Fe becomes increased; the highest accumulation of such microelements as Co, Pb, Cd is observed in concretions, which are rich in Mn. The concretions are characterized by a high amount of X‐ray‐amorphous Fe as well as by a low magnetic susceptibility. The chemical composition of concretions is shown to be preferable for quantitative diagnosis of the water‐logging degree in soils.     

Improvement of the X-ray radiometric method of lanthanides’ diagnostics in soils

There are scarce data on the content of lanthanides in the soils of Russia, which is explained by the difficulties in their identification. The improvement of X-ray radiometric analysis permitted us to analyze a significant group of lanthanides in soils, i.e., La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, and Dy. Methods of diagnostics are developed for different groups of lanthanides. The new procedure permitted achieving high accuracy in the measurement; the limit of the lanthanide identification in soils is equal to 2?C5 mg/kg. The new procedure allows revealing the particularities of heavy lanthanides?? distribution depending on the lithogenic and anthropogenic factors. The procedure is applicable for revealing the technogenic anomalies of heavy lanthanides and determining their content in soils within positive and weakly negative anomalies.     

Sand mineralogy and related properties of some soils in South‐Western Nigeria

Abstract

Five representative soil profiles were excavated along a toposequence selected in the Itagunmodi area of South‐Western Nigeria. The soils were subjected to physical, chemical, and mineralogical analyses. The results indicated soils with high fine sand and clay contents, but low silt content. The soils were found to vary from slightly acid to strongly acid (pHH₂O = 4.0 to 6.2). Organic C, available P, and Kjeldahl N contents decreased with increasing depth. Cation exchange capacity (CEC) ranged from 3.11 to 28.75 cmol(+)/kg soil. Base saturation was low (<51%). From a total elemental analysis, Si was found to be the dominant element, followed by Al, and then Fe. Extractable P, and exchangeable K, Mg, and Ca were quite low. The dominant minerals in the fine sand fraction were quartz, feldspar, zircon, hornblende, tourmaline, and opaque ores. The variation in the zircon/tourmaline (two resistant minerals) ratios with depth suggests a stratification of the parent material. The change in the quartz/feldspar ratios was an indication that the degree of weathering in the soil profile is not uniform.     

Application of the Weng’s ratio for the identification of Zn, Cu, and Pb contamination in soils and sediments

Purpose

This work explores the application of the use of Zn, Cu, and Pb relative contents as a new type of normalization method for geochemical properties of soils and sediments in an Atlantic Basin (Anllóns River, NW Spain). The method is based on the conservative behavior of these elements, which exhibit a certain concentration ratio that remains stable as long as there are no human disturbances.

Materials and methods

The average relative contents of Zn, Cu, and Pb were calculated by dividing the concentration of each metal in soils or sediments, in the <63-μm fraction, by the sum of Zn, Cu, and Pb, expressed as a percentage. The evaluation of the sum of the average relative concentrations of Zn, Cu, and Pb (Ri), together with three standard deviations for each element, namely, Ri ± 3Si, allows a hexagon to be constructed, represented in ternary diagrams of Zn:Cu:Pb. Following the method proposed by Weng et al. (Environ Geol 45:79–85, 2003), those samples falling outside the hexagon must be considered outliers.

Results and discussion

Results obtained confimed the conservative behavior between the relative contents of Zn, Cu, and Pb in surficial samples (soils, bed, and suspended sediments). Only sediment cores displayed nonconservative behavior, showing a marked Pb enrichment, with respect to the surficial samples. When Zn, Cu, and Pb relative contents were plotted in ternary diagrams, outliers were best classified when the hexagon was drawn with standard deviations of samples from the study area. The hexagon drawn with an international database of soils and sediments showed a poorer classification of outliers.

Conclusions

The results showed that total Zn, Cu, and Pb relative contents may be employed to investigate anthropogenic disturbances of these elements in soils and sediments of the Anllóns River Basin, thus corroborating that this type of normalization may be employed as a tool to assess outliers in a contaminated area.     

The properties of meso- and microheterogeneities of soil cover in the area of the Privolzh’e irrigation system

The meso- and microheterogeneities of soil cover must be taken into account when designing and using an irrigation system to support sustainable functioning of agroecosystems and optimize field cutting, irrigation conditions, and crop rotation. The studies were conducted on the Privolzh??e irrigation system. The reasons and conditions for the formation of heterogeneities of the soil cover in the territory were ascertained during the works. The information gained can be used when analyzing soil cover in similar areas.     

Occurrence and properties of soils on sandy beach ridges in the Kelantan–Terengganu Plains,Peninsular Malaysia

A study was conducted along the Kelantan–Terengganu Coastal Plains, Peninsular Malaysia to explain the occurrence of sandy beach ridges and to determine the physico-chemical properties of the soils formed on them. Two or occasionally three series of sandy ridges running parallel to the shoreline occur in the area. These ridges are believed to have been formed by the continuous action of the sea waves following changes in the sea level during the Holocene, the oldest ridge being the one farthest away from the shoreline. In between these ridges occurs a slight depression, usually occupied by soils under submerged condition. The soils on the ridges are subjected to the processes of soil formation, mainly podzolization. There is no horizon differentiation in the soils on the ridge nearest to the shoreline. However, soils on the older ridges contain spodic horizon, occurring at varying depths. Drainage and the depth below which this spodic horizon occurs are the deciding factors for determining soil type (series). Physically, the soils are sandy containing > 95% sand, with the drainage varying from moderately well to excessively-drained for the soils on the ridges. Under this condition, the mineralogy of the clay and silt fractions is dominated by quartz; some feldspars, mica, kaolinite, gibbsite and anatase are also present. Sandy nature of the soils on beach ridges, extreme leaching, low cation exchange capacity and low exchangeable bases leads to their low productivity.     

Comparison of fine-grained soils of the kolsuz and Araplı areas in the Central Anatolia (Niǧde, Turkey) in terms of geotechnical properties

Clayey soils are used in various industrial applications as raw material. However, they are also used both as materials and soils on which constructions are built in the geotechnical engineering. Therefore, estimation of soil behavior in terms of design is vital. In this context, it is necessary to determine the engineering properties of the soils. There are voluminous study on the geology, mineralogy and chemistry of the clayey soils in the Central Anatolia, Ni?de (Turkey). However, not many studies deal with their geotechnical properties. In the current study, the engineering properties of clayey soils are determined through laboratory tests on the clayey soil samples taken from the Arapl? and Kolsuz areas and also the comparison is made between clayey soils in the Arapl? and Kolsuz areas considering their geotechnical properties. As a result, it is observed that the fine-grained soils of the Kolsuz area are inactive and have low plasticity (CL) with average w _L of 32 and w _P of 19. The fine-grained soils of the Arapl? area have high plasticity (MH) with average w _L of 96 and w _P of 57 and are active. It is also found that while the fine grained soils of the Kolsuz area has almost no swelling potential, those of the Arapl? area has high swelling potential based on their mineralogical contents, consistency limits, activities and swelling pressures.     

Morphology and water barrier properties of nanobiocomposites of κ/ι-hybrid carrageenan and cellulose nanowhiskers

The current study presents the development and characterization of novel carrageenan nanobiocomposites showing enhanced water barrier due to incorporation of cellulose nanowhiskers (CNW). CNW, prepared by acid hydrolysis of highly purified α cellulose microfibers, were seen to have a length of around 25-50 nm and a cross section of ca. 5 nm when dispersed in the matrix. The nanobiocomposites were prepared by incorporating 1, 3, and 5 wt % of the CNW into a carrageenan matrix using a solution casting method. Morphological data (TEM and optical microscopy) of the nanocomposites containing CNW were compared with the morphology of the corresponding biocomposites containing the original cellulose microfibers and the differences discussed. Thermal stability by TGA, water vapor permeability, and percent water uptake were also determined. The main conclusion arising from the analysis of the results is that the nanobiocomposites containing 3 wt % of CNW exhibited the lowest reduction in water vapor permeability, that is, ca. 71%, and that this reduction was largely attributed to a filler-induced water solubility reduction. This fully biobased nanoreinforced carrageenan can open new opportunities for the application of this biopolymer in food-packaging and -coating applications.     

Genesis of soils developed from red-brown clays and loesslike loams in the southwest of the Central Russian plain (the Belogor’e reserve)

Soils developed from the red-brown Neogene clay and the Quaternary loesslike loams have been studied in the south of the forest-steppe zone on the Central Russian Upland. A polygenetic nature of the soil profile on the loesslike loams is shown. The modern pedogenetic processes in this soil ensure its eluvial-illuvial differentiation with the development of multilayered coatings in the illuvial horizon. The soil developed from the Neogene clay has a lower degree of differentiation despite the more acid reaction. The micromorphological study of the coatings and the mineralogical analysis of the clay fraction separated from the coatings and from the intraped mass disclose differences in the geneses of B horizons of the two soils. In the soil developed from the loesslike loam, hydromica predominates among clay minerals of the coatings; in the soil developed from the red-brown clay, smectitic minerals predominate in the clay fraction. Differences in the properties of these two parent materials predetermined differences in the major directions of soil formation: the metamorphic pedogenesis predominates on the red-brown clay, whereas the textural differentiation develops in the soil on the loesslike loam. The middle horizons in the studied soil profiles are referred to as the structural-metamorphic and textural (clay-illuvial) horizons, respectively.     

Influence of oil and stratal water contamination on the ash composition of oligotrophic peat soils in the oil-production area (the Ob’ region)

The mineral contamination of peat soils in the oil-production area differs considerably in the places of oil or stratal water spills. The time elapsed since the spill occurred is also an important factor of the changes in the chemical composition of the peat ash. The ash content rises drastically in the oil-contaminated peat, and the peat ash becomes rich in heavy metals (Mn, Ni, and Sr) and lanthanides (La and Ce). The content of K and Fe decreases, and that of P, S, Mg, Ca, Ni, and Pb increases with time at the site of old oil contamination. In the course of the self-rehabilitation of oil-contaminated peat, the content of Cl decreases more intensely than that of the heavier halogen Br. The ash content rises to a lesser extent in the peat contaminated with stratal water. The ash of the salinized peat is enriched in heavy alkaline-earth elements, i.e., Ba and Sr. Although most of the elements are leached with time, the content of Ba and Sr still remains 4–6 times higher than the background one even after long-term (more than 10 years) leaching. The concentrations of halogens rise considerably in the salinized peat, that of Cl in the peat ash decreases by 10 times, and the content of Ba virtually remains the same.     

Assessment and prediction of changes in the reserves of organic carbon in abandoned soils of European Russia in 1990–2020

Experimental studies and the analysis of published data have shown that carbon reserves in soils generally increase upon soil exclusion from agricultural use. The rate of carbon accumulation in the abandoned soils depends on the soil type, the time elapsed since the soil abandoning (the restoration period), and the thickness of the layer for which the rate of carbon accumulation is determined. For the upper 20-cm-thick layer, it varies from 66 to 175 g C/m² per year in dependence on the type of soil and averages 111 g C/m² per year. The highest rate is typical of the first 10–15 years of soil restoration. According to our calculations, the carbon sequestration in the upper 20-cm-thick layer of Russian soils due to changes in land use was 184–673 Mt C in 1990–2005 and may reach 282–1030 Mt C by 2020.