Assessment of the effect of aerial transport of salts on solonetzic process in the Black Sea region

The aerial deposition of salts is often considered as one of the sources of soil salinity; the amount and composition of the salts deposited from the air are studied. In this paper, the potential contribution of aerial salts to the development of the solonetzic process in the soils of the Black Sea region is analyzed. The wet and dry (with dust) depositions are considered separately. To reveal their influence on the potential development of the solonetzic process, special calculations with the use of cation exchange equations have been performed. It is shown that solutions of salts deposited from the air can lead to a very weak development of the solonetzic process. Their amount is only sufficient to ensure the exchangeable sodium percentage in soils from 0. ⁿ to 2–4% of the exchange capacity.     

On the manifestation of solonetzic properties in soils of the steppe and dry steppe zones in the south of Ukraine

Solonetzic soils are widespread in the south of Ukraine; some of them are represented by low-sodium solonetzes whose diagnostics is complicated by the absence of correspondence between the low content of exchangeable sodium and the clearly pronounced features of the illuvial solonetzic horizon. The statistical treatment of available literature, personal materials, and the materials of soil surveys in the south of Ukraine demonstrated that the diagnostics of low-sodium solonetzes should be based on the assessment of the degree of illuviation in the soil profile. It was shown that the degree of correlation between the content of exchangeable sodium and the degree of illuviation of the soil profile varies in dependence on the size of the statistical sample and differs for the low-sodium and medium-sodium solonetzes. Two scales characterizing the degree of soil illuviation were developed for these soil groups. It is suggested that these scales should be applied during soil surveys in the areas with solonetzic soils.     

Changes in the salinity of solonetzic soil complexes of the Ergeni Upland under long-term anthropogenic impact (soil studies at the Arshan’-Zel’men Experimental Station of the Russian Academy of Sciences)

Unique experiments performed since the 1950s at the Arshan’-Zel’men Experimental Station have formed the basis for afforestation in the dry steppe and semidesert zone without irrigation on the salt-affected soils of solonetzic soil complexes of the Ergeni Upland. Ameliorative measures favored the accumulation of productive moisture in the upper 2-m-thick soil layer, which ensured the growth of trees and the partial leaching of soluble salts to a depth of 1–1.4 m. However, no complete desalinization of the soil profiles took place. The degree of removal of exchangeable sodium from the exchange complex (soil dealkalization) was smaller. The monitoring of changes in the salt status of the soils upon agroforest reclamation was performed until the early 1980s. Our investigations of 2005–2006 showed that the soil amelioration is still in progress: the salt maximum in the profile of the solonetzes descended to a depth of 2.2 m, and the exchangeable sodium was lost from the plow layer (0–40 cm). Plowed soils between forest shelterbelts were also subjected to desalinization and dealkalization of their soil profile, though less intensely than those under the shelterbelts.     

Changes in the properties of solonetzic soil complexes in the dry steppe zone under anthropogenic impacts

Long-term studies of changes in the properties of solonetzic soil complexes of the dry steppe zone under anthropogenic impacts (deep plowing, surface leveling, irrigation, and post-irrigation use) have been performed on the Privolzhskaya sand ridge and the Khvalyn and Ergeni plains. The natural morphology of solonetzic soils was strongly disturbed during their deep ameliorative plowing. At present, the soil cover consists of solonetzic agrozems (Sodic Protosalic Cambisols (Loamic, Aric, Protocalcic)), textural (clay-illuvial) calcareous agrozems (Eutric Cambisols (Loamic, Aric, Protocalcic)), agrosolonetzes (Endocalcaric Luvisols (Loamic, Aric, Cutanic, Protosodic), agrochestnut soils (Eutric Cambisols (Siltic, Aric)), and meadowchestnut soils (Haplic Кastanozems). No features attesting to the restoration of the initial profile of solonetzes have been found. The dynamics of soluble salts and exchangeable sodium differ in the agrosolonetzes and solonetzic agrozems. A rise in pH values takes place in the middle part of the soil profiles on the Khvalyn and Ergeni plains.     

Alkalinity of virgin solonetzes in northern Kalmykia (the Arshan-Zel’men Experimental Station)

The alkalinity of virgin solonetzes of the Ergeni Upland, Ergeni Plain, and Sarpinsk Lowland has been studied. These soils are characterized by the neutral salinization and the high alkalinity of the solonetzic and subsolonetzic horizons. The analysis of the soil water extracts demonstrated that the highest alkalinity is typical of the subsolonetzic horizons containing calcium carbonates (the B2 and BCca horizons). In the solonetzic horizons without CaCO₃, the alkalinity is lower despite the high exchangeable sodium percentage (up to 42%). The alkalinity of the solonetzic and subsolonetzic horizons may be conditioned by two processes: (a) the hydrolysis of the exchange complex (EC) containing sodium (EC-Na + H₂O ↔ EC-H + Na⁺ + OH⁻) and (b) the reaction of the ion exchange with the substitution of calcium for sodium in the exchange complex (EC-2Na + CaCO₃ ↔ EC-Ca + 2Na⁺ + CO₃²⁻). Calculations performed on the basis of the thermodynamic equations of the physicochemical equilibria according to the LIBRA program indicate that soda is absent in the solonetzic horizons, whose alkalinity is related to the carbonatecalcium equilibria. The high alkalinity of the calcareous subsolonetzic horizons is related to the presence of soda in combination with CaCO₃. The formation of soda in these horizons is due to the reaction of ion exchange described by Gedroits.     

Solonetzic process in postagrogenic and postameliorative conditions of the Kamennaya Steppe area

The physicochemical conditions and morphological features of solonetzic process in soils of chernozemic solonetzic complexes were studied in the area of solonetzic experimental station no. 1 in the Kamennaya Steppe area in 55 years after a single application of ameliorative measures (earthening, gypsuming, and manuring) and cessation of the annual plowing. It was found that the modern soil-forming factors favor the development of soil processes inherent in native chernozems and solonetzes prior to their plowing and amelioration. They cause the restoration of the humus horizon in chernozems and the morphological differentiation of solonetzes after the cessation of plowing. Active postameliorative and postagrogenic restoration of solonetzic features is related to the preservation of the physicochemical conditions (the low concentration of salts and the presence of exchangeable sodium) in the soil profile. The humus horizon of chernozems applied over the surface of solonetzes is characterized by the appearance of solonetzic features under hydromorphic conditions.     

Modern tendencies of changes in the properties of virgin and post-irrigational soils of solonetzic complexes on the Privolzhskaya ridge

The study of post-irrigational and virgin soils of solonetzic complexes on the Privolzhskaya sandy ridge has shown that the morphological features of paleohydromorphism and the features acquired during the 30-year-long irrigation period are well preserved in the soil profiles. After the cessation of irrigation, the upper boundary of effervescence has shifted closer to the soil’s surface; fine-crystalline gypsum has appeared in channel pores. When the groundwater level is deeper than 4 m, the boundary of effervescence is higher than the boundary of the gypsum concentrations. When the groundwater level is about 3 m, these two boundaries coincide. If the groundwater level is higher than 2.5 m, the boundary of the effervescence is found deeper than the boundary of the gypsum concentrations. Salinization and solonetzization of the post-irrigational soils have not been identified. In the virgin soils with the groundwater level of 2.3–3.0 m, the content of exchangeable sodium in the upper 30 cm is similar to that in the post-irrigational soils. In the deeper layers, the exchangeable sodium content in the solonetzes and chestnut soils rises up to 25% and more; in the meadow-chestnut soils, it constitutes up to 4% of the sum of exchangeable bases.     

Morphology and properties of the soils of permafrost peatlands in the southeast of the Bol’shezemel’skaya tundra

The morphology and properties of the soils of permafrost peatlands in the southeast of the Bol’shezemel’skaya tundra are characterized. The soils developing in the areas of barren peat circles differ from oligotrophic permafrost-affected peat soils (Cryic Histosols) of vegetated peat mounds in a number of morphological and physicochemical parameters. The soils of barren circles are characterized by the wellstructured surface horizons, relatively low exchangeable acidity, and higher rates of decomposition and humification of organic matter. It is shown that the development of barren peat circles on tops of peat mounds is favored by the activation of erosional and cryogenic processes in the topsoil. The role of winter wind erosion in the destruction of the upper peat and litter horizons is demonstrated. A comparative analysis of the temperature regime of soils of vegetated peat mounds and barren peat circles is presented. The soil–geocryological complex of peat mounds is a system consisting of three major layers: seasonally thawing layer–upper permafrost–underlying permafrost. The upper permafrost horizons of peat mounds at the depth of 50–90 cm are morphologically similar to the underlying permafrost. However, these layers differ in their physicochemical properties, especially in the composition and properties of their organic matter.     

Anthropogenic transformation of soils in the northern Ergeni Upland (studies at the first experimental plot of the Arshan’-Zelmen Research Station)

The results of soil studies performed in 2005–2009 at the first experimental plot of the Arshan’-Zelmen Research Station of the Institute of Forest Science of the Russian Academy of Sciences are discussed. The post-reclamation state (about 55 years after reclamation) of the soils under forest shelterbelts and adjacent croplands in the rainfed agriculture was studied. The long-term efficiency of forest reclamation and crop-growing technologies developed in the 1950s by the Dokuchaev Soil Science Institute and the Institute of Forest to reclaim strongly saline solonetzic soils was proved. In 55 years, strongly saline sodic solonetzes with sulfate-chloride and chloride-sulfate composition of salts were replaced by agrogenic soils with new properties. Under forest shelterbelts, where deep (40–60 cm) plowing was performed, the soils were transformed into slightly saline solonetzic agrozems with slight soda salinization in the upper meter and with dealkalized plowed and turbated horizons (0–20(40) cm). Under the adjacent cropland subjected to the influence of the shelterbelts on the soil water regime, strongly saline solonetzes were transformed into solonchakous agrosolonetzes with slight soda salinization in the upper 50 cm. In the plow layer, the content of exchangeable sodium decreased to 4–12% of the sum of exchangeable cations. An increased alkalinity and the presence of soda were found in the middle-profile horizons of the anthropogenically transformed soils.     

Degradation and remediation of soils polluted with oil-field wastewater

The changes in the properties of gray forest soils and leached chernozems under the impact of contamination with highly saline oil-field wastewater were studied in a model experiment. It was shown that the soil contamination results in the development of technogenic salinization and alkalization leading to worsening of the major soil properties. The salinization of the soils with oil-field wastewater transformed the soil exchange complex: the cation exchange capacity decreased, and the exchangeable sodium percentage increased to up to 25% of the CEC upon the wastewater infiltration and up to 60% of the CEC upon the continuous soil saturation with the wastewater independently of the soil type. The content of exchangeable magnesium also increased due to the phenomenon of super-equivalent exchange. Despite the saturation of the soil adsorption complex with sodium, no development of the soil alkalization took place in the presence of the high concentration of soluble salts. However, the soil alkalization was observed upon the soil washing from soluble salts. The gypsum application to the washed soils lowered the exchangeable sodium concentration to acceptable values and normalized the soil reaction. The gypsum application without the preliminary washing of the soils from soluble salts was of low efficiency; even after six months, the content of exchangeable sodium remained very high. The subsequent soil washing resulted in the removal of the soluble salts but did not affect the degree of the soil alkalization.     

Diagnosis of solonetzic process in virgin and agrogenically transformed soils of different regions

To diagnose solonetzic process in virgin and agrogenically transformed soils of solonetzic soil complexes in the chernozemic and chestnut soil zones of European Russia and Western Siberia, their swelling kinetics and physicochemical characteristics were been studied. It was shown that a simultaneous application of these two approaches is more efficient than their separate use. The degree of manifestation of solonetzic process in the studied soils was determined. Swelling curves of sodic reclaimed solonetzes of Lyubinsk district of Omsk oblast and of a virgin solonetz of the Baraba Lowland with a moderate content of adsorbed sodium proved to be similar to those described for the vertic soils with a low infiltration capacity in the North Caucasus.     

Saline-alkali soils of Russia

Diagnostics, methods of evaluation, and geography of saline-alkali (soda) soils are discussed. The saline-alkali soils include soils of different genetic types with the following chemical properties: the pH of the water suspensions equal to or higher than 8.5; the total alkalinity exceeding 1.4 meq/100 g of soil and the sum of water-soluble calcium and magnesium; and the presence of soluble “alkaline” salts in the soil profiles, the hydrolysis of which results in the alkaline reaction of the soils. The chemical properties of the saline-alkali soils are largely related to the presence of soda (Na₂CO₃, NaHCO₃) in the soils. According to their morphological properties, saline-alkali soils are divided into two groups: alkaline soils with an undiferentiated profile and without a morphologically pronounced solonetzic (natric) horizon, and alkaline soils with a pronounced natric horizon (solonetzes). Solonetzes, in turn, are divided into (a) alkaline solonetzes (with soda or with soda and neutral salts), (b) solonetzes salinized with neutral salts (saline soils) with increased alkalinity in the solonetzic and lower lying horizons, (c) saline solonetzes throughout the profile, and (d) leached solonetzes containing no soluble salts in the profile and almost no exchangeable sodium in the soil exchange complex (SEC) (“dead” solonetzes). The latter two groups of solonetzes cannot be ranked among the alkaline soils. The alkalinity of the saline-alkali soils under study is due to carbonate and bicarbonate ions (carbonate alkalinity), organic acid anions (organic alkalinity), and borate ions (borate alkalinity). The carbonate alkalinity is due to both soda (Na₂CO₃, NaHCO₃) and CaCO₃.     

Soil salinization of the Baer Mounds in the Volga River delta

The Baer Mounds are elongated hills arranged in parallel rows stretched from the east to the west in the Astrakhan steppe. The distance between the mounds varies from 200 to 1500 m (300 m on the average). The width of the mounds is about 250 m and their length is from 450 m to 4.5–5 km long (sometimes, up to 15–20 km). The height of the mounds varies from 7 to 10 m and increases in the southward direction. The mounds are composed of clayey sand; loamy sand; light loam; and, sometimes, loam. Their top (1–3 m) parts consist of clayey sand and loamy sand with thin interlayers of loam, clay, and argillite pebbles. The upper horizons of the brown semidesert soils are not saline. Soluble salts are leached off from them into deeper horizons. On the slopes, the deep soil horizons are saline, and salts are transported from the deep soil layers into the upper layers. This can be explained by the regular flooding of the foots of the mounds with floodwater and the capillary rise of water. Alternation of salinization and desalinization processes is responsible for the nonuniform distribution of salts in the soil profiles and along the soil catena.     

Changes in the properties of soils in a solonetz soil complex thirty years after reclamation

The long-term (30 year) dynamics of a solonetz soil complex composed of solonetzic light chestnut soils and chestnut solonetzes under standard conditions and with the application of agromeliorative measures are considered. When the standard zonal agricultural practice is used, the soils of the solonetzic complex have unfavorable agrophysical, chemical, and physicochemical properties and low productivity. After 30 years of the standard three-level tillage of the soils to a depth of 40–45 cm, the productivity of the biogeocenosis decreased. Thirty years after a single rotary-milling subsoil treatment of the 20- to 45-cm soil layer using a milling tool FS-1.3, there were no morphological features pointing to the restoration of the solonetzic process. The humus content in the 0-to 20-cm and 20-to 40-cm soil layers was 2.3 and 1.7%, respectively; the content of adsorbed Na⁺ in the 20-to 30-cm layer was 11.6% of the total exchange capacity, or 38% lower than its content in the reference soil. The additional yield reached 30–70% and more of that obtained with the standard agricultural technology used during the whole period under investigation. The method of systems biogeotechnology (systems bio-geo engineering) is proposed as a method for the preventive control of soil evolution and the maintenance of the stability and high productivity of the soil cover.     

大兴安岭旱作丘陵区耕地肥力演变研究

以全国第二次土壤普查资料为主要数据源,结合实地取样测定,比较分析了大兴安岭东南麓旱作丘陵区1981～2007年期间土壤肥力演变状况。结果表明,二十多年间耕地土壤养分含量发生明显变化。主要表现为:土壤有机质、全氮、碱解氮和速效钾含量明显下降,速效磷含量增加,但不同土壤类型的变化幅度不同;草甸土的有机质和全氮含量下降幅度大于暗棕壤和黑土,碱解氮含量在黑土中的下降幅度较大,暗棕壤次之,草甸土较低;暗棕壤中有效磷增加的幅度大于黑土和草甸土;速效钾在暗棕壤中下降的幅度最大,在黑土中下降的幅度最小;该区土壤中富含交换性钙、交换性镁、有效硫、有效硅等中量元素和锌、铜、铁和锰等微量元素;现有耕地约有87.2%的土壤缺硼,78.2%的土壤缺钼。     

有机肥替代化学氮肥提升红壤抗酸化能力

【目的】长期过量施用化学氮肥加剧了红壤区农田土壤酸化,严重制约着该区域农业的可持续发展。施用石灰和有机肥是防治红壤酸化的主要措施,我们研究了有机无机肥配合提高红壤抗酸化能力的作用与机理。【方法】本研究基于2009年在湖南祁阳中国农业科学院红壤站开展的有机肥替代化学氮肥长期定位试验,其中4个处理分别为单施化肥(由于酸化严重,于2018年底添加石灰改良)、有机肥替代化肥氮20%、40%和60%,供试有机肥为猪粪。采集2018和2020年的土壤样品,分析各施肥处理红壤pH、交换性酸铝、阳离子交换量、有机质、酸缓冲能力等指标的变化及相互关系。【结果】至2018年,单施化肥处理较试验之初土壤pH降低了0.48个单位,交换性酸、铝分别增加了2.74和1.06 cmol/kg;添加石灰改良后,土壤pH升高了0.58个单位,交换性酸、铝分别降低了2.62和1.45 cmol/kg。有机肥替代化肥氮40%和60%处理均可有效防治红壤酸化,其中以替代60%处理效果最佳;至2020年60%有机替代处理土壤pH较初始值提高了0.78个单位,交换性酸和交换性铝分别降低了1.10和1.25 cmol/kg。有机肥...     

Nutrient storage in soils and nests of mound-building <Emphasis Type="Italic">Trinervitermes</Emphasis> termites in Central Burkina Faso: consequences for soil fertility

Nest structures of two termite species (Trinervitermes spp.) with epigeal (above-ground) mounds were analyzed to compare their nutrient status with that of adjacent soils. To take into account soil variability, the observations and samplings were made in three toposequences of different and representative West African savanna soils. The data showed the high degree of adaptation of these termite species to a large range of soil types and environments. Mounds of Trinervitermes geminatus and Trinervitermes trinervius, both grass-feeders, contained more clay, organic matter (OM), and exchangeable cations than the surrounding surface layer soil. The storage of OM and exchangeable cations was determined for T. geminatus nests and compared to the surrounding soil. Despite substantial nutrient storage in mounds, its total weight appeared low when compared to the nutrient storage in the surrounding 0–15 cm of soil surface layer. This illustrates how contradictory points of view on the use of termite mounds in agriculture need to be clarified using a classical approach that takes into account data by species; and this also evaluates the contribution of different termite mounds to nutrient fluxes and storage and the exact stocking rate of living mounds.     

Profile analysis of microbiomes in soils of solonetz complex in the Caspian Lowland

The taxonomic structure of the microbiota in two associated soils—solonetz on a microhigh and meadow-chestnut soil in a microlow—was studied in the semidesert of the Caspian Lowland. A highthroughput sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene was used for the soil samples from genetic horizons. A considerable reduction in the bacterial diversity was found in the lower horizons of the solonetz and compact solonetzic horizon with a high content of exchangeable sodium. In the meadow-chestnut soil, the microbial diversity little decreased with the depth. In both soils, a portion of archaea from the Thaumarchaeota group also decreased in the deeper horizons. In the soil horizons with the lower total bacterial diversity, a share of proteobacteria of the Enterobacteriaceae, Pseudomonadaceae, and Sphingomonadaceae families became higher. The difference between the structure of the microbial population in the solonetz and meadow- chestnut soil can be first explained by the different water regimes and soil consistence.     

质量指数表征模拟降雨下土壤坡面养分的流失特性

通过室内自动模拟降雨系统,设置模拟降雨试验,运用土壤单质量指数(SSQI)和土壤综合质量指数(SSCI),研究了模拟降雨对3种类型土壤(棕壤、褐土与红壤)坡面养分流失及土壤质量变化的影响。结果显示:降雨造成了3种类型土壤坡面不同程度的氮素流失,土壤全氮指数均有所降低,并以坡下部降低最多;表下层坡面土壤全氮指数以棕壤降低最多,分别为褐土的1.33倍和1.79倍、红壤的9.28倍和3.45倍。降雨均提高了3种类型土壤坡面有效磷的含量,有效磷指数除棕壤下层坡面降低了3.98%外,其余土壤坡面升高了4.00%~47.73%,并以红壤表下层坡面的升高幅度最大。模拟降雨下,土壤速效钾含量变化受土壤类型影响较大,3种类型土壤中,红壤坡面的速效钾指数有较大幅度升高,褐土坡面降雨前后基本持平,而棕壤坡面有小幅降低。模拟降雨后,棕壤与褐土表下层坡面综合指数分别降低了33.62%、35.34%与22.53%、11.73%,而红壤反而升高了18.93%与7.00%。