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.     

Modern evolution of soils and vegetation of agricultural lands of the Orenburg oblast

Materials are represented for studying the dynamics of the properties and structure of the landscapes of the agricultural lands of the steppe and forest-steppe zones within the last twenty years, in connection with a reduction of their anthropogenic load.     

The microbial biomass in paleosols buried under kurgans and in recent soils in the steppe zone of the Lower Volga region

The total microbial biomass (TMB) was assessed in the chestnut and light chestnut soils and in the paleosols under burial mounds (steppe kurgans) in the Lower Volga region on the basis of data on the organic carbon content in the extracted microbial fraction supplemented with the data on the extraction completeness as a conversion coefficient. The completeness of the microbial fraction extraction was determined by direct counting of the microbial cells and colony-forming units (on plates with soil agar). The total microbial biomass varied from 400 to 6600 μg of C/soil. Its values in the buried soils were 3–5 times lower than those in the surface soils. The TMB distribution in the buried chestnut soil profile was close to that in its modern analogue (with the minimum in the B1 horizon). In the buried light chestnut paleosols, the TMB values usually increased down the profile; in the recent light chestnut soils, the maximum TMB values were found in the uppermost horizon.     

Mineralogical and chemical compositions of the paleosols of different ages buried under kurgans in the southern Ergeni region and their paleoclimatic interpretation

The chemical and mineralogical compositions and the contents and properties of the organic matter were studied in the paleosols of different ages buried under the kurgan group “Kalmykia” in the southern part of the Ergeni Upland. The investigated sequence of soils included profiles developed on the given territory about 5100, 4410, 4260, 4120, 3960, and 600 yrs ago. The background light chestnut soil was also examined. The results of our study showed that the earlier established climate changes in this area during the second half of the Holocene are reflected in the chemical and mineralogical compositions of the soils. These characteristics can be used as indicators of the paleoclimatic conditions together with some petrophysical characteristics, such as the magnetic susceptibility of the soil samples. The study of the mineralogical composition of the clay fraction of the paleosols attests to the transformation of the smectitic phase, accumulation of illites, and destruction of chlorites manifested at different degrees. It is argued that the geochemical indices—CIA, Al₂O₃/(CaO + MgO + K₂O + Na₂O), Rb/Sr, and Ba/Sr—are sensitive to climate changes and reflect the transformation of the mineral soil mass and the soil genesis.     

Comparative characterization of microbial communities in kurgans,paleosols buried under them,and background surface soils in the steppe zone of the Lower Volga region

A comparative analysis of the state of microbial communities in kurgans, paleosols buried under them, and background surface soils in the dry steppe zone of the Lower Volga region has been performed. It is shown that the population density of microorganisms of various trophic groups in the kurgans is an order of magnitude lower than that in the A1 horizon of the corresponding buried paleosols and background surface soils within the areas of chestnut, light chestnut, and solonetzic soils. The respiration activity of the microbial communities in the upper layer of the kurgans is comparable with that in the A1 horizons of the background surface soils; it decreases in the deeper layers of the kurgans. In the A1 horizon of the buried paleosols, the respiration activity is approximately the same as in the deep layers of the kurgans. In the buried paleosols, the spatial variability in the numbers of soil microorganisms is approximately the same or somewhat higher than that in the background surface soils. The spatial variability in the respiration activity of the buried paleosols is two to four times higher than that in the background surface soils.     

Upper Permian paleosols developed from limestone in the middle reaches of the Volga River: Morphology and genesis

The results of the study of paleosols preserved in the Upper Permian deposits in the central part of the Russian plate are presented. The paleosol profiles consist of the medium loamy dark brown BMg,ca horizon and the hard cemented calcareous Mm,ca and Mca horizons. The imprints of plant roots in the Mm,ca horizon and in the upper part of the Mca horizon serve as a vivid diagnostic feature of these paleosols. Two paleosol morphotypes are distinguished according to the development of the structural-metamorphic BMg,ca horizon and the micromorphological features. These paleosols were developed from highly calcareous lacustrine deposits that were initially loose and then subjected to cementation. The processes of leaching and redistribution of carbonates, as well as the development of the soil structure, vertic properties, eluvialgley processes, lessivage, and soil creep, can be identified in the studied paleosols. They bear the record of the geomorphic conditions on a flat plain with recurrently drying inland water reservoirs in a semiarid paleoclimate with well-pronounced seasons.     

Organizing the ecological monitoring of soils as a constituent part of the state land monitoring and its first results (using the example of Orenburg oblast)

This paper suggests the model for organizing the soil control within the framework of state ecological land monitoring carried out in Russia. Methodical approaches to forming the network of observation areas are expounded. The first results speak for the significant differently directed changes in the properties of soils in Orenburg oblast for the last several decades that are related with erosive processes and transformation of the main physical properties and organic matter.     

Differentiation of the soil cover in the lower Ob River valley

Specific features of the soil cover in the lower reaches of the Ob River are analyzed. The physicochemical properties and composition of the floodplain soils in different parts of the valley and on different floodplain elements are given. A comparative geographical analysis of the accumulation of macro-and microelements in the floodplain soils as a result of alluviation processes in the middle and lower reaches of the Ob River is suggested. The evolution of the floodplain soils and the results of the development of stratified humus horizons, changes in the hydrological regime, and cessation of floods are discussed.     

Paleosols of kurgans of the Early Iron Age in the Transural steppe zone

Paleosol studies of archaeological monuments of different ages have been conducted on the Transural Plateau. The morphological and physicochemical properties of paleosols under burial mounds (kurgans) of the Early Iron Age (the fifth and fourth centuries BC) were compared with the properties of background surface soils. A paleosol of the Savromat epoch (2500 BP) is characterized by high contents of gypsum and soluble salts. The presence of humus tongues in its profile attests to the aridity and continentality of the climatic conditions during that epoch. Paleosols buried under kurgans of the Late Sarmatian epoch and the Hun epoch (about 1600 BP) are characterized by a higher content of humus and greater depth of the carbonate horizon, which attests to the humidization of climatic conditions. The evolution of soils as related to climate dynamics in the first millennium BC and the first millennium AD is characterized.     

金沙江干热河谷典型区生态安全问题探析

金沙江干热河谷典型区的生态安全问题与西部大开发中金沙江流域及长江中下游地区工农业可持续发展息息相关。初步调查研究了金沙江干热河谷典型区元谋段生态安全现状,指出区域内自然环境条件恶劣、植被退化与破坏严重、不良耕作与过渡放牧、生态安全意识薄弱、生产力低下和经济落后等是威胁区域内生态安全的主要因素,进而提出建立金沙江干热河谷区生态安全体系的基本措施。     

新疆玛纳斯河流域土壤盐分特征研究

以新疆玛纳斯河流域为研究区,结合面域土壤性状调研,利用相关分析和主成分分析方法对区域土壤盐分特征进行研究.结果表明,研究区域土壤盐渍化类型以硫酸盐为主,剖面土壤盐分含量呈现底聚分布特征;土壤盐分含量与SO42-、Ca2+离子含量呈极显著正相关;各层土壤盐分阴离子以SO42-为主,阳离子以Ca2+为主;SO42-、Ca2+、Mg2+及土壤盐分含量(St)是表征玛纳斯河流域土壤盐渍化的主要特征因子.本研究将为新疆玛纳斯河流域土壤资源可持续利用提供重要的理论依据.     

岷江干旱河谷植物群落生态梯度分析

 为干旱河谷地区的植被恢复和生物多样性的保育提供科学依据,运用数量排序方法DCCA,就岷江干旱河谷调查的植被和环境数据进行排序分析,研究该地区植物群落分布与环境梯度之间的关系,并用主成分分析法,研究该地区灌丛地上生物量与环境因子之间的关系。DCCA排序结果表明,该地区植被的分布是土壤水分、土壤养分和微地形三者综合作用的结果;主成分分析结果表明,影响灌丛群落地上生物量的第1主成分中,土壤pH值、速效P、全N、有机质含量和坡向的影响较大,影响灌丛群落地上生物量的第2主成分因子,主要是土壤含水量和海拔,第3主成分因子,主要是土壤速效K,第4主成分因子,主要是地形中的坡度因子。灌丛地上生物量,也受土壤养分、水分、地形三者共同的影响和作用。     

River bank erosion in the mid-Zambezi valley,downstream of Lake Kariba

The rate of bank erosion by the Zambezi River downstream of Lake Kariba is discussed. Probable reasons for the apparently excessive rate of erosion in parts of the bank are the out-of-season flooding, sudden changes in water level due to operations at Lake Kariba, the silt-free water leaving Lake Kariba and the occurrence of large areas of sandy alluvial soils. Over a distance of about 40 km, about 1030 ha were lost to erosion between 1954 and 1973, whilst 210 ha were redeposited in the form of semi-permanent sandbanks.     

岷江上游干旱河谷区生态农业建设浅析

分析了岷江上游干旱河谷区山地农业环境特点与农业发展中存在的主要问题,阐明了该区生态农业建设的目标、内容和方向,提出了优化调控农业生产结构、建设生态农业的对策。     

土壤时间序列的构建及其在土壤发生研究中的意义

土壤时间序列在研究土壤演化速率与方向、建立土壤发生演化模型上具有重要的价值,并且能为土壤发生学理论的验证提供宝贵的信息。为了获得可靠的结果,时间序列的构建必须包括剖面内与剖面间母质均一性或母质不连续性的判定以及土壤的绝对或相对年龄的判定这两个重要过程。本文综述了土壤时间序列的类型及其构建方式,详细论述了在时间序列建立过程中母质不连续性的判定方式与土壤定年方法,并阐明了土壤时间序列方法在土壤发生研究中的重要意义,旨在为正确建立土壤时间序列、深刻理解土壤发生中的时间因素提供较为详尽的参考。     

Assessment of the state and biological production potential of soddy-podzolic soils in the Sudogda River basin of Vladimir oblast

Soddy-podzolic soils of the Sudogda River basin (Vladimir oblast) are studied. Data on the properties of these soils and phytomass productivity are presented. Weak development of podzolization and its morphological vagueness depend on the low humidity of soils due to the qualities of soil-forming rock. The low stock of aboveground phytomass depends on the composition of vegetation growing in this territory and indirectly confirms the influence of the low moisture content in the soil.     

岷江上游干旱河谷海拔梯度上的土壤发生特征

了解岷江上游干旱河谷的土壤发生特征对区域植被恢复有着指导意义,为此选择不同海拔梯度上7个典型土壤剖面进行土壤发生特性分析。结果表明,受区域成土环境影响,土壤化学风化和成土作用弱;土壤质地较粗,土壤机械组成以粉砂为主,黏化作用不强。土壤全Fe含量和Fe游离度一般<50g/kg和<30%;交换性盐基组成在土壤剖面中无明显分异。随海拔升高,土壤黏粉比、全Fe含量、Fe游离度增加。土壤表土有机碳同位素δ13C值随海拔升高偏负,反映区域植被类型由低海拔半干旱气候条件下的C4型灌丛植被向高海拔凉润气候条件下C3型针阔叶林自然过渡。基于干旱河谷地区土壤特征,其植被恢复应以提高土壤质量为基础,并应遵循海拔梯度上自然植被分布特征进行植被恢复和生态重建。     

The spatial-temporal dynamics of the structure of bacterial complexes on the Medvenka River floodplain (Moscow oblast)

The distribution of bacteria in separate tiers of the floodplain ecosystem was studied by the methods of direct luminescent microscopy and inoculation onto agar media. The maximum concentration of bacteria was determined in the litter horizon; the bacterial population gradually decreased in the phylloplane and in the soil horizons. The taxonomic structure of the bacterial complexes changed in the vertical direction (in separate tiers) and from season to season. The effect of the floodplain process was seen in the specific composition of bacterial communities in the lower soil horizons; the latter were enriched in the bacterial forms derived from the flood water (spirilla, slipping bacteria, and coryneform bacteria).     

Paleosols buried under kurgans of the Pit-grave culture in the steppe zone of the Cis-Ural region

The analysis of soil chronosequences developed from loamy and loamy sandy substrates and buried under kurgans dating back to the Pit-grave archaeological culture in the steppe zone of the Cis-Ural region demonstrated that it is possible to trace the dynamics of the soil properties and to perform paleoclimatic reconstructions for different intervals within the studied period. The properties of sandy soils changed more rapidly than the properties of loamy soils. For sandy soils, notable changes in their properties were revealed in the soil chronosequences dating back to the particular stages of the Pit-grave culture; for loamy soils, such changes could only be traced for the soils buried under the kurgans dating back to different stages of the Pit-grave culture.     

Composition of humus in chronosequences of buried soils in the tundra zone

The humus characteristics in buried Holocene and Late Pleistocene paleosols of the tundra zone have been studied. It is shown that the paleosol sequences encompassing the time span from 55 to 2.5 ka BP contain paleosols with analogous types of humus, attesting to the cyclic repeatability of the corresponding stages of soil formation. A tendency for an increase in the degree of humification in the course of soil development has been revealed. Within the ultracontinental areas of East Siberia, the accumulation of salts accompanied soil formation in the Late Pleistocene and Holocene.