Application of Geoelectric Methods for Mapping Soil Heterogeneity

Eurasian Soil Science - Application of a set of electrical methods used in geophysics—direct current resistance and induced polarization—for the purposes of mapping soil heterogeneity...     

The Influence of Vegetation on the Forest Soil Properties in the Republic of Karelia

Eurasian Soil Science - The effect of vegetation on soil properties (acidity, C/N ratio, content of exchangeable nutrients) was assessed for the northern and middle taiga forests in the Republic of...     

The role of soils in the regional carbon budget of pine forests in Karelia

The carbon pool and its fluxes were studied in Karelian pine forests of automorphic sites for the characterization of the regional carbon cycle. On the permanent sample plots arranged in pine stands (dominant forest types) of the middle and northern taiga, the structure and dynamics of the phytomass, as well as the composition of the soil organic matter, were investigated. The contribution of different components of the forest ecosystems to the regional carbon budget was studied. The carbon pools in the soils of the middle and northern taiga subzones were 330–440 × 10² and 440–550 × 10² kg/ha, respectively. The share of soil carbon in the total carbon pool of the forest biogeocenoses studied amounted to 46–35 and 33–24%, respectively. The period of considerable carbon fixation in the pine ecosystem (nearly 20 × 10² kg/ha/yr) turned out to be limited to the middle-aged stands. In the mature and overmature pine forests, only 4 × 10² kg of C/ha/yr were fixed. The main part of carbon in the soil (65–75%) was contained in the illuvial horizons, although its content there was less that 1% as compared to 30–50% in the forest litters. On industrial harvesting of wood, the main reserves of soil carbon are not spent; only the fund of mobile carbon in organic horizons of poor soils is exhausted or carbon accumulates intensely due to the development of continuous plant cover on fertile soils.     

Microbiological and biochemical indicators of the State of Karelian soils exposed to aerotechnogenic pollution

The data on the microbial communities and biochemical properties of forest soils obtained in the course of long-term studies in the region of the Kostomuksha ore mining and processing enterprise are presented. The changes in the parameters investigated caused by the anthropogenic impact were revealed. It was concluded that the microbial-biochemical characteristics may be used as an indicator of the state of soils exposed to aerial pollution.