Effect of the natural reforestation of an arable land on the organic matter composition in soddy-podzolic soils

The dynamics of the organic matter composition in soddy-podzolic soils during the natural reforestation of an arable land in the southern taiga zone have been discussed. It has been shown that the contents of the total and labile carbon in the old plow horizon increase with the age of the fallow in the chronosequence of soils established in the Parfen’evo district of Kostroma oblast. The parameters characterizing the labile soil organic matter include the contents of the carbon extractable by mild chemical extractants (distilled water, 0.1 M K₂SO₄ solution, 0.1 M neutral Na₄P₂O₇ solution), the microbial biomass, and the light fraction. The granulo-densimetric fractionation has shown that the contents of carbon in the light and organomineral fractions of the soil vary in the course of the postagrogenic succession. The content of the clay-fraction carbon increases and its portion in the total carbon of the soil decreases at the transition from the plowland to the forest. The reforestation of agrosoddy-podzolic soils enhances the physical protection of the soil organic matter due to the increase in the portion of microaggregate carbon.