The intensity of organic matter decomposition in gray soils of forest ecosystems in the southern taiga of Central Siberia

The estimates of the carbon pool in the organic matter of gray soils of the southern taiga, the intensity of destruction of its components, and participation of the latter in the formation of the mineralized carbon flux to the atmosphere are presented for different stages of succession of deciduous (birch) and coniferous (fir) forests. The carbon pool varies from 139.7 to 292.7 t/ha. It is distributed between phytodetritus, mobile and stabile humus (32, 19, and 49%, respectively). The intensity of the mineralization carbon flux to the atmosphere amounts to 3.93–4.13 t C per year. Phytodetritus plays the main role in the formation of this flux. In the soils under the forests studied, 4–6% of the carbon flux are formed owing to mineralization of the newly formed soil humus. In birch forests, 2–6% (0.1–0.2% of the humus pool in the 0–20-cm layer) is the contribution to the flux due to mineralization of soil humus. In fir forests, the mineralized humus is compensated by humus substances synthesized in the process of humification during phytodetritus decomposition.