Carbon Deposits in Soils of Pine and Spruce Forests of Karelia

Abstract

Average carbon-deposit values in soils of pine and spruce forests have been assessed on the basis of long-term studies of Karelian soils (122.3 and 117.9 t ha–1 respectively). The higher average carbon content in soils of pine forests is caused by a high share of waterlogged forest types in the total area occupied by pine forests. It is found that average carbon deposits in the forest litter increase with a growth in soil moisture content from 7.6 to 24.3 t ha–1 in pine forests and from 11.1 to 61.3 t ha–1 in spruce forests. The carbon deposits are assessed in layers of 0–25 cm (9.1–170.4 t ha–1 in pine forests and 31.2–228.6 t ha–1 in spruce forests), 0–50 cm (18.8–329.9 t ha–1 in pine forests and 36.4–345.1 t ha–1 in spruce forests), and 0–100 cm (23.9–434.3 t ha–1 in pine forests and 38.9–402.4 t ha–1 in spruce forests). The total carbon deposits in soils of the pine forests of Karelia are estimated at 614.6 million t and, in soils of the spruce forests of Karelia, at 276.2 million t. Such a difference is determined by different areas occupied by the above forest types in the region: the pine forests occupy over 5 million ha and the spruce forests cover 2.3 million ha. These data differ from carbon-deposit estimations calculated for Russian soils in general.