Carbon Stock in Sandy Soils of Pine Forests in the West of Russia

Abstract

A comparative assessment of carbon accumulation in the soils of pine forests in western Russia (the Republic of Karelia, the Karelian Isthmus, and Bryansk region) developed on coarse-textured parent materials has been made. The total carbon stock in the litter and upper soil layer (0–50 cm) varied from 47 t/ha in the soils of pine forests of Bryansk region to 116 t/ha in the soils of pine forests of the Karelian Isthmus. It has been shown that the main factors of carbon accumulation in the soils of pine forests in western Russia were the climate, parent materials, vegetation, agricultural activity, and fires. The influence of climatic conditions has been clearly manifested in the levels of carbon accumulation in the litter and in the upper humus-accumulative soil horizons. In the pine litter within the zone of mixed forests (Bryansk region), the level of carbon accumulation was the lowest, whereas the litter layer of pine forests in the northern taiga (Karelia) has the highest stock of carbon. At the same time, the lowest carbon stocks in the upper mineral soil layers has been noted for the soils of northern taiga forests, which had no humus-accumulative mineral horizon. The variability of carbon stocks in the litter layer was largely controlled by the C/N ratio, as well as by the fraction of deciduous undergrowth and grasses producing high-quality litter. The influence of agricultural activity on soil carbon stock in pine forests was especially pronounced on the Karelian Isthmus with the high agricultural activity in the past, as well as in Bryansk region, where pine forests are formed from pine plantations. The effect of fires on soil carbon stock was most pronounced in heather and lingonberry pine forests of the northern taiga of Karelia.