Functioning and evolution of biogeocenoses in the Baraba lowland, West Siberia

Abstract

This paper reports the results of quantitative analysis of biological cycle in individual ecosystems and multidirectional migration of chemical elements between adjacent ecosystems along a geochemical catena located in the Baraba lowland, West Siberia. The balance of carbon, nitrogen, salts, and the total of nonsalt components in soils of eluvial, transeluvial, and accumulative ecosystems, as well as the uptake of carbon, nitrogen, and ash-forming elements by the phytocenoses of these ecosystems, were estimated. The results were used for calculating so-called “abioticity” indices of carbon, nitrogen and the sum of salts and nonsalt components of biological cycle. Abioticity indices indicate the relationship between cyclic (biotic) and migration of elements (abiotic) processes. Carbon and nitrogen were found to be involved in the biological cycle of individual ecosystems. Most likely, these elements are not subjected to geochemical migration, whereas some amount of nonsalt components and a somewhat greater amount of salts are involved in migration according to the topographical features of the catena.