Abstract
A comparative micromorphological analysis of soil fabrics within two- and three-component semidesert solonetz complexes formed within closed-drainage plains with different types of microtopography in the northern of the Caspian Lowland has been conducted. Micromorphological features of soils of most extensively studied three-component solonetz complexes having soil cover with a high degree of contrast are indicative of divergent evolutionary trends during the past half century. On the basis of these features, different directions of degradation of solonetzic and saline horizons are revealed. Although degradation of solonetz horizons is practically undetectable at a macro-scale, its micromorphological features are clearly manifested in parameters of aggregates, characteristics of coatings and types of salt pedofeatures. Common factors of solonetz evolution in nearby regions allow extrapolation of the micromorphological indicators of solonetz degradation to a wide range of objects including two-component solonetz complexes.
Highlights
The complexes of solonetz soils within the Caspian Lowland are extensively studied (Rode and Polsky, 1961; Ivanova et al, 1966; Sizemskaya et al, 1989; Sokolova et al, 2000; Khitrov, 2004, 2005; Konyushkova, 2014)
The study of soil horizons and morphons has revealed that the closest relationship between macro- and micromorphological features is developed only within the surface horizons, which show the clearest diagnostic features of humus accumulation and biogenic structuring processes. The intensity of these processes increases in soils of all microlows, but reaches its maximum in the deepest microlows
A less close relationship between macro- and micromorphological features has been found in the middle horizons of all soils within solonetz complexes of the study sites
Summary
A comparative micromorphological analysis of soil fabrics within two- and three-component semidesert solonetz complexes formed within closeddrainage plains with different types of microtopography in the northern of the Caspian Lowland has been conducted. The climate of the Caspian Lowland has been becoming increasingly more humid since the late 1970s, with a 50 mm increase in annual precipitation and a 70 mm decrease in evaporation during the warm season (Sotneva, 2004; Sapanov, 2007; Sapanov and Sizemskaya, 2015) These values seem small, but they make a huge impact on arid and semiarid ecosystems with a generally poor natural drainage, where they cause wide-spread rising of the groundwater table (Sokolova et al, 2000). The aims of the present study include a comparative analysis of soil micro-features depending on the type of microtopography of solonetz complexes within the northern part of the Caspian Lowland and an early micromorphological diagnostics of soil-forming processes and evolutionary trends before their manifestation at a macro-scale
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