The impact of vegetation on humus formation and morphology of brown forest soils in coastal areas of the southeastern part of Russian far east

Abstract

Specific features of brown forest soils (burozems, Cambisols) in coastal areas of the southeastern part of Russian Far East are discussed. It is shown that the color of the illuvial horizons in these soils depends on the character of vegetation; it is reddish brown under oak forests and dark gray under herb-shrub and post-pyrogenic communities. These soils combine the features shaped by the humus-accumulative and humus-illuvial processes. In the soils under oak forests, the humate-fulvate type of humus predominates; in the soils under herb-shrub and post-pyrogenic communities, the fulvate-humate humus is formed. The dynamics of humus and its separate fractions in the soil profiles control the morphochromatic differentiation of brown forest soils under different vegetation communities. In the soils under oak forests, the maximum precipitation of the aggressive fraction of fulvic acids (fraction FA-1a) in the illuvial-humus horizons coincides with the maximum concentration of oxalate-extractable iron oxides; these substances ensure the reddish brown color of the illuvial horizons in these soils. In the brown forest soils under herb-shrub and post-pyrogenic communities, the illuvial horizon is the zone of accumulation of not only the aggressive fraction of fulvic acids but also the second (Ca-bound) fractions of fulvic and humic acids ensuring the dark gray color of this horizon.