Upscaling soil organic carbon estimates for the Usa Basin (Northeast European Russia) using GIS-based landcover and soil classification schemes

Abstract

This study provides estimates of average soil organic carbon content for the Usa Basin in Northeast European Russia, using two independent databases and two separate upscaling tools. The results are very similar despite differences in sample size and spatial resolution. Based on the merged databases and landcover upscaling, the average carbon content in the Usa Basin is 10,7 Kg Cm−2 for the upper 30 cm soil layer, 25,5 Kg Cm−2 for a reference 1 m soil depth and 31,2 Kg Cm−2 for total soil. The 'peatland' cover classes, with an average 76,3 Kg Cm−2 and 30% surface coverage, account for 73% of total organic carbon storage in the Usa Basin. Upland forest and tundra classes have similar average total carbon contents—on the order of 11,2–11,4 Kg Cm−2. Detailed regional and national assessments of northern terrestrial carbon pools, upscaled using landcover or soil classification schemes like the one presented here for the Usa Basin, arrive at much higher average total soil carbon estimates than generally cited in the literature from global data sets for tundra and taiga life zones or biomes.