Water budget items and temperature regime of postagrogenic soddy-podzolic soils of Moscow region and their effect on the soil properties

Abstract

The postagrogenic transformation of the plow horizon of soddy-podzolic soils under a mown meadow and an artificially planted dense spruce stand has been studied in relation to the microclimatic specificity, water budgets, and soil temperature regimes in the compared cenoses. Over 20 years, a considerable part of precipitation reaching the soil surface under the meadow cenosis has been discharged with the surface runoff and subsurface lateral water flows. The soil warming in summer has been considerable, and the soil freezing in winter has been relatively weak. As a result, a gray humus horizon with well-shaped fine granular and coprolitic structure has been formed within the body of the former plow layer. Under the spruce stand, a larger part of atmospheric moisture has been infiltrated into the soil. The microclimatic conditions under the spruce stand have been more humid and colder. As a result, a thinner humus horizon with a considerable admixture of weakly decomposed plant debris has been formed in the upper part of the former plow layer. Below, a newly formed horizon with a specific thin platy (schlieren) structure ha been developed. The morphology of this horizon resembles the morphology of the eluvial horizon in virgin soddy-podzolic soils.