Productivity of Biocenosis Plants and Humus Accumulation Processes in Eroded Meadow-Chernozem Soils

In long-term experiments, the content of humus in natural and agroecosystems on meadow-chernozem soils depended on the species diversity of plants, the state of the vegetation cover, the cultivation of the arable horizon and its erosion. During the 10-year observation period, the humus content in arable soil decreased by 4.5% relative to the initial state, while under meadow grasses, on the contrary, it increased by 22%. Then, during the 20-year accounting period, the processes of humus accumulation in the cultivated soil changed little. Among natural ecosystems, humus accumulation processes were most active in the humus-accumulative (A) and transitional horizons (AB) under the aspen forest. The reserves of humus and nutrients in eroded soils decreased dramatically, causing a decrease in the productivity of meadow grasses. It has been established that for a significant accumulation of humus (up to 8%) in the non-eroded soil of the 100-year period of ecosystem functioning, it is necessary to combine incoming carbon in the form of forest litter and roots with the biomass of perennial meadow grasses.