The pool of organic carbon and its isotopic composition in cryomorphic quasi-gley chernozems of the Trans-Baikal region

Abstract

Quasi-gley chernozems of the Trans-Baikal region are characterized by the clearly pronounced anisotropy of their properties related to carbon sequestration processes. The main carbon pool is concentrated in the humus horizon; the organic carbon content sharply decreases down the soil profile. The pool of organic carbon in the cryogenic fissures is two to three times higher than its pool in the enclosing soil horizons. The analysis of stable carbon isotopes in the plants and soils attests to the predominance of C3 plants. The composition of stable carbon isotopes is clearly differentiated in the soil profile with an increase in the portion of heavy isotopes in the deep horizons. In the humus pockets and cryogenic fissures, the increase in the portion of heavy carbon isotopes with the depth is weaker, which attests to a lower degree of the organic matter transformation. It is probable that the organic matter in the fissures is younger than the organic matter in the enclosing soil mass and derives from the upper humus horizon. The organic matter in the cryogenic fissures preserves the evolutionary properties of humus from the upper horizons.