The Effect of Historical and Regional Features of Land Use on the Size and Structure of Carbon Pools in the Southern Taiga and Forest-Steppe Zones of European Russia

Abstract

An algorithm of regional assessment of the size and structure of the actual (corresponding to the modern state of ecosystems and land use patterns) and potential (for hypothetic natural ecosystems analogous to modern native ecosystems) pools of carbon has been developed and tested. A comparison between actual and potential values of carbon pools makes it possible to assess the integral result of land use in the studied region with multiple changes in the types of land use during the historical period. The calculations are made using a unified cartographic base and take into account the taxonomic position and texture of soil units, the types of modern land use, and the type and age structure of the reconstructed and actual vegetation. The results obtained for the southern taiga and forest-steppe zones of European Russian indicate that the modern actual carbon pool is 24% less than the potential carbon pool in Kostroma oblast (southern taiga zone) and 32% less than the potential carbon pool in Kursk oblast (forest-steppe zone). The actual phytomass reserves in these two regions have decreased by 40 and 75%, respectively, relative the potential phytomass reserves, so the portion of the soil carbon pool in the total carbon pool has increased. It is argues that the use of the territory for forestry and agriculture increases the role of the soil cover in sustaining the carbon budget of the region.