Changes in the Soil Cover under the Impact of Short-Term Climate Fluctuations

Abstract

The climate of the 1950s–1990s in the center of the Russian Plain was characterized by the alternation of cool–wet and warm–dry periods, which is confirmed by hydrothermal coefficients. The studies in the south of the forest-steppe of the Central Russian Upland (Belgorod oblast) based on the geoinformation analysis of different-time soil maps have revealed regular changes in the boundaries of soil areas of automorphic chernozems (Chernozems) related to these intra-century climatic cycles. The transformed chernozems area was 125 790 ha (38.5%). In general, 61.5% (328 885 ha) of soil areas in the studied region remained unchanged. The response of the soil cover was indicated by behavior of carbonates and leaching. It has been revealed that with increase of hydrothermal coefficient by more than 0.2, the effervescence line in chernozems is oscillating, which results in a change in the taxonomic position of soils at the subtype level.