Changes in the Structural State of Soils in the Lower Volga Region during the Past 3500 Years as Related to Climate Fluctuations

Resumo

The structural state of modern and buried chestnut soils on the Privolzhskaya Upland (Volgograd oblast) was studied in order to determine changes in the soil structure in dependence on the time of soil burying. The soils buried 3500, 1700, and 700 years ago and modern background chestnut soils were examined. The structural state of soils was determined via their fractionation on a set of sieves (10–0.25 mm) in the air-dry state. We determined the contents of coarse aggregates, total aggregates, disperse soil matter, aggregation coefficient, and the degree of differentiation of the soil profiles. It was found that the structure of buried soils is preserved for 3500 years after the soil burying. The structural state of the studied soils changed with time depending on the climatic conditions that existed at the moment of soil burying. In humid periods, the amount of coarse aggregates (lumps) decreased, and the content of aggregated fractions increased; the reverse processes took place in arid epochs. Thus, it was shown that the aggregate composition of soils is specific for each period of soil formation and depends on the degree of climatic humidity. It is preserved in the buried soils independently on the duration of their existence in the buried state. We determined the impact of aggregate size on the C_org tolerance toward mineralization processes. It was shown that the content of organic carbon and its physical protection from mineralization are determined by different mechanisms of its fixing in aggregates of different sizes and depend on the conditions for the development of soil structure before burying and on the duration of the soil existence in the buried state. The results obtained in this study can be used as a retrospective basis for predicting changes in the physical properties of soils under conditions of changing climate.