Short-term exclusion of degraded pasture in the permafrost zone: aspects of soil microbial community

Abstract

The properties of alas soils were studied in short-term isolation (4–5 years). According to the speed of the response to the isolation of degraded pastures, components of the cryoarid–alas ecosystem form the following decreasing series: above-ground vegetation—functional range of cultivated soil microbial community—colony-forming units—underground phytomass, total mobile soil carbon, and nitrification activity. The response rates, respectively, are equal to 1, 4, 5, and over 5 years. The biodynamic features of degraded grasslands in the early years of isolation indicate that these ecosystems have a high regenerative potential. The high activity of autotrophic nitrification indicates a continuing imbalance in the circulation of substances in the isolated area.