An experience in regional estimates of changes in soil carbon pools of the southern taiga and forest-steppe during the historical period

Abstract

Regional estimates of changes in soil organic carbon (SOC) pools during the historical period were obtained according to a unified approach for Kostroma (southern taiga) and Kursk (forest-steppe) oblasts. The potential pools of soil carbon were calculated with due account for the classification position of particular soils, their texture, and the character of natural vegetation. In the estimates of actual SOC pools, land use patterns and the age structure of forest stands were taken into account. It was shown that modern pools of organic carbon in the soils of Kostroma oblast are only 1–2% smaller than the potential pools; for the soils of Kursk oblast, this difference reaches 23–27%. Mean weighted values of the actual SOC contents in these oblasts decreased by 0.1–0.2 and 6.5–7.6 kg C/m² in comparison with the potential SOC contents, respectively, which is related to their environmental specificity and to different types of land use at present and in the historical past.