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The global climate crisis forces mankind to develop carbon storage technologies. "Ladoga" carbon monitoring site is part of the Russian climate project "Carbon Supersites", which aims to develop methods and technologies to control the balance of greenhouse gases in various ecosystems. This article shows the condition of soil and vegetation cover of the carbon polygon "Ladoga" using the example of a typical southern taiga ecosystem in the Leningrad region (Russia). It is revealed that soils here are significantly disturbed as a result of agrogenic impact, and the vegetation cover changes under the influence of anthropogenic activity. It has been found that a considerable amount of carbon is deposited in the soils of the carbon polygon; its significant part is accumulated in peat soils (60.0 ± 19.8 kg × m−2 for 0–100 cm layer). In agrogenically disturbed and pristine soils, carbon stocks are equal to 12.8 ± 2.9 kg × m−2 and 8.3 ± 1.3 kg × m−2 in the 0–100 cm layer, respectively. Stocks of potentially mineralizable organic matter (0–10 cm) in peat soils are 0.48 ± 0.01 kg × m−2; in pristine soils, it is 0.58 ± 0.06 kg × m−2. Peat soils are characterized by a higher intensity of carbon mineralization 9.2 ± 0.1 mg × 100 g−1 × day−1 with greater stability. Carbon in pristine soils is mineralized with a lower rate—2.5 ± 0.2 mg × 100 g−1 × day−1. The study of microbial diversity of soils revealed that the dominant phyla of microorganisms are Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes, and Proteobacteria; however, methane-producing Archaea—Euryarchaeota—were found in peat soils, indicating their potentially greater emission activity. The results of this work will be useful for decision makers and can be used as a reference for estimating the carbon balance of the Leningrad region and southern taiga boreal ecosystems of the Karelian Isthmus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is growing recognition that forest ecosystems are a key component in the global carbon cycle, and there is a clear demand for their study. This research is a comparative analysis of forest growing stock volume (GSV) and determination of annual growth in Bashkiriya Nature Reserve (Russia) for 1979 and 2015 using 8395 and 8405 observation plots, respectively. Also, we evaluated the spatial distribution and produced digital maps of the species and their GSV for each year. The results showed that pine and birch were the dominant species (60.5 and 24.8% of the area in 2015, respectively) and there were no significant changes in the area of stands during the 36-year period. We found that the GSV in the reserve had increased by an average of 23.2% over the 36-year period. Specifically, the total forest GSV increased from 7,678,960 in 1979 to 10,003,890 m3 in 2015, representing an annual gain of 0–1.5 m3/ha. The increase in GSV was mainly associated with an increase in birch and pine trees. The annual growth of GSV was determined as 1.8–2.1 and 1.4 m3/ha per year for pine and birch forests, respectively. However, these types of trees belong to the age categories of mature and overmature stands, i.e., with reduced intensity of GSV gain. Digital maps produced as part of this study provide a visual representation of the changes in forest spatial patterns and GSV over time, highlighting areas of the reserve where the stock has increased or decreased. This study leveraged a substantial dataset, which provided valuable retrospective insights into the dynamics of pristine forest ecosystems, allowing for the assessment of changes over a 36-year period. Overall, this study highlights the importance of the ongoing monitoring and assessment of GSV levels, especially in the context of rapidly changing environments and climates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article provides an assessment of climatic characteristics and changes in floodplain soils after the implementation of a drainage system. The study was conducted in the northern forest-steppe zone of the East European Plain (Republic of Bashkortostan, Russia). Through the analysis of long-term meteorological observations from 1961 to 2020, it was found that there was a steady increase in air temperature in all months and throughout the year, an increase in the period with positive temperatures, a slight increase in annual precipitation, and a reduction in precipitation during certain months of the warm season. Over the past 40 years, the drainage system has transformed the soil cover from Gleysols to Anthrosols, due to a decrease in the level of groundwater, agricultural use, as well as warming of the climate in the region. Thus, the transformation of soil cover can potentially contribute to climate change through the depletion of soil organic carbon stocks and increased greenhouse gas emissions. Nevertheless, currently, the natural and climatic conditions, morphological, water-physical, and agrochemical properties of Anthrosols allow for the production of two harvests of fodder crop (Bromus inermis L.) during the vegetation period. In general, the change in climatic indicators in the study area is consistent with the global trend. Our results underscore the sensitivity of soil systems to climatic variations and human activities, highlighting the need for local studies to understand regional and global environmental changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the evaluation and digital mapping of forest growing stock volume (GSV) and carbon stocks of the natural park Kandry-Kul (Republic of Bashkortostan, Russia). The field observations were conducted in the process of forest surveys in 1994 and 2018. According to these materials, we identified the predominant tree species in each studied plot. Then, we produced the digital maps of GSV and carbon stocks for each study year and calculated the annual increment. The results showed that birch (Betula pendula) and pine (Pinus sylvestris) were the dominant species in the studied park. The comparison of the two maps showed that the maximum annual GSV between 1994 and 2018 occurred in areas with a fairly small GSV in 1994. These areas were characterized by young trees of different species and pines of different ages, which had not yet reached the age of maturity, when the growth of trees is significantly reduced. We found that young pine crops contributed the greatest potential of carbon sequestration, with an annual GSV of 4.2 m3/ha per year. The birch trees made a minor contribution to the sequestration potential, characterized by relatively average annual growth (1.2 m3/ha per year). The change in carbon stocks for pine stands was on average 2 t/ha per year. For birch stands, the change in carbon stocks was approximately 0.5 t/ha per year, which is 30% of the average values for the forest-steppe region. Our results provide quantitative information on the carbon accumulation rate in secondary forests under conditions of intensive recreational load. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global climate change is a fact that affects all components of the environment. The main aim of this research was to conduct the retrospective monitoring of soils in the Trans-Ural Steppe Zone (Russia) and the analysis in changing of key climatic parameters for the periods 1937-1982 and 1982-2019. We investigated average temperatures and precipitation (monthly and annual) using archived data from a nearby weather station, as well as data from NASA and weather forecast websites. We identified a decrease of soil fertility and an increase in alkalinisation processes over the past 37 years for the studied area. Comparison of these periods showed an increasing the average monthly and annual air temperatures (on 1.4°C) and a decrease in the amount of precipitation in the summer (on 4.4 mm) period. We found that a more arid climate accelerates the rate of soil salinization due to the active evaporation of groundwater. Nevertheless, in some areas there were found the soil desalinization due to the change in the hydrologic regime and lowering of the groundwater level. In general, the climate changing in the studied region is consistent with global warming trend. Increased average annual temperature and reduced precipitation in summer period contribute to aridization of the region. Such conditions will more restrict soil fertility due to development of salinization and desertification processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]