C-sequestration capacity of the mineral matrix of post-agrogenic soils in naturally afforested areas of the Ukrainian Carpathians
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32819/202605Keywords:
carbon; particulate organic matter; mineral-associated organic matter; land-use types; afforestation.Abstract
Abstract. The formation of organo-mineral associations in the pedosphere are key processes in the global carbon cycle, the mineralization of organic matter, and the release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. In this context, the C-sequestration capacity of the reactive fraction of the mineral matrix of post-agrogenic soils was assessed. These soils represent a demutation series of the restorative succession of forest ecosystems: agricultural lands → ruderal stage → meadow stage → shrub stage → sparse woodland of naturally afforested areas of the Ukrainian Carpathians. The calculation of the carbon sequestration potential was performed with consideration of the content of mineral particles sized 0–50 µm, taking into account the characteristics of the particle-size (granulometric) distribution of the studied soils, as well as the conceptual approach applied in this study to divide the organic fraction of soil into a dispersed fraction (>50 µm) and a mineral-associated fraction (<50 µm). It was established that the carbon content in the mineral-associated fraction was 18.8 ± 3.7 g C/kg in the soil under forest, 15.0 ± 0.8 g C/kg at the forest edge, 19.8 ± 0.5 g C/kg in meadow soil, and 14.3 ± 1.2 g C/kg in arable soil. The mineral matrix of soils under meadows and on forest edges is the most C-saturated, while soils under forest and arable land display lower levels of C-saturation. The carbon content in stable aluminum-organic compounds is the highest in forest soil and the lowest in meadow soil. The highest C-sequestration potential of the 0–20 cm layer is characteristic of forest soil – 23.7 t/ha, lower in arable land – 17.0 t/ha, and the lowest in meadow soil – 2.5 t/ha. The C-sequestration capacity of soils in post-agrogenic ecosystems of the Ukrainian Carpathians decreases during the process of silvatization of arable lands due to the accumulation of organic carbon compounds in soils under meadows and forest edges, resulting from the gradual formation of a turf horizon on former arable soils, the decomposition of root residues, and the migration of water-soluble organic matter through the transformation of broad-leaved and coniferous litter. In the soils of post-agrogenic ecosystems, there is an increase in the labile component of organic matter, which at later stages of sylvatization serves as a pool for the formation of stable mineral-associated complexes. That is, at the first stages of natural afforestation (sylvatization), the process of short-term C-sequestration in the form of dispersed (particulate) organic matter prevails, and at the later stages, it occurs as deposition into mineral-associated organic matter. Assessing the potential for carbon binding in the soil provides an opportunity to predict and manage carbon sinks on former arable lands, particularly through the preservation of naturally regenerated forests (spontaneous forests).
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