Comparative analysis of tundra soil humus component of Tuva and Mountain Altai formed in the same environmental conditions

Author(s):  N.L. Bazhina, candidate of Sciences, no, Institute of Soil Science and Agrochemistry SB RAS, Novosibirsk, Russia, bazhina@issa-siberia.ru

E.G. Zakharova, Institute of Soil Science and Agrochemistry, SB RAS, Novosibirsk, Russia, mid555@yandex.com

M.I. Dergacheva, Dr., Prof., Institute of Soil Science and Agrochemistry, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk, Russia, mid555@yandex.ru

Issue:  Volume 43, № 4

Rubric:  Earth sciences

Annotation:  The results of the study of the humus composition and humic acid main characteristics of mountain-tundra soils of South-Western Tuva (Mongun-Taiga) and South-Eastern Altai Mountains (Ukok Plateau), formed in two geographically remote territories with the same climatic characteristics (average annual air temperatures, total active temperatures above 10 °C, average annual precipitation) are discussed. It was found that they are characterized by a low proportion of humic acids and the humate-fulvate type of humus in both cases, and also have close average statistical characteristics of humic acids: H:C values significantly exceeding 1.0 (1.25–1.26), a very high color coefficient (about 7.0) and a low extinction coefficient (0.030) and the same values of the first moment (M1) of the fluorescence spectrum of humic acid (444 nm), that is typical for formation conditions of tundra soils in different regions of Russia. Student's test showed that the differences between parameters of humic acids and their ratio with fulvic acids are not statistically significant. It may testify to their climatogenic conditionality and allows extrapolating the obtained data to other areas of the mountain-tundra zone of southern Siberia with similar bioclimatic conditions.

Keywords:  mountain-tundra soils, geographic regions of Siberia, system of humic substances, elemental composition, humic acids, spectral characteristics of humic acids, climatic reconstructions, soil ecology.

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