The history of permafrost landscape map compilation is related to the study of ecological problems with permafrost. Permafrost-landscape studies are now widely used in geocryological mapping. Permafrost-landscape classifications and mapping are necessary for studying the trends in development of the natural environment in northern and high-altitude permafrost regions. The cryogenic factor in the permafrost zone plays a leading role in the differentiation of landscapes, so it must be considered during classification construction. In this study, a map's special content was developed using publications about Yakutian nature, archive sources from academic institutes, the interpretation of satellite images, and special field studies. Overlays of 20 types of terrain, identified by geological and geomorphological features, and 36 types of plant groupings, allowed the systematization of permafrost temperature and active layer thickness in 145 landscape units with relatively homogeneous permafrost-landscape conditions in the Sakha (Yakutia) Republic. This map serves as a basis for applied thematic maps related to the assessment and forecast of permafrost changes during climate warming and anthropogenic impacts.
This article presents the results of long-term research and monitoring of the soil cover exposed to the impact of the mining and processing plant developing diamond deposits in the northeast of Siberia. The soil collection includes 436 samples of different types of Cryosols. Soil pH; soil organic carbon (SOC); granulometric composition; and mobile forms of Pb, Ni, Mn, Cd, Co, Cr, Zn, Cu, and As were identified in the samples. Multivariate statistics of the correlation matrix, clustering analysis (CA), and principal component analysis (PCA) were used to determine the sources of heavy metals. The intensity of the accumulation of chemical elements in the soil was assessed using calculated concentration coefficients (Kc) and the index of total contamination of the soil cover (Zc). In the study area, Cryosols are characterized by biogenic accumulation of Ni, Mn, and Cd in the upper soil layer and Cr, Ni, Co, Mn, and Cu in the suprapermafrost horizon. Correlation matrix, CA, and PCA revealed three distinct sources that could be considered for the investigated potentially toxic elements (PTEs): anthropogenic, lithogenic, and the source which comes from a mixed contribution of anthropogenic and lithogenic factors. The most anthropogenic contribution in the heavy metals in the study area appears in Zn, Cd, As, and Pb. The assessment interpreted that origin of Mn in the area is most likely to be a natural source. The content of Co, Cr, and Ni are controlled by both lithogenic control and anthropogenic sources. Active accumulation of mobile forms of Mn, Zn, and Ni with anomalously high concentration coefficients can be traced in the soils in the impact zone of mining operations. Anthropogenic soil contamination is spread over an area of 260 km2.
There are numerous studies on the effect of grazing on the physical and chemical parameters of soils. However, the impact of grazing on the temperature regime of the alas soils in Central Yakutia is still poorly understood. This paper presents the results of long-term observations of the state of the soil-and-plant cover of thermokarst basins—i.e., alases—located in the Lena-Amga interfluve and actively used as pastureland. Observations of the process of the self-restoration of grass cover and changes in the temperature regime of alas soils were carried out on different variants (with isolation from grazing and without isolation). A significant increase in the average height of the grass stand and its foliage projective cover was observed with a gradual reduction in the number of species when isolated from grazing. Changes in the structure of the alas vegetation cover influence the microclimate of the soil. As a result of livestock grazing, the mean annual soil temperature rises and the amount and depth of the penetration of active temperatures increase. The most severe changes in the temperature regime occur in years with an abnormally high cover of snow. The soil warming observed during grazing undoubtedly has a favorable effect on soil organisms. However, in conditions of climate warming, grazing, especially overgrazing, can disrupt the permafrost regime and thereby provoke or intensify thermokarst phenomena.
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