Chernozem. From concept to classification: a review

Abstract

The knowledge of water volume stored in the snowpack and its spatial distribution is important to predict the snowmelt runoff. The objective of this study was to quantify the role of different forest types on the snowpack distribution at a plot scale during snow accumulation and snow ablation periods. Special interest was put in the role of the forest affected by the bark beetle (Ips typographus). We performed repeated detailed manual field survey at selected mountain plots with different canopy structure located at the same elevation and without influence of topography and wind on the snow distribution. A snow accumulation and ablation model was set up to simulate the snow water equivalent (SWE) in plots with different vegetation cover. The model was based on degree-day approach and accounts for snow interception in different forest types.The measured SWE in the plot with healthy forest was on average by 41% lower than in open area during snow accumulation period. The disturbed forest caused the SWE reduction by 22% compared to open area indicating increasing snow storage after forest defoliation. The snow ablation in healthy forest was by 32% slower compared to open area. On the contrary, the snow ablation in disturbed forest (due to the bark beetle) was on average only by 7% slower than in open area. The relative decrease in incoming solar radiation in the forest compared to open area was much bigger compared to the relative decrease in snowmelt rates. This indicated that the decrease in snowmelt rates cannot be explained only by the decrease in incoming solar radiation. The model simulated best in open area and slightly worse in healthy forest. The model showed faster snowmelt after forest defoliation which also resulted in earlier snow melt-out in the disturbed forest.

Effect of Long-Term Farming Practices on Agricultural Soil Microbiome Members Represented by Metagenomically Assembled Genomes (MAGs) and Their Predicted Plant-Beneficial Genes

“…This study presents the first metagenome-based taxonomic profiling for the microbiome of a loess chernozem soil located in the central part of Germany (Magdeburger Börde). This soil type is characterized by its outstanding fertility [54] and therefore corresponding microbiome data represent a valuable reference resource for studying similar agricultural soils.…”

Long‐term dynamics of the East European forest‐steppe ecotone

“…The paleopedological studies are in agreement with pollen data. Studies of soils and buried paleosols show that chernozem soils, which zonal types are formed under steppe vegetation (Vysloužilová, Ertlen, Schwartz, & Šefrna, ), were widely distributed in the East European forest‐steppe regions during the Middle Holocene. A buried humus horizon dated to 7,500–5,800 cal yr BP has been recorded at a number of sites in the Upper Oka and Upper Don Rivers basins (Gonyanyi, Aleksandrovskiy, & Glasko, ).…”

Ambient geochemical baselines for trace elements in Chernozems—approximation of geochemical soil transformation in an agricultural area

“…Chernozems are among the most productive soils in the world due to their thick humus horizon, the fact that they are structural and biologically active and enriched with organic matter and nutrients, as well as their silt-loamy texture, which is beneficial for water retention and supply (Novák et al 2014; Šimansky and Jonczak 2016). Chernozems are recognized in many countries as high-priority soil resources, crucial for national food safety security policy (Chendev et al 2017; Vysloužilová et al 2016). Therefore, there is a common social expectation to protect Chernozems against degradation, in particular to safeguard these soils against contamination with trace metals (Kolesnikov et al 1999; Minkina et al 2008).…”