ISSN 1064-2293, Eurasian Soil Science, 2016, Vol. 49, No. 7, pp. 730–738. © Pleiades Publishing, Ltd., 2016.
Original Russian Text © A.P. Zhidkin, A.N. Gennadiev, 2016, published in Pochvovedenie, 2016, No. 7, pp. 785–793.
GENESIS AND GEOGRAPHY
OF SOILS
Quantification of the Vertical Translocation Rate
of Soil Solid-Phase Material by the Magnetic Tracer Method
A. P. Zhidkin and A. N. Gennadiev
Moscow State University, Moscow, 119991 Russia
e-mail: [email protected]
Received November 6, 2015
Abstract⎯Approaches to the quantification of the vertical translocation rate of soil solid-phase material by
the magnetic tracer method have been developed; the tracer penetration depth and rate have been determined, as well as the radial distribution of the tracer in chernozems (Chernozems) and dark gray forest soils
(Luvisols) of Belgorod oblast under natural steppe and forest vegetation and in arable lands under agricultural
use of different durations. It has been found that the penetration depth of spherical magnetic particles (SMPs)
during their 150-year-occurrence in soils of a forest plot is 68 cm under forest, 58 cm on a 100-year old plowland, and only 49 cm on a 150-year-old plowland. In the chernozems of the steppe plot, the penetration depth
of SMPs exceeds the studied depth of 70 cm both under natural vegetation and on the plowlands. The penetration rates of SMPs deep into the soil vary significantly among the key plots: 0.92–1.32 mm/year on the
forest plot and 1.47–1.63 mm/year on the steppe plot, probably because of the more active recent turbation
activity of soil animals.
Keywords: pedoturbation, lessivage, spherical magnetic particles, radial, migration, distribution, penetration,
mole rat, land use, plowland, rate, chernozem
DOI: 10.1134/S1064229316070140
INTRODUCTION
The intraprofile translocation of soil solid-phase
material and the estimation of its effect on the genesis
and properties of soils have received much attention
from researchers in the last decades. Different terms
and notions are used in scientific literature to describe
these processes.
The widely used term “pedoturbation” usually
implies the intraprofile translocation of soil material
under the effect and intra- and extrasoil forces. This
term was first utilized by Gerasimov and Glazovskaya
[12] and Hole [43]. Gerasimov and Glazovskaya noted
the high significance of pedoturbations for soil formation and classified them among the elementary soil processes. Hole [43] distinguished nine types of pedoturbations depending on the acting factor; Johnson et al. [39]
added the tenth pedoturbation factor. Different specifying neologisms related to the notion of pedoturbation
were recently introduced: faunal turbation and floral
turbation [40], biopedoturbation [52], biomixing [41],
bomb turbation [46], agropedoturbation [28], etc.
The terms “lessivage,” “illimerization,” and “partluvation” are also used. The term “lessivage” was introduced by Aubert, Demolon, and Uden in 1938 [34] for
the mechanical removal of fine particles from the upper
part of the soil profile and their accumulation at some
depth in the form of local or continuous formations
(incrustations, cutans) on the surface of peds, rock fragments, and cavity wells. In 1958, Fridland proposed to
displace the term “lessivage” with the term “illimerization.” However, “lessivage” remains the most commonly used term [34]. Partluvation is the translocation
of solid particles of any size, including sand, throughout
the soil profile [32]. Thus, partluvation also includes
lessivage.
In this work, we introduce the term “vertical translocation of soil solid-phase material” (VTSSM),
which characterizes the totality of phenomena changing the position of soil particles or separate fragments
of soil material in the vertical direction, i.e., the transfer of soil suspensions by descending water flows and
the displacement of soil material by burrowing animals, fallen trees, cryoturbation processes, agricultural tools, etc.
The vertical translocations of soil material caused
by different factors vary in the degree of impact, the
volume of translocated material, and the frequency of
processes. Some processes, e.g., tree falls, can almost
instantaneously move appreciable volumes of soil
material in the vertical direction. Other processes,
e.g., the activity of earthworms, are low in force, but
they result in the permanent vertical sorting of soil
material and significantly affect the soil properties. We
730
QUANTIFICATION OF THE VERTICAL TRANSLOCATION RATE
shall consider the main quantitative estimates of these
processes available in the literature.
Quantitative data on the translocation of soil material by animals are presented in several reviews [1, 6, 7,
53]. The total volumes of soil material annually translocated by animals in different directions are relatively
large; they reach tens and hundreds of tons per hectare.
In particular, earthworms move 10 to 225 t/ha per year
[47–49, 51]; ants move 1 to 200 t/ha per year [7, 44, 49];
vertebrates move 1–20 t/ha per year [35, 38]; etc. The
results of different authors vary by orders of magnitude,
and there are almost no estimates for the vertical component of soil material moved by animals.
The effect of vegetation on the VTSSM is also
poorly understood. The main works deal with windfalls [5, 8, 13, 30].
Land plowing significantly affects the translocation
of soil solid-phase material [17–23, 28]. According to
Rozanov [28], the elementary soil-forming process of
pedoturbation in developed soils mainly involves
agropedoturbation and becomes the leading process.
Lessivage, being a soil-forming process of the
VTSSM, is one of the profile-forming processes in a
number of soils. Only few works consider the rate of
lessivage. It is shown that the rate of vertical clay
removal (lessivage) during the formation of texturallydifferentiated soils can reach 0.5–1 g/m2 annually, or
0.05–0.1 t/ha per year [3]. Distinct signs of lessivage
are detected in the profile after tens of years and are
well-identified morphologically and analytically
already after 50–75 years [16].
The above estimates of the translocation rate of soil
material are based on different methods. Quantitative
data on the volumes of soil material translocated by
animals under natural conditions are mainly based on
the determination of their volumes released onto the
surface of soils. Windfalls are also usually studied
using models based on the observations of their visual
consequences.
Methods of laboratory experimental simulation
have been developed recently. Humphreys and Field
[45] performed a 17-year-long experiment on the estimation of soil material mixing in a specially colored
soil column. Capowiez et al. [36] examined a soil column with X-ray and created a 3D model for the translocation of material by soil fauna. The results of these
studies allow the estimation of volumes of material
moved in different directions.
Some works deal with the study of the vertical drop
of artifacts into the soil. Darwin [37] performed the
first work in this field. According to his results, the
drop rates of artifacts into the soil vary from 2 to
152 t/ha annually. Bobrovskii [6] reported analogous
recent observations of other researchers [2, 26, 33,
54], according to which the drop velocities of artifacts
are 3.5–5 mm/year.
EURASIAN SOIL SCIENCE
Vol. 49
No. 7
2016
731
Methods of tracers found recent use for assessing
the vertical movement of soil material. Some natural
radioactive tracers are described in the review of
Wilkinson et al. [53]. Semenkov and Usacheva [29]
attempted to use 137Cs of technogenic origin as a tracer
of soil turbations in Western Siberia. Solntseva and
Rubilina [31] used an original method of coal tracer
based on the determination of bright red substance in
cutans to estimate the rate of lessivage. However, these
tracers have found no wide use to date.
We also estimated the VTSSM earlier [14, 55]. From
the radial distribution of spherical magnetic particles
(SMPs), which are tracers of technogenic origin, in the
upper 30-cm thick soil layer, we found that the residualaccumulation distribution of material is observed in less
than 25% of soil profiles in lands under moldboard
plowing. In the case of nonmoldoard plowing, the
degree of soil turbation is reduced by 2–3 times: the
residual-accumulation distribution of material is
observed in 55–75% of soil profiles. In virgin steppe
and forest soils, the initial accumulation distribution of
material is observed in 60–100% of soil profiles. This
work continues the development and approbation of
the magnetic tracer method with the use of new
approaches to the quantification of the VTSSM.
METHODS AND OBJECTS OF STUDY
The rate of the VTSSM was estimated using the
magnetic tracer method based on the analysis of the
radial distribution of SMPs in soils. The SMPs are
mainly of technogenic origin, which is related to the
combustion of coal. On the area under study, the main
sources of SMPs were steam locomotives running on
the Moscow–Belgorod–Khar’kov railroad, which was
constructed in 1864–1875. Thus, the occurrence time
of SMPs in the soils of the studied area is about
150 years. SMPs arrive onto the surface of soil cover
from the atmosphere, and their radial distribution in
soils of autonomous upland landscapes is mainly
related to vertical migration in the soil profile.
The sizes of SMPs (10–50 μm) correspond to those
of fine earth particles. The SMPs consist of magnetite
and hematite (relatively heavy minerals), but most of
them are hollow, which determines their weight similar
to that of fine earth particles. The SMPs are capable of
persisting in soils of autonomous landscapes for at least
hundreds of years without visible signs of degradation.
SMPs are used as erosion tracers because of their
properties and long occurrence time in soils [9–11, 14,
42, 50]. In this work, they are used as markers of the
VMSSM for the first time.
The determination of SMP content in soils involves
the separation of magnetic fraction from soil material
and the microscopic determination of its SMP portion
[9]. The morphological features of SMPs allow their
visual identification on the background of other
strongly magnetic minerals [4]. The detailed descrip-
732
ZHIDKIN, GENNADIEV
Table 1. Lower boundaries of genetic horizons in the studied soils
Forest plot
forest
horizon
A0
A1
A1A2
A2Bth
BtA2
Bt1
BtCca
depth, cm
+3
9
28
38
55(60)
130(135)
170…
Steppe plot
100-year-old plowland 160-year-old plowland
horizon
Ap
A2Bth
BtA2
Btg
Bt
BtCca
depth, cm
28(30)
50(58)
66(68)
90
120
160…
horizon
Ap
A1
A1B
Bt
BtC
Dg
Dcag
tion of the procedure for the analytical determination
of SMPs in soils was reported earlier [14], as were the
methodological approaches to the use of SMPs for the
quantification of the VMSSM [15].
The objects of study are located in Belgorod oblast
and confined to two key areas with forest and steppe
vegetation. The forest area is located near the settlement of Batratskie Dachi at 15 km to the east of the
city of Belgorod. The selection of areas was preceded
by the analysis of historical maps and archive materials. On the basis of The General Plan of the Belgorod
District (1785), The Military Map of the Kursk Province
(1864), and the map from the Appendix to the work of
V.N. Sukachev (1903), we selected plots with different
histories and durations of agricultural development:
(a) a forest plot untilled for at least 150 years; (b) a
young plowland, former forest, developed in about
1910; and (c) an old-developed plot tilled during the
last 160 years. These plots are located at 3–4 km from
one another, which ensures the similarity of physiographic conditions and soils on the studied plot.
The steppe key plot is located in the Ivnya district
of Belgorod oblast, near the village of Kurasovka,
55 km to the north of Belgorod. On this key plot, soils
on two virgin steppe plots and three arable plots were
studied. The duration of tillage on the steppe key plot
varies from 140 to 250 years [27]. The occurrence time
of SMPs in soils of this plot is about 150 years; therefore, it may be taken that SMPs occurred under tillage
conditions during almost the entire period.
For each land use, we studied soils on autonomous
positions: on flat relatively extended watershed areas,
where soil erosion and accumulation of material
brought from other territories are almost absent or
manifested to the minimum extent.
On the forest key plot, soil profiles were established;
soil samples were taken by layers with an interval of
7 cm from depths of 0–7, 7–14, 14–21, 21–28, 28–35,
35–42, 42–49, 49–56, 56–63, and 63–70 cm, parallel
samples being taken from three walls of soil profile pits.
A total of 90 soil samples were taken and analyzed.
Samples were taken with a special coring gun with rings
within the sampler. The specified volume of soil mate-
depth, cm
steppe
horizon
29
Ad
38(47) A1
47(53) A1B
68(78) BA1
110(130) Bca
149
Cca
160…
plowlands
depth, cm
6(8)
44(55)
68(74)
82(93)
110(140)
180…
horizon
Ap
A1 (B)
A1B
BA1
B
Bca
BCca
depth, cm
25(31)
26(51)
58(88)
75(138)
104(130)
129(130)
180…
rial (137.3 cm3) was sampled from each fixed depth to
estimate the soil density in the layers.
On the steppe plot, the procedure of soil sampling
from the soil profile was analogous to that used on the
forest plot, but parallel samples were taken from different profiles; 20 samples were taken and analyzed from
two profiles under virgin steppe and 30 samples from
three profiles under plowlands. Thus, a total of 140 soil
samples were analyzed for the content of SMPs and
soil density.
RESULTS OF STUDY
Morphological properties of the soils studied. On
the forest key plot, loamy dark gray forest soil with a
second humus horizon (Haplic Luvisol (Loamic,
Cutanic)) on calcareous loess-like loams under a
maple–oak forest with ash trees was studied. On the
plot under agricultural development for 100 years, the
soil was identified as a surface-gleyic loamy dark gray
forest soil (Haplic Luvisol (Loamic, Aric, Cutanic))
on brown-yellow calcareous heavy loams. On the plot
under agricultural development for 160 years, the soil
is a podzolized loamy chernozem (Luvic Greyzemic
Chernic Phaeozem (Loamic)) on shallow mantle
loams underlain by yellow-brown calcareous Paleogene–Neogene loams.
On the steppe plot under natural vegetation, loamy
typical chernozems (Haplic Chernozems (Loamic,
Pachic)) on calcareous loess-like loams were studied.
On the plowland, loamy leached chernozems (Luvic
Chernozems (Loamic, Aric, Pachic)) on calcareous
loess-like loams were studied. The depths of genetic
horizons in the studied soils are given in Table 1.
In the gray forest soil under forest, numerous mole
rat holes are observed, especially in the textural horizons. The area of mole rat holes in the Bt horizon
reaches 30–40% of the horizon area in the profile wall.
They are brown-gray in color and have diffuse edges;
the enclosed material is mainly similar in texture with
the inclosing stratum. The absence of recent casts on
the surface of forest soil and the morphological properties of mole rat holes classify them among the paleo
EURASIAN SOIL SCIENCE
Vol. 49
No. 7
2016
QUANTIFICATION OF THE VERTICAL TRANSLOCATION RATE
holes of mole rats, the penetration depth of which covers the entire layer under study: down to 170 cm. No
recent mole rat holes are found in the soil under forest.
On the forest plot of the 100-year-old plowland,
the amount of mole rat holes is significantly lower
than under forest, but they are obviously more recent,
especially those filled with material from the humus
horizon with characteristic dark color and crumb
structure. The penetration depth of most mole rat
holes is 68 cm; some of them penetrate down to 90 cm.
On the 160-year-old plowland of the watershed, there
are isolated mole rat holes and almost no casts of burrowing animals on the soil surface.
On the steppe plot, there are numerous mole rat
holes; their amount is significantly larger than on the
forest plot, and these are mainly recent holes. In the
humus horizons, mole rat holes filled with brown
material from the lower soil horizons are well manifested morphologically. The total amount of mole rat
holes in the humus horizons is difficult to determine
because of the dark color of these horizons; however,
it reaches 60% in the both profiles of the transitional
Bca horizons of steppe soils, and the content of recent
mole rat holes filled with material from the humus
horizons, which strongly differ from the inclosing stratum, without carbonate pseudomycelium, is 5–10% of
the horizon area. Mole rat holes are clearly manifested
morphologically throughout the studied profile down
to a depth of 180 cm. Deeper, their content decreases
to isolated holes. However, recent mole rat holes are
encountered even at a depth of 180 cm.
In the tilled soils of the steppe plot, the content of
mole rat holes in the transitional B and Bca horizons is
lower than in the undeveloped steppe soils; however, it
is significantly higher than in the plowlands of the forest
plot. The content of mole rat holes in the transitional B
and Bca horizons is 20–25% of the horizon areas, and
the content of recent holes is about 5% of their area.
Thus, the morphological features of soils indicate a
low current digging activity of mole rats on the forest
plot and a slightly higher activity on the plowlands. On
the steppe plot, current manifestations of mole rat
activity on the virgin steppe plots are numerous and
more intensive than on the developed territories. The
differences in the content of mole rats observed among
the soil profiles provide important information characterizing the intensity of the VTSSM related to the
activity of burrowing animals over tens of years. The
size of population can significantly vary with time.
According to the data of Puzachenko and Vlasov [25],
strong dynamics of their populations under different
land-use practices was observed in the Streletskaya
Step’ Reserve during 20 years. So, the abundance of
greater mole rat (Spalax microphthalmus) under different land use practices was almost similar (about 2–
4 animals/ha) during the period from 1992 to 1995 and
significantly varied later on: from 0 to 14 animals/ha.
EURASIAN SOIL SCIENCE
Vol. 49
No. 7
2016
733
On the studied key plots, a large amount of earthworm runs and coprolites in the humus horizons of
soils is observed under natural vegetation compared to
the developed soils. In forest, the plant cover and soil
surface are significantly disturbed because of the high
current digging and trampling activity of wild boars.
Isolated fallen trees are encountered.
Along with the biogenic VTSSM, special attention
is paid to the morphological manifestations of lessivage: clay–humus cutans and skeletans. Clay–humus
cutans are identified morphologically within the entire
studied layer in all soils of the forest plot. The penetration depths of skeletans under forest and on plowlands
are similar: down to 30–35 cm for the intensive penetration and 50–55 cm for the maximum penetration.
However, the occurrence of clay–humus cutans and
skeletans in the gray forest soil under forest is significantly higher than on the plowlands, which indicates
more intensive lessivage processes under forest. Lessivage signs are almost absent in the chernozems of the
steppe plot.
Radial distribution of spherical magnetic particles in
soils of the forest key plot. Under forest, the radial distribution of SMPs is of accumulative-regressive character (Fig. 1 I). In the upper layers, the content of
SMPs varies from 11.7 to 23.1 mg/kg. It abruptly
decreases with depth to 4.8–5.9 mg/kg in the 14- to
21-cm later; later on, this decrease becomes slower.
SMPs are found at significant depths, even in the 63to 70-cm layer, although only in small amounts (from
0.3 to 1.3 mg/kg). This penetration depth of SMPs
(down to 70 cm) indicates a relatively thick VTSSM
profile under forest.
On the forest plot of the 100-year-old plowland,
the radial distribution of SMPs has accumulative character with a slow and relatively regular decrease in the
content of spherules from 6.2–13.7 mg/kg in the upper
layers to 3.0–8.7 mg/kg in the 28- to 35-cm layer and
0.1–4.1 mg/kg in the 42- to 49-cm layer; down the
profile, the decreases continues. The penetration
depth of SMPs on the 100-year-old plowland is 58 cm
on average for three soil columns, which is lower than
under forest by 10 cm.
On the 160-year-old plowland of the forest plot, a
uniform distribution of SMPs in the upper 28-cmthick layer is observed compared to the forest soil and
the 100-year-old plowland. Thus, the contents of
SMPs at depths of 0–7, 7–14, and 14–21 cm are similar: 9.2, 9.6, and 9.4 mg/kg in the first replicate; 5.3,
7.0, and 6.1 mg/kg in the second replicate; and 6.8,
8.3, and 9.0 mg/kg in the third replicate. The coefficients of variation for the content of SMPs determined
from three parallel samples at depths of 0–7, 7–14,
14–21, and 21–28 cm in the 160-year-old plowland
are relatively low: only 21% compared to 36% on the
100-year-old plowland and 65% under forest. On the
160-year-old plowland, the uniform distribution of
SMPs in the plow horizon indicates a high rate of the
734
ZHIDKIN, GENNADIEV
(a)
0
20
(b)
SMPs, mg/kg
0
20
20
0
(c)
0
20
10
20
I
30
40
50
Depth, cm
60
70
0
10 20
10
20
30
II
40
50
1
2
3
60
70
Fig. 1. Contents of SMPs in the soils of the (I) forest and
(II) steppe key plots: (a) under forest; (b) under 100-yearold plowland; (c) under 160-year-old plowland; (1, 2, 3)
parallel samples.
VTSSM because of the high turbation activity due to
tillage during the entire period of SMP occurrence in
the soil. On the 100-year-old plowland, the distribution of SMPs is less uniform, probably because of the
shorter duration of tillage. Under forest, the distribution is of accumulative-regressive character typical for
untilled soils.
In the tilled soils, relatively high contents of SMPs
are observed in the plow horizons. At a depth of 28–
35 cm, the content of SMPs reaches 8.7 mg/kg on the
100-year-old plowland and 6.9 mg/kg on the 160year-old plowland, values which are close to the average content of SMPs in the plow horizons of these
soils. The penetration of large amounts of SMPs to the
subsurface horizons can be due to colmatage intensified by tillage.
Below a depth of 42 cm, the content of SMPs
abruptly decreases on both plowlands of the forest key
plot. The penetration depth of SMPs on the 160-yearold plowland is about 49 cm on the average for three
parallel samples, which is 9 cm lower than on the
100-year-old plowland and 19 cm lower than under
forest.
Radial distribution of spherical magnetic particles in
soils of the steppe key plot. On the steppe plot, the radial
distribution of SMPs strongly differs from that on the
forest key plot in character and penetration depth.
On the steppe plot, SMPs penetrate the entire layer
under study, to more than 70 cm (Fig. 1 II). Relatively
large amounts of SMPs are found at a depth of 63–
70 cm in all soil samples: from 1.6 to 3.6 mg/kg. The
obtained results indicate the higher penetration depth
of the VTSSM in both virgin and arable soils on the
steppe plot than on the forest plot. The differences in
the penetration depth of SMPs between the key plots
can be due to the more intensive digging activity of
burrowing animals.
Under the virgin steppe, the radial distribution of
SMPs is of accumulative character with a relatively
gradual decrease in their content with depth, in contrast to the accumulative-regressive distribution of
SMPs under forest. Thus, the content of SMPs is 8.6–
9.8 mg/kg in the near-surface layer of virgin soil and
decreases to 5.4–7.1 mg/kg at depths of 7–21 cm; the
gradual decrease continues down the profile to 2.8–
4.3 mg/kg at depths of 21–42 cm. A relatively high
content of SMPs (5.1 mg/kg) is found at a depth of
42–49 cm in one profile, but no increase in their content at this depth is observed in the other profile.
Below 49 cm, the decrease in the content of SMPs
continues to 0.9–3.2 mg/kg at a depth of 70 cm.
In the developed chernozems of the steppe plot, a
uniform content of SMPs with an average value of
11.5 mg/kg is observed in the plow horizons. The coefficient of variation for the samples down to a depth of
28 cm is 27% (three parallels), which is comparable to
the analogous value on the old-developed plowland of
the forest plot (21%). On the forest plot, parallel samples from different walls of the same profile were analyzed, while the parallel samples on the steppe plot
were taken from different profiles located at 1–2 km
from one another. Thus, the content of SMPs in the
plow horizons of soils on the steppe plot can be considered very uniform.
In the tilled soils of the steppe plot, a decrease in
the content of SMPs (down to 5.0–8.6 mg/kg) is
observed in the subsurface horizon compared to the
plow horizons. A significant difference in the content
of SMPs between the soils of the steppe and forest
plots is observed at a depth of 28–42 cm.
Below 42 cm in the chernozems of the steppe plot,
an increase in the content of SMPs is observed with
depth in all three replicates: to 2.6–4.6 mg/kg at a
depth of 42–49 cm, 3.4–5.9 mg/kg at a depth of 49–
56 cm, and 5.6–7.9 mg/kg at a depth of 56–63 cm.
The curves describing the radial distribution of SMPs
in the lower profiles of arable soils on the steppe plot
are relatively uniform. The secondary maximum gradually increasing for three depths, which is observed in
three replicates in different profiles, is hardly occasional. It can be related to the nesting and storing
chambers of mole rats that occurred at these depths.
This issue is poorly covered in the literature; however,
EURASIAN SOIL SCIENCE
Vol. 49
No. 7
2016
QUANTIFICATION OF THE VERTICAL TRANSLOCATION RATE
735
Table 2. Penetration rates of SMPs into the soils, mm/year
Forest plot
Steppe plot
Number
of parallel samples
forest
100-year-old
plowland
160-year-old
plowland
1
2
3
Average
1.16
1.03
0.98
1.05
1.32
0.93
0.95
1.07
1.20
1.11
0.92
1.08
steppe
plowlands
1.49
1.58
1.57
1.63
1.47
1.55
1.54
use conditions. The total reserve of SMPs in the soil
according to the available data, mole rats annually create long tunnel networks, which reach more than
(∑ S )
n
profile
360 m, at different depths. The feeding (subsurface)
tunnels of mole rats usually occur at a depth of 20–
30 cm, and the tunnels to the nesting and storing
chambers are located deeper by tens of centimeters
and run to 3.5 m in depth [24]. The revealed radial distribution of SMPs in three profiles suggests a regular
occurrence depth of 49–63 cm for the nesting and
storing chambers of mole rats in arable soils on the
area studied.
In deeper layers (63–70 cm), the content of SMPs
decreases abruptly to 2.1–3.6 mg/kg.
Calculation of the penetration rate of SMPs deep
into the soil profile. SMPs fall into the soil only from
the atmosphere. In the absence of the VTSSM, the
whole reserve of SMPs would occur on the soil surface. However, they penetrate into the studied soils to
significant depths due to the translocation of material
from the upper soil horizons to the underlying soil
layer, i.e., the VTSSM.
The SMP penetration rate factor into the soil profile was calculated. This is not a direct estimate of the
VTSSM; however, at the lack of related literature
data, the penetration rate and depth of SMPs can be
key parameters for the comparative estimation of
VTSSMs in different soil types under different land-
i =1
i
is calculated as the sum of its
reserves (Si) in all n layers of the soil column. In the
absence of the VTSSM, the whole reserve of SMPs
would occur on the soil surface. At the observed
radial distribution of SMPs, their total reserve
(∑ S ) less the reserve in the first (0- to 7-cm)
n
i =1
i
layer (S1) characterizes the amount of SMPs that
penetrated below the first layer, i.e., the amount of
SMPs that passed the vertical way from the surface to
a depth below 7 cm during the estimated period of
150 years. The total reserve of SMPs less their
∑
n
reserves in the first and second layers (
S – S1 – S2)
i =1 i
is equal to the amount of SMPs penetrated below the
second layer. Thus, the calculation of the vertical
migration rate of SMPs is based on the estimation of
the average distance passed annually by the unit
reserve of SMPs on the average for the estimated
period (150 years) throughout the studied profile. It
is important to note that the obtained rate is the average prevalent vector of the VTSSM composed of all
actual movements of material up and down the soil
profiles on the average for the last 150 years. The calculation was made from the following formula:
⎛ n
⎞
⎛ n
⎞
⎛ n
⎞
⎜ S i − S1 ⎟ M 1 + ⎜ S i − S1 − S 2 ⎟ M 2 + ... + ⎜ S i − S1 − S 2 − ... − S n −1 ⎟ M n −1
⎜
⎟
⎜
⎟
⎜
⎟
⎠
⎝ i =1
⎠
⎝ i =1
⎠
,
V = ⎝ i =1
n
∑
∑
∑
∑ST
i
i =1
where
∑
n
i =1
S i is the total reserve of SMPs in the soil
profile (g/m2 in the layer); Si denotes the reserve of
SMPs (g/m2) in the ith layer (i = 1, 2, 3, …, n); Mi is
the thickness of the ith layer (in our case, all layers are
7 cm in thickness); and T is the occurrence time of
SMPs in the soil (years).
EURASIAN SOIL SCIENCE
Vol. 49
No. 7
2016
The obtained results for the penetration of SMPs
into the soils are given in Table 2.
The calculated rates of SMP penetration into the
soil profiles vary from 0.92 to 1.63 mm/year. These
values are similar to the literature data (see Introduction). In particular, the obtained rates of SMP penetration into the soils are of the same order of magni-
736
ZHIDKIN, GENNADIEV
tude as the drop rates of artifacts (3.5–5 mm/year) [2,
26, 33, 54].
The rates of SMP penetration into the soils are in
the range 0.92–1.32 mm/year on the forest plot and
1.47–1.63 mm/year on the steppe plot. The more
intensive manifestation of the VTSSM on the steppe
plot were noted earlier at the description of the morphological parameters of soils and the radial distribution and penetration depth of SMPs. The differences
in the SMP penetration rates can be due to the higher
digging activity of soil animals on the steppe plot.
The differences in the rates of SMP penetration
into the soils were higher between the key plots than
between the land-use practices. The rates of SMP
penetration under different land use conditions were
similar: 1.05, 1.07, and 1.08 mm/year under forest,
100-year-old plowland, and 160-year-old plowland,
respectively, on the forest plot; 1.54 and 1.55 mm/year
under steppe and plowland on the steppe plot.
The relatively high rates of the VTSSM under natural vegetation comparable to those on the plowland
can be due to several reasons. Morphologically more
intensive lessivage, the zooturbation activity of wild
boars in the surface soil horizons, and the higher activity of soil invertebrates are noted in the soils under forest vegetation than on the plowland of the forest key
plot. Windfalls can also significantly contribute to the
VTSSM in the forest. On the steppe plot, the descriptions of the morphological properties of soils note
larger amounts of mole rate holes in the soils under
natural vegetation, which make up 60% of the horizon
area in the transitional horizons of soils under natural
vegetation and 20–25% under plowlands. In the virgin
steppe, the activity of soil invertebrates is more manifested (earthworm channels, coprolites) than on the
plowlands of the steppe plot.
CONCLUSIONS
Our studies revealed significant morphological and
analytical differences between the VTSSM manifestations in virgin and arable dark gray forest soils and
podzolized, typical, and leached chernozems.
The penetration depth of SMPs in soils of the forest
plot is 68 cm in the dark gray forest soil under forest,
58 cm in the dark gray forest soil on the plot tilled for
100 years (after the occurring under forest for
50 years), and only 49 cm in podzolized chernozem on
the plot tilled during the entire period under study. In
typical and leached chernozems on the steppe plot,
the penetration depth of SMPs exceeds the studied
70 cm in all profiles under natural vegetation and
plowlands.
The radial distribution of SMPs in the soils under
natural vegetation is of accumulative-regressive character under forest and accumulative character under
steppe. On the plowlands, the distribution of SMPs in
the plow horizons is highly uniform. The coefficients
of variation are 21 and 27% on the average for four
depths and three replicates on the plowlands of the
forest and steppe plots tilled during the entire period
under study, 36% on the 100-year-old plowland of the
forest plot, and 65% under forest.
The rate of SMP penetration into the studied soils
is 0.92–1.63 mm/year. On each key plot, the rates of
SMP penetration in the soils under different land-use
practices are similar. The rates of SMP penetration in
the soils differ significantly between the key plots:
0.92–1.32 mm/year on the forest plot and 1.47–
1.63 mm/year on the steppe plot.
More intensive manifestations of the VTSSM in
the typical and leached chernozems on the steppe plot
are revealed than in the dark gray forest soils and
podzolized chernozems of the forest plot, which can
be related to the higher current turbation activity of
soil animals (mole rats) on the steppe plot.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This work was supported in part by the Russian
Foundation for Basic Research (project no. 14-0531141_mol_a)
REFERENCES
1. B. D. Abaturov, “Soil-forming role of animals in the
biosphere,” in Biosphere and Soils (Nauka, Moscow,
1976), pp. 53–69.
2. A. L. Aleksandrovskii and E. I. Aleksandrovskaya, Soil
Evolution and the Geographical Environment (Nauka,
Moscow, 2005) [in Russian].
3. A. L. Aleksandrovskii, “Evolution of chernozems in the
middle reaches of the Don River in the Holocene,”
Pochvovedenie, No. 11, 5–14 (1984).
4. V. F. Babanin, V. I. Trukhin, L. O. Karpachevskii, et al.,
Soil Magnetism (Yaroslavl State Technological Univ.,
Yaroslavl, 1995) [in Russian].
5. V. F. Basevich and E. A. Dmitriev, “Impact of wood
logging on the soil cover,” Pochvovedenie, No. 9, 134–
142 (1979).
6. M. V. Bobrovskii, Forest Soils in European Russia: Biotic
and Anthropogenic Factors of Formation (KMK, Moscow, 2010) [in Russian].
7. S. I. Bolysov, Biogenic Development of Land Relief,
Vol. 2: Zonality (GEOS, Moscow, 2007) [in Russian].
8. I. I. Vasenev and V. O. Targulian, Windfall and Taiga
Soil Formation: Regimes, Processes, and Morphogenesis
of Soil Successions (Nauka, Moscow, 1995) [in Russian].
9. A. N. Gennadiev, A. P. Zhidkin, K. R. Olson, and
V. L. Kachinskii, “Soil erosion under different land
uses: assessment by the magnetic tracer method,” Eurasian Soil Sci. 43 (9), 1047–1054 (2010).
10. A. N. Gennadiev, T. S. Koshovskii, A. P. Zhidkin, and
R. G. Kovach, “Lateral migration of soil solid-phase
material within a landscape-geochemical arena
EURASIAN SOIL SCIENCE
Vol. 49
No. 7
2016
QUANTIFICATION OF THE VERTICAL TRANSLOCATION RATE
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
detected using the magnetic tracer method,” Eurasian
Soil Sci. 46 (10), 983–993 (2013).
A. N. Gennadiev, S. S. Chernyanskii, and R. G. Kovach,
“Magnetic spherules as soil microcomponents and tracers of mass-transfer processes,” Eurasian Soil Sci. 37 (5),
486–499 (2004).
I. P. Gerasimov and M. A. Glazovskaya, Basics of Soil
Science and Geography of Soils (Geografgiz, Moscow,
1960) [in Russian].
A. G. Dyukarev, Landscape-Dynamic Aspects of Soil
Formation in West Siberian Taiga (Izd. Nauchno-Tekhnicheskoi Literatury, Tomsk, 2005) [in Russian].
A. P. Zhidkin, Candidate’s Dissertation in Geography
(Moscow, 2010).
A. P. Zhidkin, “Application of technogenic magnetic
tracers as indicators of pedotrubation in plowed and
virgin soils,” in International Scientific Conf. “Ecology
and Biology of Soils” (Rostov-on-Don, 2014), pp. 276–
280.
I. V. Zamotaev, Doctoral Dissertation in Geography
(Moscow, 2009).
N. A. Karavaeva, “Anthropogenic changes of taiga soils
on varved clays in northwest Russia,” Eurasian Soil Sci.
29 (11), 1201–1209 (1996).
N. A. Karavaeva, “Agrogenic memory of soils,” in Soil
Memory: Soil as the Memory of Biosphere–Geosphere–
Anthropogenic Interactions (LKI, Moscow, 2008),
pp. 578–616.
N. A. Karavaeva, “Long-term agrogenic evolution of
soddy-podzolic soil,” Eurasian Soil Sci. 33 (2), 147–
155 (2000).
N. A. Karavaeva and S. N. Zharikov, “On the problem
of soil cultivation,” Eurasian Soil Sci. 31 (11), 1203–
1214 (1998).
N. A. Karavaeva, S. N. Zharikov, and A. S. Konchin,
“Arable soils in the nonchernozemic region: processevolutionary approach,” Pochvovedenie, No. 11, 114–
125 (1985).
I. V. Kuznetsova, “Changes in the physical status of the
typical and leached chernozems of Kursk oblast within
40 years,” Eurasian Soil Sci. 46 (4), 393–400 (2013).
E. V. Kulinskaya and E. B. Skvortsova, “Change of
microstructure of soddy-podzolic soils caused by agriculture use,” in Degradation and Recovery of Forest Soils
(Nauka, Moscow, 1991), pp. 243–250.
Mammals of Russian Fauna and Adjacent Territories
(Zoological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences,
St. Petersburg, 1995) [in Russian].
A. Yu. Puzachenko and A. A. Vlasov, “Dynamics of
population density of the greater mole-rat (Spalax
microphthalmus, Rodentia) in Streletskaya Steppe:
hypothesis and their verification,” in Proceedings of
International Scientific-Practical Conf. Dedicated to
130th Anniversary of Prof. V.V. Alekhin “Regimes of the
Strictly Protected Steppe Natural Territories” (Kursk,
2012) [in Russian].
S. I. Ponomareva, “The effect of worm activity on
development of stable structure of soddy-podzolic
soils,” Tr. Pochv. Inst. im. V.V. Dokuchaeva, No. 41,
304–378 (1953).
EURASIAN SOIL SCIENCE
Vol. 49
No. 7
2016
737
27. Plans of General and Special Land Surveys of Summer
Residences in Kursk Province, Bogatinskii Uezd. Voznesenskoe Settlement with the Villages Owned by Doctor
Konstantin Nikolaevich Ustimovich, 1871 Russian State
Archives of Ancient Acts (RGADA), Fund 1354,
Inventory 211-II, Alphabet 175, File B.
28. B. G. Rozanov, Soil Morphology (Akademicheskii
Proekt, Moscow, 2004) [in Russian].
29. I. N. Semenkov and A. A. Usacheva, “137Cs as a marker
of modern soil turbations,” Fundam. Issled., No. 10,
1478–1481 (2013).
30. E. B. Skvortsova, N. G. Ulanova, and V. F. Basevich,
Ecological Role of Windfalls (Lesnaya Promyshlennost’,
Moscow, 1983) [in Russian].
31. N. P. Solntseva and N. E. Rubilina, “Morphology of
soils transformed by coal mining,” Pochvovedenie,
No. 2, 105–118 (1987).
32. V. O. Targulian and I. V. Vishnevskaya, “Migration of
silt and clay particles in the soddy-podzolic soil profile,”
in Geochemical and Soil Aspects in Landscape Studies
(Moscow State Univ., Moscow, 1975), pp. 26–42.
33. O. V. Chekanovskaya, Earthworms and Soil Formation
(Academy of Sciences of Soviet Union, Moscow, 1960)
[in Russian].
34. Elementary Soil Forming Processes: Conceptual Analysis,
Characteristics, and Systematics (Nauka, Moscow,
1992) [in Russian].
35. B. D. Abaturov, “The role of burrowing animals in the
transport of mineral substances in the soil,” Pedobiologia 12, 261–266 (1972).
36. I. Capowiez, S. Sammartino, and E. Michel, “Using
X-ray tomography to quantify earthworm bioturbation
non-destructively in repacked soil cores,” Geoderma
162, 124–131 (2011).
37. C. Darwin, The Formation of Vegetable Mould through
the Action of Worms, with Observations on Their Habits
(John Murray, London, 1881).
38. L. Ellison, “The pocket gopher in relation to soil erosion
on mountain ranges,” Ecology 27, 101–114 (1946).
39. D. L. Johnson, “Biomantle evolution and the redistribution of earth materials and artifacts,” Soil Sci. 149,
84–102 (1990).
40. D. L. Johnson, J. E. J. Domier, and D. N. Johnson,
“Reflections of the nature of soil and its biomantle,”
Ann. Assoc. Am. Geogr. 95, 11–31 (2005).
41. D. L. Johnson, D. Watson-Stegner, D. N. Johnson,
and R. J. Schaetzl, “Proisotropic and proanisotropoc
processes of pedoturbation,” Soil Sci. 143, 278–292
(1987).
42. R. L. Jones and K. R. Olson, “Fly ash use as a time
marker in sedimentation studies,” Soil Sci. Am. J. 54,
1393–1401 (1990).
43. F. D. Hole, “A classification of pedoturbations and
some other processes and factors of soil formation in
relation to isotropism and anisotropism,” Soil Sci. 91,
375–377 (1961).
44. G. S. Humphreys, “The rate of ant mounding and
earthworm casting near Sydney, New South Wales,”
Search 12, 129–131 (1981).
738
ZHIDKIN, GENNADIEV
45. G. S. Humphreys and R. Field, “Mixing, mounding
and other aspects of bioturbation: implications for
pedogenesis,” in 16th World Congress of Soil Science
(International Society of Soil Science, Montpellier,
1998), No. 18.
46. J. P. Hupy and R. J. Schaetzl, “Introducing “bombturbation”, a singular type of soil disturbance and mixing,” Soil Sci. 171, 823–836 (2006).
47. R. V. Krishnamoorthy, “A comparative study of worm
cast production by earthworm populations from grassland and woodland near Bangalore, India,” Rev.
d’Ecol. Biol. Sol. 22, 209–219 (1985).
48. D. S. Madge, “Field and laboratory studies on the
activities of two species of tropical earthworms,” Pedobiologia 9, 188–214 (1969).
49. D. S. Madge, “Leaf fall and litter disappearance in a
tropical forest,” Pedobiologia 5, 273–288 (1965).
50. K. R. Olson, A. N. Gennadiyev, A. P. Zhidkin,
M. V. Markelov, V. N. Golosov, and J. M. Lang, “Use
of magnetic tracer and radio-cesium methods to
determine past cropland soil erosion amounts and
rates,” Catena 104, 103–110 (2013).
51. H. Watanabe and S. Ruaysoongnern, “Cast production
by the megascolecid earthworm Pheretima sp. in northeastern Thailand,” Pedobiologia 26, 37–44 (1984).
52. W. G. Whitford and F. R. Kay, “Biopedoturbation by
mammals in deserts: a review,” J. Arid Environ. 4, 203–
230 (1999).
53. M. T. Wilkinson, P. J. Richards, and G. S. Humphreys,
“Breaking ground: pedological, geological, and ecological implications of soil bioturbation,” Earth-Sci.
Rev. 97, 254–269 (2009).
54. W. R. Wood and D. L. Johnson, “A survey of disturbance processes in archaeological site formation,” in
Advances in Archaeological Method and Theory (Academic, New York, 1978), pp. 315–370.
55. A. P. Zhidkin and A. N. Gennadiyev, “Application of
magnetic tracer method for quantification of pedoturbations in soils under different land use,” in European
Geosciences Union General Assembly (Vienna, Austria,
2014), Vol. 17, No. 5338.
Translated by K. Pankratova
EURASIAN SOIL SCIENCE
Vol. 49
No. 7
2016