Changes in the Plant Cover and Biological Properties of Chernozems in the Postagrogenic Period
M. A. Azarenko, К. Ш. Казеев, O. Y. Yermolayeva, С. И. Колесников
Abstract
Abstract Changes in the soil cover and biological properties of ordinary chernozems in the natural succession on fallow lands differing in their age have been studied in Rostov oblast. With an increase in the duration of fallowing, the species diversity of the plant cover and the humus content in soil increase, while the relative restoration rate of soil biological properties decreases. During a 83-year-long period of fallowing, the soil compaction increased, the density decreased by 15%, and pH dropped from 8.1 to 7.3. The humus content in the topmost 10 cm increased by 2.4 times and the invertase activity, by 2.3 times, while of the activities of peroxidase and polyphenol oxidase became smaller. The integral index of the soil biological status on t 27- and 83-year-old fallow lands increased by 32 and 45%, respectively, in comparison with the cropland.