CRYOSOL WORKING GROUP ACTIVITY

   Statement of Goals of the Cryosol Working Group for 2004-2008 (improved on 26/05/2004 ):

•  To develop a Circumpolar Soil Carbon Database that can be used to improve our understanding of soil carbon distribution and dynamics in permafrost-affected soils.

•  To develop an Arctic and Antarctic soil databases to enhance the classification and distribution of permafrost soils.

•  To evaluate soil carbon dynamics, sink and sources in cold environments (at high latitudes and altitudes).

•  To investigate the effect of global change on the genesis and properties of soils with permafrost.

•  To cooperate with other IPA and IUSS working groups and to supply them with the data on soil temperature and other soil properties.

Proposed meetings and field trips of the Cryosol Working Group (2004-2007):

4th International Cryopedology Conference, Arkhangelsk , Russia , August 2005;

18 th World Congress on Soil Science, Symposium on Cryosols, Philadelphia . PA, July 2006;

Annual Cryosol Working Group meetings;

Field Excursions (provisional):

Trans Ural Polar Tour (2004);

Iceland (?), Russian European North (2005);

Paleocryogenic soils in New Jersey (2006) (?)

Central Yakutia and Lena delta (2007).

WRB/CWG Trans-Ural Polar Tour

  The Working Group “World Reference Base for Soil Resources” (WRB) of the International Union of Soil Sciences (IUSS) asked the Organizing Committee of the “Soil Classification-2004” Conference (Petrozavodsk, Russia, August 3-8, 2004) for a pre-conference tour to familiarize the group members with Cryosols (permafrost-affected soils). The Organizing Committee approached Russian members of the IPA/IUSS Cryosol Working Group with the purpose, which resulted in the organization of the WRB/CWG Trans-Ural Polar tour held on July 26- August 1, 2004 .

Responsible organizers Galina Mazhitova and Elena Lapteva ( Komi Science Center , Ural Division of the Russian Academy of Sciences) were assisted by the other three CWG members: Sergey Goryachkin ( Russia ), Dmitry Konushkov ( Russia ) and Marius Drewnik ( Poland ). Twenty three persons from Austria , Belgium , Germany , Hungary , Italy , Latvia , The Netherlands, Poland , Russia , South Africa and U.S.A. attended the tour.

The main activity of the WRB is developing a soil classification system aimed to serve as a tool for correlation of national classification systems. The first version was introduced in 1998 and underwent field testing during the following years. The testing both proved the system otherall efficiency and revealed its shortcomings. A revised version of the WRB is to be introduced at the World Congress of Soil Science in Philadelphia , U.S.A. in 2006. Cryosols (soils with permafrost within a 1 meter depth) are included in the WRB system as one of 30 soil reference groups. At the present version of the system they key out after Histosols (organic soils), which head the key. Nineteen qualifiers (lower level soil classes) are provided for Cryosols. A Gelic qualifier is provided in the system for soils with permafrost within the second meter from soil surface.

The tour covered the area between 66 and 68 ° N and between 64 and 67 ° E including East European (Sub)Arctic, the polar segment of the Ural Mountains and southernmost Yamal Peninsula in West Siberia . Different Cryosols and Gelic soils were demonstrated to participants, and classification improvements were discussed. Soil chemical analyses for 11 pedons were conducted under international standards.

The tour showed in particular that introduction of Turbic qualifier is necessary for Cambisol soil reference group, which means that strongly cryoturbated soils with deep position of permafrost table or even without permafrost within a two meter depth should be recognized in the system. Relative speed of soil profile renovation by cryoturbations and by soil-forming processes, including horizon-forming ones, is poorly known and impedes understanding soil genesis. Russian and international methods of soil analyses in some cases provide incomparably different results, especially with regard to soil texture and cation exchange capacity (CEC). Use of particle size distribution and CEC data obtained under Russian standards can not provide even rough correlation with WRB, at least for studied permafrost-affected soils. In particular, distinguishing between Dystric and Eutric soils may be very confusing. CEC is highly method-dependant index that calls for its more accurate interpretation given the important role it plays in most soil classification systems.

Galina Mazhitova

  Figure: Participants of the WRB/CWG Trans-Ural Polar Tour in the Ural Mountains , July 2004. Photo: Galina Mazhitova.

AGRICULTURE IN NORTHERN ECOSYSTEMS
EFFECTS OF GLOBAL CHANGE ON SOIL ECOLOGICAL PROCESSES

Joint Meeting of the
Cryosol Working Group of the International Union of Soil Science
and the Soil Ecology Working Group of the German Soil Society

University of Vechta, April 2-4, 2003

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