Soils of Altitudinal Zones of the Suntar-Khayata Ridge: Morphology, Properties, and Classification

AbstractFor the first time, a detailed diagnostics and classification of soils of the Suntar-Khayata Range have been performed. This study is a continuation of long-term soil research in the Verkhoyansk mountainous soil province. The morphogenetic properties of soils in different altitudinal zones of the Suntar-Khayata Range are described, and the position of these soils in the new Russian soil classification system is determined. The Suntar-Khayata Range (63° N; 139° E) is found near the Pole of Cold of the northern hemisphere and is characterized by the distinct altitudinal zonation. In the study area, parent materials are represented by sandstone and, less often, by siltstone. In the warm season, the upper boundary of permafrost can be clearly traced only in the profiles of low-stony soils on the floodplains. The vertical zonality in the studied area includes the following zones: the valley zone (<900 m a.s.l.) with alluvial soils (Skeletic Fluvisols), the mountainous taiga zone (900–1300 m a.s.l.) with a predominance of podburs (Skeletic Spodic Cryosols), and the subalpine shrub (1300–1500 m a.s.l.) and mountainous tundra (>1500 m a.s.l.) with a predominance of lithozems (Leptosols). All the soils are relatively shallow, stony, and coarse-textured; their organic horizons are thin, and raw-humus (AO) horizons tend to predominate. Gley features are absent in the soil profiles. The soils have an acid or a slightly acid reaction, low base saturation (except for alluvial soils), and signs of organic matter illuviation. The results of this study can be used to expand the database on soils of poorly studied cold continental mountain regions of Eurasia.