Evaluation of Organic Carbon Stocks and C[O.sub.2] Fluxes in Grasslands of Western Transbaikalia

The stocks of organic carbon and mean rates of the C[O.sub.2] emission during the growing season (May-September) and the entire year were estimated in a sequence of grass ecosystems along the transect encompassing chestnut and meadow-chestnut steppe soils, marsh and meadow alluvial soils, and a haloxerophytic community on a typical solonchak. The total stocks of organic carbon comprised 6.17-9.70 kg C/[m.sup.2] in steppe, 7.41-10.04 kg C/[m.sup.2] in floodplain, and 4.74 kg C/[m.sup.2] in haloxerophytic ecosystems. The portion of humus carbon in the upper 50-cm-thick soil layer comprised 79-92% of the total carbon stock. The mean daily C[O.sub.2] emission (C-C[O.sub.2]/([m.sup.2] day)) from alluvial soils was moderate (3.3-4.9) or low (1.5-2.5). The dependence of the C[O.sub.2] emission on the moistening of steppe soils, temperature of alluvial soils, and temperature and moistening of solonchak was revealed. In comparison with the C[O.sub.2] emission from the zonal chestnut soil, its mean values during the growing season and the entire year were 1.2 times higher for the meadowchestnut soil, 3.3 times higher for the marsh alluvial soil, 2.3 times higher for the meadow alluvial soil, and 1.7 times higher for the solonchak. The portion of the C[O.sub.2] emission beyond the growing season in the mean annual emission averaged 19.8-24.2% and depended on the type of grass ecosystem and on weather conditions of particular years. The sink of carbon in the grass ecosystems exceeded carbon emission, especially in the steppe ecosystems. Keywords: grass ecosystem, chestnut soil, Kastanozems, meadow-chestnut soil, Gleyic Kastanozem (Chromic), marsh alluvial soil, Gleyic Histic Fluvisol, alluvial meadow soil, Calcaric Fluvisols (Oxyaquic), typical solonchak, Sodic Solonchak (Loamic, Sulfatic), organic carbon stocks, C[O.sub.2] emission, C[O.sub.2] budget