Dynamics of changes in thawing and freezing depth in soils of Western Transbaikalia in different types of permafrost distribution

This study reveals temperature regimes of the three contrasting ecosystems in the permafrost area of Western Transbaikalia: meadow-forest ecosystem, forest-steppe and dry-steppe. Annual profile temperature data show the functioning of the studied soils in cryogenic and long-term-seasonally-freezing temperature regime. The most explanatory temperature variables are temperature penetration above 5°C at 100 cm depth and the amount of days with temperature above 0.5°C and 10°C at 20 cm, 50 cm, and 100 cm depths. Also, this work presents a comparative analysis of indicators of soil climate change and shows the spatial-temporal distribution of the reaction of the thawing and freezing depth in soils.