Scientific publications

The actual and potential rates of nitrogen fi xation and denitrifi cation in soils of different genesis under coniferous and decidutions forests in the middle taiga of Karelia were determined by gas chromatography. The highest nitrogenase activity was recorded in the groundwater-gleyic podzolic soil under the grassforbs birch stand. The content of easily available organic compounds in the soil is high due to the leaf falloff and herbaceous vegetation. As the nitrifying activity of the soils under natural forest stands in very low, no N2O emission was detected there. The intence N2O assimilation by podzols under pine and spruce forests suggests that these ecosystems act as a sink for nitrogen-bearing greenhouse gases.