5. Conclusions
The SOC distribution in the soil cover of the eroded loess areas (with
CDs) of the Nałęczów Plateau ranges is 100-144
Mg·ha-1.
About 1/4 (38.26 Mg·ha-1) of SOC in CDs are stored in
the topsoil of these forms. Most SOC stored in the CDs occurs in the
subsoil and fossil soil. If we disregard microtopography the topsoil
contains ca. half (51.07 Mg·ha-1) of the total SOC
mass present in the soil cover of the eroded plateau tops and slopes.
In the erosional loess landscape of the Nałęczów Plateau, topography
directly and indirectly influences SOC distribution in the landscape.
The direct influence stems from the redeposition of SOC through soil
erosion on the hillslopes and correlative sedimentation in closed
depressions. The indirect impact of topography on SOC distribution
results from the influence of the larger soil moisture content (and even
water logging) in the CDs on SOC storage.
Taking into account these microtopographic features, typical of
loess-covered areas, enabled a more accurate calculation of SOC storage
and understanding of its spatial distribution. At the scale of the
studied region, excluding SOC storage in CDs would result in a 30%
underestimation of SOC.
CDs had also a significant influence on SOC storage in the past, as
evidenced by SOC-rich Holocene soil-sediment sequences infilling the
CDs.
Conflict of Interest Statement : There is no conflict of
interest that exists in the submission of this manuscript.