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.