The Most Sensitive and Informative Indicators of Soils and Living Ground Cover That Reflect the Degree of Hydromorphism of Bog–Podzolic Soils

A detailed morphological study of bog–podzolic superficial-gleyed soils (sod–humus and peaty subtypes) and living ground cover within the soil-geochemical catena in the Solnechnogorsk district of Moscow oblast has been conducted. For the first time, more than 20 morphological indicators of soils within the organogenic, eluvial, and eluvial–illuvial parts of the profile have been determined and analyzed over a 30-year period. Simultaneously, the characteristics of the associated living ground cover (biomass, proportion of hygrophytes, and moisture and trophicity scores according to L.G. Ramensky) have been studied. Analyses of the monitored indicators reveal the possibility of convincing and reliable identification of the biogeocenose waterlogging degree without additional analytical studies of soils and plants. Mathematical analysis of field results indicates statistically significant relationships between the degree of bogging and such indicators as the proportion of hygrophytes, moisture score, litter thickness, the ratio of subhorizon reserves F/L, the thickness of the eluvial horizon, the depth of gleying from the lower boundary of the organogenic layer, and the abundance and size of nodules. It is likely that, in the landscape, the soil serves as an archive of hydromorphism conditions of varying degrees, while the living ground cover can serve as a sign of bogging only at significantly pronounced process stages. The greatest contribution to the hydromorphism of the studied bog–podzolic surface–gleyed soils is made by the groundwater level, the upper boundary of the appearance of signs of gleying from the lower boundary of the organogenic horizon, the general abundance of spots in the eluvial horizon, and the average size of nodules in the eluvial–illuvial horizon.