Soils of the Plain and Low-Mountain Tundras in the South of Yugorsky Peninsula

Abstract— The morphology and properties of soils of the Yugorsky Peninsula at the junction of plain (Bolshezemelskaya Tundra) and low-mountain landscapes (Pay-Khoy Ridge) have been studied. The specific features of these soils reflect subzonal, regional, and landscape characteristics of pedogenesis. On the plain, gleyzems and cryometamorphic gleyzems, including permafrost-affected, cryoturbated, and stagnic soils with thin (<10 cm) organic horizons dominate. On well-drained sites with silt loamy parent materials, cryometamorphic soils with a CRM horizon are formed. In the low-mountain landscape, cryometamorphic gleyzems and cryometamorphic soils predominate on the slopes and at the foothills of the ridges, whereas cryometamorphic podburs and abrazems developed on the eluvium of bedrock are found on the tops. Soils of the low mountains are characterized by stoniness, weak gleyzation throughout the profile, and deep occurrence of the permafrost table. Compared to their plain analogues, mountain soils have a more acidic reaction, higher hydrolytic and exchangeable acidity, lower base saturation, and a high content of sesquioxides. The results reveal the regional specificity of pedogenesis in the northern permafrost zone at the boundary between subarctic plain and low-mountain geosystems and serve as a basis for monitoring ongoing climate and permafrost changes.