Landscape-genetic determination of the gross and granulometric composition of soil-forming rocks of permafrost ecosystems of Yakutia

The gross and particle size distribution (PSD) of parent materials is a fundamental characteristic determining genesis, physical, chemical properties, and ecological status of permafrost. Systematic comparative studies across the latitudinal belt remain extremely limited in Yakutia. The aim of this study was to analyze the gross and PSD of parent materials in three different landscapes: Spasskaya Pad (Central Yakutia), Elgeeii (Southeastern Yakutia), and Chokurdakh tundra site (Northeastern Yakutia). The methods of PSD and X-ray fluorescence analyzes of gross chemical composition were methodological basis. It has been established that the soil-forming rocks change in series from sandy loam alluvial deposits of tundra with of 0.05–0.01 mm fraction (Chokurdakh) through sandy-loamy carbonate deposits of Ice complex (Spasskaya Pad) to homogeneous eluvial- deluvial loams with maximum content of physical clay (Elgeeii). The gross chemical composition reflects quartz- feldspar mineralogical profile, with Spasskaya Pad rocks being characterized by carbonate content with high CaO (up to 20.03 %) and Sr (up to 519 μg/g) contents; Elgeeii rocks by elevated Fe₂O₃ (up to 6.10 %) and TiO₂ (up to 0.91 %) concentrations; and Chokurdakh by maximum Zr content (up to 656 μg/g), which is associated with the presence of accessory minerals in alluvial deposits. The identified differences correlate with cryogenesis, the thickness of the seasonally thawed layer (from 24 to 106 cm), organic carbon content (from 1.15 to 46.8 %), and the soil type. The results substantiate the need for an approach to assessing soil resources, modeling carbon pools and can serve as a basis for improving regional classification systems.

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