Humus forms, carbon stock and properties of soil organic matter in forests formed on dry mineral soils in Latvia

Over the last decades, more attention has been paid to carbon accumulation in soil, more recently, to soil humus forms, as they indicate environmental conditions and state of soil organic matter. There is insufficient information on the impact of soil and forest type on the chemical properties of soil, soil organic matter and humus form. Knowledge about the chemical properties of humus is crucial for modelling C and N accumulation and storage in forest soils. On this account, the aim of this study was to characterize soil humus forms, humus chemical properties and C stock and to determine the spatial distribution correlations between soil humus forms in forests formed on dry mineral soils. …