Emission of Methane from the Soils of Rostov Oblast

Статья. — Arid Ecosystems. — 2011. — Vol. 1, № 4 — pp. 223–229.The results of field experiments on the determination of methane emission and its concentration in the principal types of steppe zone soils of Rostov oblast are presented. The concentration of methane in the soils varied from less than 0.01 up to 15.1 μg/g of wet weight, and its vertical distribution was characterized by a decreasing concentration from the surface to the lower soil layers. The maximum quantities of the gas were detected in the alluvial meadow chernozem soils, while the minimum values were found in the dark-chestnut and chestnut soils, as well as in the saline soils. The rate of methane emission varied from less than 0.1 up to 1.5 mg/m2 per diem, and it correlated with the methane concentration in the superficial soil layer. The total methane emission from the soils of Rostov oblast is 16 tons per diem, with most of this quantity (66.8%) provided by the chernozem soils.