Taiga soils of the Central Siberia are formed under the light- and dark coniferous forests under the cold as well as temperate cold humid and semihumid semiarid climate on different in genesis and structure soil- forming rocks.

Two soil macroformations are differentiated according to thermic peculiarities of the soil proile as well as climate moistening: cryogenic humid and cryogenic semihumid-semiarid. The macroformation is divided into formations: permafrost (where permafrost of many years closes up on seasonal frozen layer) and cold one (where permafrost of many years is absent in the soil profile or does not close up on seasonal frozen layer). According to soil moistening the formations are divided into mezomorphic and hydromorphic.

The soils of cyrogenic humid macroformation are developed under pre-tundra and northern-taiga forests of the West Putoran province. Permafrost mezomorphic (podburs, granuzems) and permafrost hydromorphic (gleyzems, peat bog soils) soils are here.

The soils of cryogenic semihumid-semiarid macroformation occupy in pre-tundra forests and in forests of the northern and southern taiga the most part of region area. Permafrost mezotrophic soils are presented by pale-yellow soils but permafrost hydromorphic - by cryozems and cryopeaty soils. The cold mezotrophic soil formation is presented by brown soils, soddy podzolic, soddy-carbonate and grey forest soils; the cold hydromorphic soil formation is presented by gleyzems and peat bog soils.

Ershov Yu.I.
V.N. Sukachev Institute of Forest SB RAS Academgorodok
Krasnoyarsk, 660036 RUSSIA
Phone: (3912) 43-36-86
Fax: (3912) 43-36-86
E-mail: frost@ifor.krasnoyarsk.su