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Original Article | Open Access

Carbon Footprints

Artyukhov et al. Carbon Footprints 2026, 5, 8 DOI:10.20517/cf.2025.76

Soil organic matter mineralization rate and metal
contamination of the main soil types in central part of
Yamal region (West Siberia, Russia)

Egor Artyukhov , Anna Shvetsova , Elizaveta Pokhodnya , Ivan Kushnov , Anastasia Vainberg , Natalia
1,#
1
1
1,#
1,#
Dinkelaker , Timur Nizamutdinov 1 , Evgeny Abakumov 1,3
2
Keywords:
SOM, soil carbon, climate
change, heavy metals, Polar
Urals, Russian Arctic
Citation: Artyukhov, E.;
Shvetsova, A.; Pokhodnya, E.;
Kushnov, I.; Vainberg, A.;
Dinkelaker, N.;
Nizamutdinov, T.;
Abakumov, E. Soil organic
matter mineralization rate
and metal contamination of
the main soil types in central
part of Yamal region (West
Siberia, Russia). Carbon
Footprints 2026, 5, 8.
https://dx.doi.org/10.20517
/cf.2025.76
Abstract
Received: 1 Sep 2025 This study investigates soil organic matter (SOM) mineralization rates and
First Decision: 24 Oct ecotoxicological state of major soil types in the Yamal region of West Siberia, Russia. Soil
2025 samples were collected from three sites: Lower Ob Basin, Rai-Iz mountain massif (Polar
Revised: 10 Nov 2025
Accepted: 28 Nov 2025 Urals), and southern Yamal Peninsula. SOM mineralization was assessed through 90-day
Published: 30 Jan 2026 incubation experiments at 10 and 25 °C, determining potentially mineralizable organic
carbon (PMC) and basal respiration rates. Ecotoxicological assessment included analyses
Academic Editors: of heavy metals (Sr, Pb, Zn, Co, Ni, Cr, V, As, MnO) and the calculation of the total soil
Xiaogang Yin, Junye Wang,
Xin Zhao pollution index (Zc). The content of PMC varied from 279.50 mg/kg to 37,254.15 mg/kg,
Copy Editor: constituting 11.59%-2.74% of total soil organic carbon at 25 °C. Maximum mineralization
Ping Zhang occurred in upper organogenic horizons of Histosols and Podzols, while mineral and
Production Editor: cryoturbated horizons showed lower rates. Temperature dependence was evident, with
Ping Zhang
higher mineralization rates at 25 °C in most samples, though some mineral horizons
showed the opposite pattern. Regarding ecotoxicological state, 32 of 47 soil samples
showed low (acceptable) contamination levels (Zc < 16), 13 samples demonstrated
moderate (moderately hazardous) levels, and only 2 samples showed high (hazardous)

1 Department of Applied Ecology, Faculty of Biology, Saint Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg 199034, Russia.
2 Faculty of Ecotechnologies (GreenTech), ITMO University, Saint Petersburg 191002, Russia.
3 All-Russia Research Institute for Agricultural Microbiology, Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg-Pushkin 196608 Russia.
# These authors have made an equal contribution.

Correspondence to: Timur Nizamutdinov, Department of Applied Ecology, Faculty of Biology, Saint Petersburg State University, Saint
Petersburg 199034, Russia. E-mail: t.nizamutdinov@spbu.ru

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