ROLE OF PLANTS AND GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGES IN SOIL EVOLUTION

Plants of the modern ecosystem influence humous content mainly to a de pth of 20 cm. Therefore any climate changes that lead to succession ch anges of the ecosystem lead to a change in the humous content only in that layer. In deeper horizons due to global climate change, either th e former humous state will be preserved or the humous reserves will di minish, which is related to mineralization of the humus or to gleying. Global climate changes also lead to a change in the water regime, whi ch will facilitate peat accumulation (in the case of submersion) and d ecomposition with a more intensive water demand.