LAND - USE IMPACT ON CO 2 FLUXES FROM RUSSIAN CHERNOZEMS Allan Tembo, Dmitry Sarjanov Mentor: professor dr. Ivan I. Vasenev Russian State Agricultural University-MTAA, Faculty of soil science, agro chemistry and ecology, Department of Ecology, Russian Federation SUMMARY: The impact of different land use on CO 2 fluxes has led to massive researches to investigate the emission tendency from different soils, globally. This study, focusing on the assessment of different land-use impact on CO 2 fluxes was carried out in the Central Chernozem Reserve of Russia. Results of the study indicated a significant variability in CO 2 fluxes from Chernozems under different land use (fallow land, pasture, mowed and non – mowed steppe). The highest total flux was reported for Non-Mowed steppe (NMS), which was 76% higher than the lowest flux reported for Fallow Land (FL), which showed only 7.8 g CO 2 m -2 day -1 . Mowed Steppe (MS) and Pasture (PS) reported total fluxes, which were 11% and 19% lower than NMS but higher than the total flux reported for Fallow Land by 65% and 57% respectively. The spatial variability represented by CV was declining from 67% for NMS down to 28% for MS. The results of the study also showed a considerable correlation between soil organic carbon, soil temperature and moisture on CO 2 fluxes from different land use. A strong correlation (r=0.71) between soil organic carbon (SOC) and CO 2 fluxes was indicated in this study; where the average SOC, to a depth of 50cm, ranged from 3% on FL to 3.6% on NMS. Temperature showed positive correlation (r=0.88) with the highest seasonal CO 2 fluxes being reported in June where temperatures were highest, while moisture showed a negative trend (-0.25), making both soil temperature and moisture very important limiting factors in CO 2 fluxes from Russian Chernozems under different land use . Keywords: CO 2 fluxes, Chernozem, Central Chernozem Reserve, land use. INTRODUCTION Soils are the most significant source of biogenic carbon in terrestrial ecosystems (Aslam et al., 1999). Carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), the main anthropogenic greenhouse gas that affects Earth`s radiation balance (Jansen, 2008) is emitted from different soils during soil respiration and decomposition of organic substances, thereby affecting the global CO 2 balance in the atmosphere. About 90% of atmospheric CO 2 is believed to originate from the soil (Kudeyarov et al, 2007). Land use plays a fundamental role in the regional balance of CO 2 (Gitz, 2003, Larionova et al, 2003; Cacciotti et al, 2010). In the process