Development of carbon polygons for monitoring the emission and deposition of carbon compounds in terrestrial ecosystems is one of the priority tasks in the case of climate and biosphere conservation. Significant is the role of soils, which are not only the main source of greenhouse gas emissions into the Earth's atmosphere but also a long-term reservoir that stores significant amounts of organic carbon in the form of soil humus. The article discusses the organization of monitoring of greenhouse gases at carbon polygons, the methods of sampling soil horizons, and methodological approaches to determine the content and stocks of organic carbon in soils. The importance of information on the qualitative and quantitative composition of soil organic matter and humic substances, which is necessary for the operation of modern simulation models and calculation of carbon units for the economic assessment of the direct and reverse carbon footprint have been revealed. Russia faces a number of challenges related to carbon offset and a low-carbon economy. The necessary volumes of monitoring data, which must be obtained at carbon polygons for the use of the ROMUL and Efimod models are considered. The necessity for an adequate spatial coverage of the territory of Russia with a network of carbon polygons is emphasized. Particular attention should be paid to the arctic territories that contain significant amounts of organic matter in permafrost and can become precursors of the formation and emission of significant amounts of carbon dioxide and methane into the atmosphere.

Russia holds the largest store of carbon in soils, forests and permafrost grounds. Carbon, stored in a stabilized form, plays an important role in the balance of the global biogeochemical cycle and greenhouse gases. Thus, recalcitrance of soil organic matter to mineralization results in a decrease in current emissions of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. At the same time, stabilization of organic matter in the form of humus due to organo-mineral interactions leads to the sequestration of carbon from the atmosphere into soils and biosediments. Thus, global carbon balance is essentially determined by soil cover state and stability. Currently, Russia is faced with a set of problems regarding carbon offsets and the carbon economy. One of the methods used to evaluate carbon stocks in ecosystems and verify offsets rates is carbon polygons, which are currently being organized, or are under organization, in various regions of Russia. This discussion addresses the current issues surrounding the methods and methodology of carbon polygons and their pedological organization and function.