The creation of carbon polygons for monitoring the processes of emission and deposition of carbon compounds in terrestrial ecosystems is one of the priority tasks in the eld of climate and biosphere conservation as a whole. Particularly important 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 depositing signi cant amounts of organic carbon in the form of soil humus. The importance of information on the qualitative and quantitative composition of soil organic matter and humus substances, which are necessary for the operation of modern simulation models and an adequate calculation of carbon units for the economic assessment of the direct and reverse “carbon footprint” are indicated. Russia faces a number of problems related to with carbon o set and low-carbon economy. The necessity of adequate spatial coverage of the territory of Russia by a network of carbon polygons is emphasized