The ancient city of Chersonesos created an agricultural zone in the 4th and 3rd centuries BC (under the conditions of climate aridization); this zone was initially used for viticulture and the export of wine, and grain farming later developed at the distant chora (in North-Western (NW) Crimea). The purpose of our work was to verify whether the ampeloecological conditions, especially the geochemical features of the soil and rock, limited viticulture in NW Crimea. Fallow lands in 13 plots in the near and distant chora of Chersonesos were studied using ampelopedology; specifically, we compared agrochemical properties and the concentrations of macro- and trace elements in the renaturation soil horizon and in the parent rock. The main differences between the soils of the two regions were determined by the accumulation of cinnamonic soils of Chersonesos Si, K, Fe, Al, P2O5; in the distant chora, there are specific elements, including V, Pb, Rb, Cr. The climate and the biogeochemical diversity of soils and rock could be significant factors causing the differences in wine quality in the two regions of western Crimea; these factors are still reflected in modern viticultural practices when using the concept of “terroir”. These findings are consistent with the different roles of ancient viticulture in SW (South-Western) and NW (North-Western) Crimea (i.e., export and local consumption, respectively), which have been highlighted by historians.

An active process of the invasion of woody vegetation, resulting in the formation of light forests, has been observed in predominantly herbaceous small dry valleys of the forest-steppe uplands of the East European Plain over the past two decades. This paper investigates the spatial features of the density of trees in such light forests and its relationship with relief parameters. The Belgorod Region, one of the administrative regions of European Russia, was chosen as a reference for the forest-steppe zone of the plain. The correlation between some relief characteristics (the height, slope, slope exposure cosine, topographic position index, morphometric protection index, terrain ruggedness index, and width and depth of small dry valleys) and the density of light-forest trees was estimated. The assessment was carried out at the local, subregional and regional levels of generalization. The relief influence on the density of trees in the small dry valley network is manifested both through the differentiation of moisture within the territory under study and the formation of various conditions for fixing tree seedlings in the soil. This influence on subregional and regional trends in the density is greater than on local trends. The results obtained are important for the management of herbaceous small-dry-valley ecosystems within the forest-steppe uplands in Eastern Europe.