The soil cover of the territory of Baikal region is characterized by a significant variety, and the structure of soil cover – by a high complexity due to complex geological history of the region, to the influence of tectonic processes of the Baikal rift zone, to the wide spread of young mountain systems, island permafrost and other factors. Distribution of loess rocks at the territory of the forest-steppe zone of Baikal region contributes to the genesis of fertile soils, but increases the heterogeneity of soil cover, which should be considered in agricultural land use.
At the current agricultural stage, the development of new approaches and concepts of agriculture are required for a more effective use of the soils of agricultural landscapes. The concept of adaptive-landscape model of agriculture implies the system of soil use aimed at the production based on available economic and material resources and providing agricultural landscape stability and raised soil fertility recovery. The realization of this model is based on the soil and ecological assessment of soils which involves complex research of all natural components. It presupposes qualitative assessment of soils based on the soil-ecological index (SEI), an approach which reflects the natural potential of agricultural lands in points (from 1 to 100). The resulting SEI is the product of soil, climate and agrochemical indices. The indices were calculated using automated electronic systems (AES) developed on the basis of Microsoft Excel. Agricultural soil bonitet calculations for the territory of Eastern Siberia showed significant fluctuations in the SEI. In Krasnoyarsk krai the SEI equaled 14.67-53.77 points, in Irkutsk oblast – 15.13-38.76 points, and in the Republic of Buryatia – 24.78-44.18 points. The SEI of the chernozems in Krasnodar krai, on the contrary, reaches 100 points. The resulting SEI of the agricultural soils in Krasnoyarsk krai is mainly determined by soil and agrochemical indices. However, climate index is beginning to play a more significant role in relation to agricultural soils when determining their SEI in Irkutsk oblast and the Republic of Buryatia.
From August 23 to August 29, 2021, Irkutsk hosted the Vth International Scientific and Practical Conference "Soil as interlink for functioning of natural and anthropogenically transformed ecosystems" (hereinafter – the conference) dedicated to the 90th anniversary of the Department of Soil Science and Land Resources Assessment of the Irkutsk State University (ISU) and the Year of Baikal. The total number of participants of the conference was 130 from 27 regions of Russia and 6 other countries (the Republic of Belarus, Bulgaria, Georgia, Moldova, Lebanon and Lithuania). The article presents a brief review of plenary and sectional reports on the following research topics: 1) theoretical soil science: genesis, evolution, classification problems; 2). multidisciplinary approaches of soil science related to the use of soil science methods in other research areas and scientific and industrial areas; 3) Soil resources and land assessment (fertility, degradation, land reclamation, qualitative and economic assessment, ecology and land protection). A total of 43 presentations were given at the conference: 8 plenary and 35 sectional. The interested reader will find a detailed description of the reports presented in this review, as well as other and other conference materials in the collection "Soil as interlink for functioning of natural and anthropogenically transformed ecosystems" (2021). A brief description of two excursions is given: (1) one excursion to the beautiful scenery at the shore of the Lake Baikal, held on August 23, 2021; (2) and another excursion at the Bratsk Reservoir on August 26-29, 2021. The purpose of the excursions wass to get acquainted with the nature and historical and cultural heritage of the Irkutsk region, Lake Baikal, as well as with soils, soil-forming rocks and natural features of the Southern Angara region. During the excursion tour, landscapes, rock outcrops and soil sections were presented: soils on a bumpy-depression relief; Paleolithic site of ancient man "Malta" with sections near the geoarchaeological objects "Malta-Bridge 3"; alluvial gray-humus soil in the floodplain of the Belaya River; exposure of Lower Cambrian rocks near the village Novomaltinsk; Cheremkhovsky coal mine; dispersed-carbonate gypseous chernozem near the Unga River; Novonukutsky gypsum mine; gray metamorphic soil and micellar-segregational chernozem on the bank of the Bratsk reservoir near the village Balagansk. At the end of the tour, the conference participants held a roundtable discussion about the problems of genesis and classification of the soils of the south of the Near-Angara region. The classification position of all the presented soils was justified within the framework of two classification systems: Classification of soils of Russia (2004) and Classification and diagnostics of soils of the USSR (1977). For scientific and informational support of the excursion, the guide "Southern Pre-Angara region: features of soil formation on rocks of different ages" (2021) was prepared and published. The conference aroused great interest among a wide range of specialists in the field of soil science, agrochemistry and ecology, land resource assessment, landscape studies, etc. The organization of such events promotes exchange of experience and strengthens the cooperation between researchers from leading universities and research centers, advancing the effective development of soil science, research methodology and practice, generalizing the information about soil as a link between the functioning of natural and anthropogenically transformed ecosystems.
A special series of small-scale maps (approximate scale 1 : 7 500 000–1 : 8 000 000) is necessary for more effective forestry management in Russia and ensuring the stable functioning of this sector of the economy to create. These maps should give a holistic spatial representation of the object of forestry activity, they will allow to give a realistic assessment of the forest resource potential of the country. One of the maps in the series is “Geographical patterns of natural regeneration and forest stand productivity”. The basic principles of the map constructing are: general geographical patterns of main forest-forming species natural regeneration on clearings and general geographical patterns of productivity of the stand of all forest-forming species (in bonitet); the idea of V.V. Dokuchaev about the similarity of altitudinal mountain zonation to natural zones and subzones of plains. Zonal, subzonal, and altitudinal-zonal natural complexes, the formation of which is determined by the climate, serve as units of mapping. The methodology for constructing the map was verified using the example of the thermal conditions of forest growth in Central Siberia. Four indicators from 147 weather stations were used for this (calculated for the period from 1881 to 1980). Three indicators — the average monthly air temperatures in January and July and the average annual air temperature give a general idea of the thermal conditions of forest growth in Central Siberia. The sum of the average daily air temperatures above 10°C, which is the fourth indicator, characterizes the period of the most active vegetation of tree species. These indicators are summarized in a table constructed on the basis of the similarity of altitudinal zonation of natural complexes to zonal and subzonal. The article presents construction methodology, a fragment and the map legend.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.