Home – Home – Jornals – Contemporary Problems of Ecology 2012 number 5

On the basis of a brief review and detailed analysis of the results of investigations of the chemical and other characteristics of soil in the tundra zone of Russia, a procedure is developed for the calculative determination of important agrochemical properties of natural and disturbed soil cover in tundra, in order to make quantitative evaluations of the ecological danger of its degradation. The initial data for calculations are the values of humus content in soil layer 0-20 cm, established experimentally or calculated on the basis of correlations with soil annealing losses, hygroscopic humidity of the upper soil layer and its organic component, and also the qualitative characterization of wetting and thermal conditions during the vegetation period. To illustrate the sequence and relevance of calculative determinations, an example of calculation and application results are presented.

The informative importance of one of the main signs characterizing humic acids of soils is considered, at diagnostics of the environment of their formation both at present and in the past. It is shown that the ratio of elements in humic acids exactly corresponds to the landscape conditions and quantitative characteristics of climatic indicators. They persist in time and can serve as one of the reliable indicators estimating the environment of different periods in paleogeografic history.

Features of the profile distribution of the biomass of soil microorganisms, total and specific metabolic activity of this biomass in frost soil of Central Yakutia are studied. Peculiarities of the changes of microbiological characteristics during the evolution of alas ecosystems and soils are analyzed. The effect of a complex of factors on the studies characteristics at different stages of long-term alas succession is evaluated.

Aftereffect of biological nitrogen produced by different plant genotypes was studied in gray forest and chernozem meadow soils. High efficiency was established for availability of fixed nitrogen by oats after super nodular form of peas. In the second year of aftereffect the yield gain with regard to the breed amounted to 11 % and 49 % on gray forest and chernozem meadow soils, respectively.

Effect of the application of fertilizers and under-winter cultivation (ploughing, moldboardless, no-tillage) on the content and composition of the soil organic matter was studied. Cultivation procedures did not have a substantial influence on the general content of total carbon, mobile humus and mortmass in soil layer 0-30 cm. However, between cultivation procedures, substantial differences in the distribution of carbon and mortmass were detected in this layer, which is due to the features of embedding plant residues into soil. Under the effect of long-term application of fertilizers in soil layer 0-30 cm carbon content С_total remained almost unchanged, while the content of mortmass carbon and mobile humus increased by about 10 %.

The possibility to create mesoscale soil maps of the natural systems of the Ukok Plateau on the basis of remote sensing studies, the principles of landscape zoning and spatial-temporal characteristics of natural environmental objects is considered.

Content and distribution of chemical elements in the soil of the Shira steppe in the Chulym-Enisey hollow are considered. Possible versions of the formation of specific features of the elemental composition of soil in lake depressions are analyzed.

Accumulation of Cu and Zn by 4-week germs of spring rape (Brassica napus L.) was studied in vegetation experiments with different doses of mono- and polyelemental pollution of liver-colored soil. It was demonstrated that the species Brassica napus L. can be recommended for Cu and Zn phytoextraction when there is polyelemental load on soil in the dose of 1 maximum permissible concentration; Cu - for any level of copper pollution, as well as Zn under the conditions of the minimal level of zinc pollution.

On the basis of generalization of the available results of the investigation into the traits and properties of chernozem in the Kuznetsk depression (Kuznetsk chernozem), it is concluded that these soils are the "gold fund" of the croplands of the Kuznetsk Basin: they served and now serve as irreplaceable basis for grain crop production in this most highly developed industrial region of West Siberia. However, in spite of the high anthropospheric significance, they are subjected to increasing erosion-deflationary destruction because even the simplest soil-protecting measures are not kept when using these soils as croplands. In addition, they are uncontrolledly assigned for open (quarrying) coal production, while the major coal resources are situated within the Kuznetsk depression, where the soil prevailing in soil cover is chernozem, arable soil of the best quality. In order to conserve Kuznetsk chernozem, compulsory tight control over the reasonability of its assignment for coal-producing industry is necessary.

Storage of reducible substances in the soils of coal-pit dumps is evaluated. It is ascertained that reducible substances content in 0.5-m strata of coal-pit dumps all over the region is 221 thousand tons and these substances consist of different forms of non-silicate iron. 19.5 % of these substances at that fall on compounds able to reduce and migrate with superficial water and intrasoil runoff in embryozems. Solutions arisen in this case exceed the maximum concentration limit of iron. It is shown that during forming man-caused landscapes it is necessary to provide conditions for the development of soil formation processes and faster attainment of humus-accumulative stage of soil evolution to prevent the negative consequences initiated by reducing processes proceeding in dumps.

Distinguishing features of the biological properties of perennial (40-45 years) dumps compared to the zonal soil at the territory of Mirninsky Mining and Processing Integrated Works were established. Comparison of the properties of dumps left for self-healing and those subjected to recultivation allows us to conclude that the biological efficiency of simplified reclamation scheme is low.