Abstract The simplified evaporation method (SEM) is frequently used for the determination of the hydraulic conductivity function (HCF) of the unsaturated soil. Usually, the mass of soil samples during evaporation is often monitored to calculate the flux. However, the balance is sensitive to the external conditions, such as the tensiometers connected by the cables to transmit data, and the cable will

Abstract Organomineral associations in micro-aggregate architecture are important in soil functions. The effect of greenhouse management on micro-aggregation should be investigated to rationally maximize the benefits of solar greenhouses. The relationships between combined organic matter and inorganic minerals were studied during a long-term greenhouse experiment for 15 years in Shenyang, China. Stepwise

Abstract The changes in the physical properties and carbon stocks of dark-humus podbels (Luvic Albic Mollic Planosols (Epiloamic, Endoclayic, Aric)) during long-term agricultural use and postagrogenic evolution were studied. Soil samples were taken in three trials: control (without fertilizers), high rates of mineral fertilizers, and mineral fertilizers + manure + lime (Chaika Experimental Field Station

Abstract The contents of 19 priority polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) have been studied in soils (Spolic Technosols) and parent rocks of dumps at the Gorlovskoe anthracite deposit (Novosibirsk region). The bulk content of polyarenes in the analyzed soils is highly variable: from 100 to 74 622 ng/g. The absence of statistically significant relationships between PAH concentrations and the contents

Abstract The experiments on mobilization of soil organic matter during soil washing with ultrafresh water against the background of salinity pulsing were designed and performed. Unpolluted soil and the soil artificially polluted with copper(II) were used in experiments, namely, clay loamy typical chernozem (Haplic Chernozem) of the Alekhin Central Chernozemic Nature Reserve (Kursk oblast, Russia; 51°34

Abstract Natural 13C abundance and chemical structure of different organic matter (OM) pools of Haplic Chernozem in contrasting land use variants (steppe and long-term bare fallow) are described. The sequence of OM decomposition in soils is traced. The pattern of changes in OM chemical structure of virgin chernozems under steppe from free (LFfr) to occluded states (LFocc) follows the pattern characteristic

Abstract We have compared the impact of heavy metals (HMs: Cu 660 + Zn 1100 + Pb 650 mg/kg) on agrosoddy-podzolic soils (Albic Retisols (Loamic, Aric, Cutanic, Ochric)) of two arable fields (Chashnikovo, Moscow oblast) with different contents of organic carbon (Corg 3.86 and 1.30%) and different fertility levels using indicators of acute and chronic phytotoxicity. At the same level of polymetallic

Abstract The aim of this study is to model the water-retention capacity and the relative hydraulic conductivity of the soil as a capillary-porous medium, as well as to verify the proposed models in comparison with the well-known world analogues. This aim is achieved by solving the following tasks: (1) description of the soil hydrophysical properties in the form of three systems of functions with corresponding

Abstract Isotopic composition of nitrogen in soil microbial biomass (δ15Nmicr) is connected with the transformation of nitrogen compounds and with the balance of carbon and nitrogen availability for microorganisms. We have studied the dependence of δ15Nmicr on nitrogen isotopic composition in the substrate (δ15N of total and extractable nitrogen), as well as the dependence of δ15Nmicr and 15N-enrichment

Abstract Data on the spatial distribution of calcium carbonates (CaCO3) in the surface layer and in the profiles of irrigated soils at two key plots of the Svetloyarsk irrigation system in Volgograd oblast are presented. The key plots are located in different natural areas of the dry-steppe zone: the Yergeni Upland and the Caspian Lowland. The fields at both plots are characterized by patchiness on

Abstract The prokaryotic and fungal biomass was estimated by luminescent microscopy; the number of ribosomal gene copies of microorganisms was determined by the real-time PCR method, and the taxonomic diversity of culturable micromycetes in Albic Podzols was studied along the pollution gradient (1.5, 8, 15, and 50 km) from the Kandalaksha aluminum smelter, Kola Peninsula. In the soils of all sites

Abstract The possible changes in water availability (aridity) to grain crops and their yields in the Crimean steppe in the 21st century are analyzed using the earlier developed MULCH model (simulating the heat and water exchange in the soil–mulch cover–vegetation–near-surface atmosphere system) and the projected changes in meteorological characteristics simulated by the atmosphere–ocean general circulation

Abstract At present, the genesis, nomenclature, and classification of granuzems remain debatable, which is explained by scarce data on these soils. In this paper, data on granuzems described in the forest-tundra of the Norilsk depression, in the valleys of the Tukalanda, Akkit, and Khantaika rivers (68°30′ N, 88°15′ E) and in the northern taiga within the lower reaches of the Nizhnyaya Tunguska River

Abstract— The polyarene complex of soils was investigated, and PAH sources were assessed quantitatively in soils in the area subjected to heterogeneous technogenic impact near the town of Zhirnovsk, Volgograd oblast. The objects of study were the soils on interfluve areas within the oil and gas field, including soils of agricultural lands, floodplains, urban area, as well as oil-contaminated soils

Abstract Phosphorus plays an important role in double rice cropping systems grown on acidic paddy soil. To improve our knowledge and increase crop utilization of applied phosphorus fertilizers in paddy soils, we investigated changes in the content of soil inorganic phosphorus fractions in response to long-term application of chemical and organic phosphorus fertilizers. In this 35-year-long experiment

Abstract Despite the widespread use of the taxon “mesotrophic (transitional) peat soils” in the present-day Russian and foreign pedology, including some fundamental publications in this field, its diagnostic features are still uncertain, and this taxon is not included in the recent classification of Russian soils. The proposed criteria based on botanical features—botanical composition of peat soils

Abstract The nitrogen mineralization capacity of soils characterizes the rate of organic nitrogen-containing compounds decomposition and reflects their ability to accumulate mobile mineral nitrogen, an objective indicator of the availability of this major nutrient to plants. We have studied gray forest soil (Luvic Greyzemic Phaeozem), widespread among Siberian crop fields, using laboratory (composting

Abstract The morphological and chemical properties and biological activity of soils on ancient agricultural terraces in the middle-high mountains of the Eastern Caucasus are considered. The studied terraces were constructed on sandstone, limestone, clay shale, and colluvium of clay and sandstone. The properties of soils formed on these terraces are determined by the properties of soil-forming rocks

Abstract— Splash erosion, the first step in water erosion process, occurs because of raindrops collusion with soil aggregates and pushing soil particulates into the air. The objective of this study was to test the usability of water sensitive paper (WSPs) in assessment of splash erosion. Soil losses from three texturally different soils by splash erosion were determined under artificial rainfall conditions

Abstract The impact of 50-year-old forest plantations on the properties of postagrogenic segregational chernozems (postagrogenic Haplic Chernozems) in the steppe Crimea has been studied. The effect depends on the environmental conditions and tree species. Deep soils in the lower part of a wide hollow under the plantations of Pseudotsuga menziesii and Gymnocladus dioicus are characterized by a significant

Abstract Annual dynamics, composition, and pools of total organic matter and ash elements in litters of urban forests in Moscow were studied. The destructive litters are shown to prevail in all studied phytocenoses; the share of easily decomposing fraction is high (62–90%), which allows to estimate the cycle intensity as high and typical for similar natural stands. A term “litter implementation” was

Abstract— In this research, six samples of valid and widely soil-water retention curve (SWRC) estimation models, including van Genuchten, Brooks and Corey, Fredlund and Xing, Durner, Kosugi, and Seki were studied. To realize this approach, in the first step, the accuracy of each model was calculated using ten statistical benchmarks, and then the numbers obtained from the fitting accuracy were standardized

Abstract The importance of the Red Data Book of Soils compilation is substantiated. The idea is based on some fundamental principles interpreted for the regional level: phenomenological, of the equivalence of components, the priority of virgin soil objects, representativeness, rarity of soil cover components, regional, zonal, azonal, catenary, and natural-historical. The main soil objects, which correspond

Abstract— The rainfed mountain plantations in semiarid areas of the Mediterranean region with conventional practices register soil erosion values much higher than soil formation rates, affecting their long-term sustainability. The objective of this study during four-year monitoring period was to evaluate the response of soil erosion and runoff to different soil-management strategies (SMS) for the most

Abstract For the first time, a detailed diagnostics and classification of soils of the Suntar-Khayata Range have been performed. This study is a continuation of long-term soil research in the Verkhoyansk mountainous soil province. The morphogenetic properties of soils in different altitudinal zones of the Suntar-Khayata Range are described, and the position of these soils in the new Russian soil classification

Abstract— Experiments were conducted for thirty representative surface and subsurface soils collected from different physiographic units and moisture regimes in southern Iran to assess factors affecting K pools distribution and potassium release rate, using two organic and inorganic extractants and their association to mineralogy and some physical and chemical properties in calcareous soils. Mineralogical

Abstract In situ characterization of the saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ks) requires a large number of experiments, sampling, and laboratory measurements that are time-consuming and expensive. Simplified Beerkan Infiltration (SBI) method was developed to estimate an approximate Ks based on the infiltration curve without any sampling procedures. For that purpose, α* parameter, which is used in the

Abstract The combustion of low-grade solid fuels such as oil shale generates huge amounts of solid wastes such as fly ash. Use of oil shale combustion ash in granulated form for liming and amending peat soil has been suggested as a feasible recycling opportunity. However, the effect of granulated oil shale ash application on the characteristics of soil moisture and mobility of potentially toxic elements

Abstract This study was conducted with the aim to assess the effect of land use on chemical properties (organic carbon; pH; electrical conductivity; available P, K, Ca, Mg, Na), microbiological properties (basal soil respiration, microbial biomass carbon, dehydrogenase activity and phosphatase activity), and physical property (moisture content) of salt-affected soils developed under different geographical

Abstract To investigate the temporal dynamics of CO2 efflux from the soil surface in a temperate cropland and to quantify the effects of soil temperature, soil water content, N fertilization and plant growth on soil carbon dioxide efflux (Rs) field and lab experiments were performed. The field experiment was conducted in a cropland site with a conventional farming system in Central Hungary. The temporal

Abstract The erosive capacity of slope water flows, a key parameter in the quantitative assessment of soil erosion, is defined as the difference between the transporting capacity of the flow and the total content of its suspended load and bedload. Therefore, it is necessary to assess the factors and intensity of soil aggregates attrition in the water flow that determine the shares of suspended and

Abstract The role of ornithogenic factor in the formation of soils and soil cover patterns in continental and maritime Antarctica is considered. The results of long-term soil studies at key sites in coastal oases of East Antarctica (Larsemann Hills, the Haswell Islands) and on the Subantarctic islands (King George Island, Livingston Island, the Argentine Islands) are summarized. The influence of the

Abstract Soil organic matter (SOM) includes many classes of labile compounds available for microbial decomposition or, conversely, stable compounds protected from biodegradation by biological, chemical, and physical stabilization. It is believed that the more thermal energy is spent on the destruction of soil organic matter, the more stable and more resistant for biodegradation it is. We compared the

Abstract The research was conducted in the European northeast of Russia (Komi Republic), in the reclaimed quarries for mining construction sand in the middle taiga subzone, in the course of two decades after the forest reclamation (Pinus sylvestris) had been applied. The specific features of initial pedogenesis on substrates of different textures have been revealed. On sands and sandy loams, the dynamic

Abstract— Soil is a fundamental component to an ecological system. This study is aimed to clarify the spatial heterogeneity of soils in the Houzhai River basin and the factors controlling it. Overall, 2755 sites designed using ArcGIS were studied; soil thickness, vegetation, land use (human disturbance), and topographic characteristics were analyzed. Soils in the basin are characterized by the high

Abstract— Modern analytical research methods tend to automate the process and minimize any manual intervention. This also applies to image analysis of tomographic slices as part of the tomographic study of soils. To calculate morphometric parameters, a tomographic image must be segmented (divided into phases) via automated or manual thresholding. The problem in automated thresholding algorithms is

Abstract Land use type affects the soil organic carbon (SOC) which is an important indicator of soil quality. Current study was aimed to investigate land use type and seasonal impact on soil properties, soil organic carbon and total nitrogen under three land use types i.e. cropland (CL), grassland (GL) and forestland (FL) of a sub-temperate highland of Azad Jammu & Kashmir. Soil samples were taken

Abstract— The dynamics of the content and properties of water-soluble organic matter and the biological activity of soils of dwarf-shrub heath and graminoid meadow of alpine tundra on slopes of different aspects are estimated. The variation of most of the studied parameters during the growing season is revealed, which confirms the importance of dynamic observations in assessing the role of soils in

Abstract For the first time, a comparative study of the influence of two species of earthworms (Aporrectodea caliginosa and Lumbricus terrestris) on the composition of the prokaryotic complex of Umbric Albeluvisols was carried out using the methods of metagenomics. Prokaryotes in the soil and casts were represented mostly by Acidobacteria, Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Chloroflexi, Gemmatimonadetes

Abstract Mire ecosystems in Western Siberia play a significant role in the environment and sustain ecological balance in the biosphere. The aim of the research was to study the chemical and biological processes of mire pedogenesis and the influence of this process on the formation of the composition of bog water and its migration to surface waters. The research was carried out in the southern taiga

Abstract— Application of mineral fertilizers is an effective way to increase crop yield. It is unclear whether their long-term application can effectively improve soil fungal community composition. In this study, we investigated soil nutrient properties, yield, and soil fungi community composition using ITS rRNA sequencing based on a 38-year wheat–maize rotation field experiment on the Gleyic Cambisols

Abstract— The microbial population of soil is diverse and is regulated by different soil properties. This study aimed to determine the impact of climate and grazing on soil community composition in two semiarid areas, Kerman province, Iran. Soil samples were taken from four zones which were either cold or warm and either grazed by cattle or not grazed. Soil chemical analyses were determined by standard

Abstract— The mineralogical composition of nano-clays (NCs), and their potential implications in soil bulk properties of Indian Vertisols are unexplored. In this study, we have isolated NCs (<100 nm) from Deccan basalt (DB) alluvium derived Vertisols (Typic Haplusterts) of central India and characterized them for their mineralogy and crystalline behavior. The soils are clayey (>60%) in texture, rich

Abstract Widespread industrial pollution and its serious ecological and economic consequences make it urgent to develop and refine approaches to remediation of soils as a key ecosystem component. The long-term impact of atmospheric emissions from nonferrous metallurgy enterprises in Monchegorsk (Murmansk region) resulted in the formation of technogenic barrens with contaminated and highly degraded

Abstract A comparative study of modern flood sediments (floodplain alluvium) and sediments of the initial stage of overgrowing of oxbow lakes (oxbow alluvium) in the middle reaches of the Kamchatka River has been performed for the first time using group bioanalysis. The differences in the percentage of different forms of diatoms and microresidues of higher plants have been revealed. The comparison

Abstract The soils of archaeological sites on river floodplains with contrasting history of the Holocene soil evolution in the south and north of the forest-steppe zone on the Central Russian Upland have been studied. The conditions for the meadow-chernozemic soil development on the high floodplain in the lower course of the Savala River (Voronezh oblast) were most favorable in the Early Holocene (10

An Erratum to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1134/S1064229321300013

Abstract In a long-term field experiment in the western part of the nonchernozemic zone of Russia (Smolensk oblast) on sandy loamy soddy-podzolic soil (Albic Glossic Retisol (Loamic)), the comparison of the effect of various rates and combinations of organic and mineral fertilizers revealed their efficiency in all the studied variants, except for the separate application of phosphorus fertilizers.

Abstract The review briefs and analyzes the quantitative data on the input and content of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) in soil, their possible transformations, and toxicity. The currently available data on the AgNPs content in soil are exclusively based on simulation results and vary in a wide range from 5.33 × 10–6 to 7.4 µg/kg at an annual input rate of 1.2 × 10–3 to 9.68 µg/kg. The main variants

Abstract— Biological soil crusts (BSCs), are common on soil surface in arid and semiarid regions. They consist of cyanobacteria, algae, fungi, lichens and bryophytes associated with soil particles. BSCs have significant influence on primary ecosystem processes and are known as ecosystem engineers in drylands. In this study, the effect of BSCs on different soil properties in Kiamaky Wildlife Refuge

Abstract Global climate change in recent decades is accompanied by rising temperatures and increasing cyclonic activity with strong air flows. How do they affect soil respiration? Is it possible to expect an increase in CO2 emissions and, consequently, a positive feedback of climate change through the greenhouse effect? These questions cannot be answered without the insight into the effect of wind

Abstract— Hysteresis of soil water retention curve (SWRC hysteresis) is widely used for modeling water flux in an unsaturated soil during infiltration and irrigation processes. The aim of the work was to predict soil moisture of a wetting curve from the main drying branch based on an effective degree of saturation for the drying branch by suggesting pedotransfer functions (PTFs). Furthermore, the efficiency

Abstract In this research, the potential application of phosphate containing zinc-aluminum-layered double hydroxide (Zn-Al-P-LDH) to enhance the availability of P and Zn compared to triple superphosphate (TSP) in a calcareous soil was investigated. First, soil availability of P and Zn at two P levels (18 and 45 mg kg–1) of Zn-Al-P-LDH and TSP were compared in a 70-day incubation procedure. Second,

Abstract The paper concerns influence of water distribution on the bioelectric potential in the soil–plant system. Two methods for measuring bioelectric potentials (BEPs) of plants have been compared, namely an invasive installation of needle electrodes (a) and a noninvasive method of providing contact due to root intergrowth through a metal grid (b). It has been shown that needle electrode installation

Abstract Direct measurement of the least limiting water range (LLWR) is costly and time-consuming. In this study, genetic algorithm-based neural network (ANN-GA), artificial neural network (ANN) and stepwise multivariate regression (SMR) were used to estimate the LLWR of soil using easily measurable soil properties in the Khanmirza Plain. Then, depending on the location of each area, a total of 250

Abstract The succession of natural vegetation on the former arable soils triggers the processes of postagrogenic restoration of soil ecological functions specific of a particular bioclimatic zone. We analyze the postagrogenic dynamics of a set of soil characteristics in the upper (0–5 and 5–10 cm) layers of former arable horizon by the case study of the chronosequence of Retic Albic Podzols (agrosoddy

Abstract Specific features in the content and accumulation of organic carbon and nitrogen in the aggregates of typical chernozems (Protocalcic Chernozems) of long-term experimental plots with different land management systems are assessed. The size fractions in the aggregates of >10, 10–3, 2–1, 1–0.25, and <0.25 mm are examined. The carbon and nitrogen contents are shown to depend on the land management

Abstract The response of the microbial community (microbial biomass carbon (Cmic), basal respiration (BR), and functional diversity (FD)) of agrosoddy-podzolic soil (Albic Glossic Retisols (Loamic, Aric Cutanic, Ochric)) to pollution by heavy metals (HMs: Cu 660, Zn 1100, Pb 650 mg/kg) and carbon-containing preparations (5% of biochar and 0.25% of lignohumate) was studied in model experiment (30 days)

Abstract Ionizing radiation is an important environmental factor affecting the dynamics of biospheric processes in the past and present, as well as limiting the spread of life outside the Earth. The effect of radiation on microorganisms has been studied for decades, but studies of the response of natural microbial ecosystems are still scarce. We have studied the effect of 100 kGy gamma irradiation

Abstract Within the framework of the existing concepts of land degradation assessment, the main ideas about its causes and consequences are formulated, methodological provisions for studying the intensity of degradation processes are defined, and specific methods for assessing the economic component of degradation are developed. The problem of economic assessment of land degradation is complicated