Development of hydromorphism in soils of agrolandscapes in the depressions of Western Ciscaucasia

The current state and rate of hydromorphism development in the soils of flat bottomed depressions in Western Ciscaucasia are assessed. The dynamics of the soil cover pattern on a plain with numerous mesoand microdepressions and on a watershed with weakly pronounced erosion relief were revealed. The relationship between the expansion of the waterlogged areas and the pattern of the soil cover of the agrolandscapes in the depressions was revealed. The dependence of the areas of excessively moistened sites on the changes in the topography was shown. The direction and parameters of the changes in the morphology, chemical composition, and hydrological properties of the degraded hydromorphic soils were investigated. The relationships between the density of the soils and the humus content and the composition of the exchangeable bases were studied. Methods for the assessment of the rates of the degradation processes based on the comparison of aerial photographs and soil maps for typical sites in the territory investigated are proposed. The specific features of decoding the aerial photographs of the soils in the depressions were revealed. The relations between the differences in the photos’ tone and the degree of the hydromorphic degradation of the soils were found. Promising methods for interpretation of aerial photographs with the help of image analysis programs can be recommended.