Organizing the ecological monitoring of soils as a constituent part of the state land monitoring and its first results (using the example of Orenburg oblast)

This paper suggests the model for organizing the soil control within the framework of state ecological land monitoring carried out in Russia. Methodical approaches to forming the network of observation areas are expounded. The first results speak for the significant differently directed changes in the properties of soils in Orenburg oblast for the last several decades that are related with erosive processes and transformation of the main physical properties and organic matter.     

Coevolution of soils and vegetation in the southern taiga (with the Prioksko-Terrasnyi reserve as an example)

A detailed characterization of the relief, parent materials, soils, woody vegetation, and the links between them is given for a small part of the southern taiga zone in the center of the East European Plain. A methodology for determining the vegetation succession patterns on different soils with the use of the selectivity coefficient K is suggested. This coefficient is defined as the ratio between the frequency of occurrence of the given tree species on a given soil and its average frequency of occurrence within the entire analyzed area (in the area of the reserve). The values of K change from 0.2 to 3.6 and indicate positive (K > 1) and negative (K < 1) feedback relationships between the soils and vegetation. Changes in the frequencies of occurrence of different tree species on different soils that took place over 19 years have also been studied. It is shown that spruce has a tendency for settling on podzols, mixed spruce-oak-lime forests tend to develop on podzolized podburs, and lime and oak trees tend to develop on soddy podburs. Birch stands are most often replaced by spruce and pine stands; aspen stands and a part of the birch stands are replaced by lime and oak stands. The ecological plasticity of pine trees and the long age of this tree species ensure the existence of a long transitional succession stage with the predominance of pine. These regularities are important for predicting the further development of forest vegetation.     

Mobile aluminum compounds in soils of the southern taiga (soils of the central forest reserve as an example)

The profile distributions of aluminum extracted by the Tamm and Bascomb reagents and of the exchangeable aluminum were studied in soils of automorphic, transitive, and accumulative positions in the landscapes of the southern taiga. In the mineral horizons of the gleyic peaty-podzolic soils developed on poorly drained flat surfaces and in the floodplain soils, the distribution of oxalate- and pyrophosphate-soluble aluminum has a strongly pronounced accumulative character. In the podzolic soils of the automorphic positions and slopes, an eluvial-illuvial distribution was characteristic with the maximal aluminum content in the podzolic horizons. The strong differentiation of the upper part of the profile in the automorphic podzolic soils in terms of the Al content in the Tamm and Bascomb extracts is mainly related to an increase of the pedogenic chlorite content upon the transition from the AE to the E horizon. In the podzolic horizons of these soils, aluminum can accumulate in the form of proto-imogolite structures. The exchangeable aluminum displays an accumulative type of distribution. On the basis of calculating the reserves of the different aluminum compounds, two main accumulative zones for the mobile compounds of this element were recorded in the soils of the landscapes studied: the E horizon in the automorphic podzolic soils, where Al accumulates as soil chlorite or, probably, as proto-imogolite, and the A1 horizon of the floodplain soils, where Al accumulates in aluminoorganic complexes.     

Features of forest litters in conjunction with ground cover in the forest ecosystems of Moscow oblast (based on the example of the Chashnikovo Educational-Experimental Soil-Ecological Center)

The stocks and structure of forest litters in a typical biogeocenosis in conjunction with the ecological and botanical characteristics of the soil layer have been studied, based on the example of the Chashnikovo Educational-Experimental Soil-Ecological Center, Moscow State University. The most informative characteristics of the soil layer include species diversity, the relative share of oligotrophic boreal and nitrophilous species, and the soil fertility index determined by the Ramensky ecological scale [20]. The total litter stock varies from 1500 to 6000 g/m² in coniferous forests and from 70 to 700 g/m² in small-leaved forests. The highest difference in stocks between the F and L horizons has been established for vegetation microcommunities with the maximum species diversity and highest share of nitrophils. The increase in the portion of welldecomposed fractions in the L piedmont from 5–7 to 27.6% leads to growth in the soil fertility index from 5–6 to 12–13.     

Root Growth and 14C-Translocation into the Roots of Maize (Zea mays L.) as influenced by local Nitrate Supply

A local nitrate supply to roots of maize causes increasing growth of the first order and the formation of higher order laterals. Number of first order laterals, however, remains unchanged. Labelling plants with ¹⁴CO₂ demonstrates a specific phloem unloading in the supply zone. It is suggested that phloem mobile phytohormones, especially auxins, lead to an endogenous shift in the phytohormone balance responsible for the morphogenetic effect of a local NO₃ · supply.     

Combined genomic-metabolomic approach for the differentiation of geographical origins of natural products: deer antlers as an example

The correct identification of the geographical origin of deer antlers is essential to quality control, as its positive physiological effects correlate with chemical components. In this study, we applied both genomics and metabolomics to the origin-identification of 101 samples from Canada, New Zealand, and Korea. The genomics identified deer species in each country but failed to categorize all the samples, due to the presence of identical species in different countries. For identical species, NMR-based metabolomics gave clean separations, compounds specific to each country were identified, and the validity was confirmed by prediction analysis. As the genomics provided unambiguous read-outs for different species, and the metabolomics cleanly distinguished among identical species from different countries, their combined use could be a robust method for origin-identification even in difficult cases. We believe the method to be generally applicable to many herbal medicinal products for which various species are grown internationally.     

The creation of digital thematic soil maps at the regional level (with the map of soil carbon pools in the Usa River basin as an example)

A digital map of soil carbon pools was created for the forest–tundra ecotone in the Usa River basin with the use of ERDAS Imagine 2014 and ArcGIS 10.2 software. Supervised classification and thematic interpretation of satellite images and digital terrain models with the use of a georeferenced database on soil profiles were applied. Expert assessment of the natural diversity and representativeness of random samples for different soil groups was performed, and the minimal necessary size of the statistical sample was determined.     

Micromorphology of zheltozems on hard sedimentary rocks and products of their decomposition: Pedogenic and lithogenic features (with the Sochi arboretum as an example)

The analysis of the microfabric of soils developing from calcareous argillites (with sandstone interlayers) and their derivatives revealed the mechanisms of the transformation of the initial lithogenic features into pedogenic features. They include the release of primary carbonates and their segregation in secondary forms, the redistribution of iron oxides, and changes in the shape of the rock fragments and in the optical properties of the fine material in the lithomarge zone. The subsoil—the metamorphic BM horizon—is characterized by a high content of clay composed of chlorite-vermiculite and mica-smectite minerals along with kaolinite. The BM horizon is compact and has a massive microstructure with clay pseudomorphs over skeleton grains and with nonsegregational forms of iron oxide pedofeatures. The diagnostic properties of this horizon are clearly revealed in the soils on both hard rocks and loose colluvium deposits; in the latter case, they are supplemented with a stagnic marble-like pattern. The integrity of these features corresponds to the elementary pedogenic process of the metamorphism of the mineral mass in humid subtropics. In terms of micromorphology, this is a good example of pedoplasmation. The features testifying to the contribution of biota in the topsoils are few; dark compact nodules are common there. Zheltozems developed from hard rocks may be correlated with Cambisols in the WRB system; zheltozems developed from clayey colluvium display the features of clay illuviation; together with some physicochemical characteristics of these soils, they allow us to qualify such soils as Acrisols. There are also eluvial-gley variants of zheltozems with stagnic features.     

果树LAI快速检测的随机分布模型构建

目前对精确喷施机具本身研究较多,而对喷施对象—果树叶面积指数（LAI）的快速检测方面达不到与机具对接的要求。其中,LAI快速检测样机构建中,光学模型的构建是关键。针对果树具有单一、独立、冠层不规则、不均匀的特点,进行了计算机随机分布模型的仿真和LAI计算。基于从简单到复杂、一般到个别的原则,用VC语言构建了平面随机分布矩形叶子及其LAI测试界面。根据真实番石榴果树的具体参数如投影区域面积和叶宽度等进行匹配,构建随机分布计算分析模型,并应用在基于真树和人造树的虚拟番石榴树LAI计算中,得到虚拟果树阴影率的变     

Clay minerals in the stream floodplain soils in undisturbed landscapes of the Southern Taiga (with the soil of the state central forest nature and biosphere reserve as an example)

An X-ray diffraction technique was used to study the composition of clay material from floodplain soddy- and mucky gley soils formed in the valleys of small streams in the reserve. The content of nonexpandable minerals was higher and the labile mineral content was lower in the fine fractions of the floodplain soils than in similar fractions of upland soils found in adjacent positions. Two types of disordered mixed-layered not found in upland soils-namely, illite-chlorites and chlorite-vermiculites with a variable proportion of individual layeres-were detected in the clay material. Both types of mixed-layer minerals are supposed to originate from stony fragments containing phyllosilicates of supergenic or post-magmatic origin.     

Agroecological evaluation of soils as a basis for controlling soil-ecological risks (by example of soils of the dry steppe zone in the Volgograd region)

This article characterizes the soil-ecological conditions of the Romashkovskii breeding farm area in Pallasovskii district, Volgograd oblast, which is located in the dry steppe zone. An agroecological assessment is given for the farm’s soils using the Karmanov’s method of calculating soil-ecological indices and taking into account the specificity of agricultural crops. The possibility of using this evaluation as a basis for controlling soil-ecological risks in cropping is considered.     

Specific features of paleosols of burial mounds involved in current farming practices and their contemporary pedogenesis (using the early Alanian burial mounds in the North Caucasus region as an example)

Paleosols of three burial sites—Brut 1, Brut 2, and Beslan—in the Northern Osetia Republic (Alania) of the North Caucasus region were studied. A part of the Brut 2 burial site was subjected to intensive agricultural use (more than 30-year-long irrigation and regular tillage). This led to the leveling of the burial mounds and changes in some properties of the buried paleosols. A comparative analysis of paleosols of the same age under the burial mounds involved not included in the intensive agricultural use made it possible to determine the degree of preservation of the initial properties in the irrigated paleosols and to use them for reconstruction of the paleoclimates. Some specific features of the soil evolution were revealed, and paleoclimate reconstructions were performed for the period of the Early Alan civilization in the North Caucasus region (from the second half of the 2nd century AD to the middle of the 5th century AD).     

A procedure for evaluating and mapping the erosion resistance of soils (by the example of irrigated soils of Tajikistan)

A procedure was developed on the basis of the experimental-theoretical equation for calculating the parameters of soil erosion resistance (the bottom eroding velocity of flow), the principles of the erosion resistance theory, the experimentally obtained relationships between the main erosion parameters of Tajikistan soils (the size of water-stable aggregates and their cohesion), and other properties (the initial water content, the lumpiness, the contents of physical clay and humus, the porosity ratio, and the lower plasticity limit). For practical purposes, a simpler procedure is recommended to evaluate and map the erosion resistance of irrigated lands in the areas of typical serozems and mountain cinnamonic soils of Tajikistan from minimum initial information (the texture, lumpiness, and density of the soils and the content of plant roots).     

Artificial soil-like bodies of a river valley and their evolution in an urban environment (Based on the example of the Moscow River valley)

Technogenic soil-like bodies and raw soils on technogenic sediments in the valley of the Moscow River in the city territory were investigated. Soil destruction and the accumulation of techogenic sediments, as well as their remediation, result in the formation of soil-like bodies called replantozems. Spontaneous overgrowth and the formation of raw soils that gradually evolve into mature urban soils result in soils called urbanozems. It is shown that the best foundation for replantozems in river valleys is in situ alluvium with relatively favorable physical and physical-chemical properties.