Rating Fodder Areas on the Systems of Gullies and Ravines in the Central Russian Upland

The article presents the results of inspecting two gully systems with a total area of 800 hectares located on the land of the Tula Research Institute of Agriculture. The purpose of the study was recording the current status of pastures and grasslands exposed to radiation. The experimental data is obtained for the current status of old growth herbage: productivity, botanical and biochemical composition, agrochemical properties of the soil, and the degree of radioactive contamination of the soil and plants with ¹³⁷Cs on the slopes of different exposition and steepness. It is found that the most suitable rhizomatous species for land recultivation is awnless brome (Bromopsis inermis Leyss). Its content in old-growth herbage reached 70–98% on the bottoms of the gullies after more than 35 years since the grass was sown. The content of ¹³⁷Cs in dry matter in the conditions of radioactive contamination did not exceed the standard veterinary regulations (VR 13.5 13/06^–1) for hay (400 Bq kg^–1).