The human activities impact on the morphological structure of the landscape soil catenas in different stages of agricultural development of the central black soil region

Abstract

Abstract The studies of the age influence of agricultural development on topogenic soil interfaces were carried out in Belgorod region on two main plots contacting to broad-forest and meadow-stepp zone landscapes of forest steppe. The aim of the study was to assess the impact of agricultural development in different years on the arable soils properties. As a result of field studies, 41 sections were studied in a broad-leaved forest main area (13 sections in the background area, 14 sections each on plowed catenas of different development ages) and 32 sections in a meadow-steppe area (6 sections on background catenas and 12 sections each on plowed catenas). A common pattern characterizing the agrogenic evolution of topogenic soil conjugations in the southern and northern exposures is their progradation into black soils as the use age increases. We have identified the following groups of external anthropogenic factors that directly affect the soil fertility after a long agricultural development: mechanical (pressure on the soil and its treatment with agricultural technology, the creation of micro - and nano - reliefs); organizational and territorial (linear boundaries and forest belts); chemical (applied fertilizers, although in small quantities, but affecting the micro ecosystem of studied areas).