Cartographic analysis of the components of the agricultural landscape in the formation of sustainable land management in the context of land degradation Volgograd region

Abstract

Modern geoinformation studies of the structural components of the agricultural landscape allow us to quickly assess the state, the degree of preservation and the impact of its individual elements on the environment, and the sustainability of each land use. The preservation of the quality of land resources is the most important task for agricultural production and socio-economic development of the region. Mapping of the test site “Catchment area of the Kasarka River” made it possible to determine the agricultural landscape as a typical one, with an area of 78.55 thousand square meters. ha, with a predominance of arable land—60.3 %, woodlands—11.3 % and protective forest strips of artificial origin—3.6 %. The remaining area—19.39 thousand hectares—is occupied by hayfields and pastures, lands of settlements, roads and allotments. The terrain features a height difference of 86 m and a maximum slope angle of 7.5°. 456 plots of arable land were surveyed, the system of protective forest stands includes 581 forest strips and 21 forest stands, with a total area of 11.75 thousand hectares. 74.3 % of forest strips and massifs are degraded, the share of fallen forest belts was 34.3 %, the effectiveness of the protective action of forest stands is only 67 %, and this does not ensure the integrity of the agricultural landscape. The dependence of the slope angle (X) on the value of the potential washout (M) was determined, which made it possible to calculate the soil washout for each plot of arable land, which varies from 4.8 t/ha to 34.7 t/ha. The total flushing of the soil at the maximum values of the slope angles of the test site will be 823750.3 tons. For individual test plots of arable land, the spread of the calculated value of the average nutrient flushing is also significant from 3.1 t (test plot P67, area 0.943 ha), to 1655.5 t (test plot H142, area 296.86 ha).