Aftereffects of environmental engineering of the 20th century in the forest-steppe zone of the Tambov Plain

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to analyze the aftereffects of a set of engineering measures to implement the so-called “Nature Transformation Plan” on the territory of the forest-steppe zone of Central Russia (Tambov, Lipetsk, Voronezh oblasts) based on archival materials of drilling logs of 1900-1914, archival documents of 1949-1953, as well as the results of soil and hydrological studies in 2015-2023. The results of chemical analysis of groundwater 1914 and 2015 found that the chemical composition of the aquifer water - hydrocarbonate-sodium - has not changed significantly over the 100-year period, only a slight decrease in total water hardness and an increasing trend in sulfate and chloride content. It is shown that the stage of anthropogenic development of Tambov region by construction of ponds, forest strips and introduction of irrigation in the course of implementation of Stalin’s plan of nature transformation without taking into account the specifics of hydrology of the region has led to the rise of the level of hydrocarbonate-sodium groundwater by 2-3 m, to the complete, not temporary, destruction of the “dead horizon” in chernozems and will contribute to further deterioration of their properties.