Resource potential of Beninese soils for maize cultivation

Due to the growth of the population, the need of the Republic of Benin to increase food production is growing significantly. Maize is the main cultivated crop in the country, being also the main item of nutrition. The scientific rationale for expanding the area of maize cultivation is an important economic task. GIS database was created, which includes all the necessary information on soil, relief, and climate conditions in the country for assessment the resource potential of lands for maize cultivation. Geoinformation modeling of soil and land suitability for maize cultivation was performed. The most suitable lands were identified. Possibility to expand areas for maize cultivation in the country was assessed. It was found that the largest resources (in parts of the land fund) for the expansion of maize cultivation are in the following communities of Benin: Tory-Bossito (96%), Toviklin (92.41%), Materi (90.31%), Kobli (89.25%), Wayogbe (87.99), Parakou (86.57%), Jaco-Tomey (85.66%), Avrankou (85.46%), Allada (84.13%), Bohicon (82.24%), Sakete (81.85%), Za Kpota (78.08%), Akpo Misserete (77.96%), Bopa (77.15%), Kpomasse (75.82%) and Ifania (75.03%). The findings led us to conclude that, theoretically, the gross maize production in Benin could be increased fivefold (from 1,514,913 tons to 5,513,947 tons) only by expanding the cultivation area.

Dark-humus soils on the updated soil map of Russian Federation scale 1 : 2.5 M

The dark-humus soil type was included in the updated legend of the Soil Map of the Russian Federation at scale 1 : 2.5 M, converted to the system of Soil Classification of Russia. The soil profile starts with the dark-humus horizon gradually merging to the parent rock; any mid-profile diagnostic horizons are absent. Large areas of dark-humus soils are found in the forest-steppe, steppe and taiga zones of the European Russia, Western and Central Siberia, in the Trans-Baikal region, the Altai-Sayany Mountains, and the Caucasus. The type of dark-humus soils comprises both mesomorphic soils (of normal moisture conditions) and soils with additional surface or ground-water moisture. The main prerequisites for the formation of dark-humus soils are, on the one hand, the climatic conditions favorable for the dark-humus horizon formation, and, on the other hand, parent material - mostly derivates of hard rocks, restricting the development of mid-profile diagnostic horizons. In the updated map, the following initial legend units are partially or completely converted to dark-humus soils: several units of chernozems, dark-gray forest and gray forest non-podzolized soils, soddy-taiga base-saturated and slightly unsaturated soils, several mountain soils, a significant part of soddy-calcareous soils, as well as some mountainous forest-meadow soils. The diversity of dark-humus soils subtypes is determined by secondary carbonate features, weak signs of clay accumulation and podzolization, alteration of the mineral mass, gley and cryogenic phenomena.

Floodplain soils on the soil map of the Russian Federation, scale 1 : 2.5 M, 1988, in the Russian soil classification

The development of the digital model of the soil map of Russia derived of the map of the Soviet Russian Federation, 1988, compiled in Dokuchaev Soil Science Institute, comprises the transfer of soil names in the initial legend to those in the new classification system of Russian soils (2004). Floodplain soils (only native) are represented by seven legend units (out of 205) that were named in terms of soil classification of USSR, 1977, and part of their names indicated ‘landscapes’ rather than soils, which disagrees with the principles of the new classification system. Basing on numerous publications and following the rules of the new system, soils were renamed. Most of them were referred to alluvial soil types within the synlithogenic trunk (Fluvisols), and their new names indicate both their properties and their zonal attachment. In order to obtain more adequate patterns of soils in river valleys additional soils were introduced including stratified-alluvial soils in the trunk of primary pedogenesis (Regosols). Simultaneously, the composition of polygons in the database was revised in accordance with regional data; human-modified soils were introduced (agro-soils and urbo-soils).

Digital agriculture informational resources in local and international databases

The article reviews informational resources on precision and digital agriculture in international cross-disciplinal and sectoral international and local databases. The databases Web of Science, Scopus, AGRIS (by FAO UN) and Engineering infrastructure of Agriculture, Rosinformagrotech, AGROS (by Central Scientific Agricultural Library) with the retrieval requests “Digital agriculture”, “Precision Agriculture” were analyzed. The authors estimated the dynamics of document flows to the AGROS database and confirmed strong growth of volume of local publications on precision agriculture to the level demonstrating technology adoption of precision agriculture. Meanwhile the level of document flow on digital agriculture is at the starting level. Analysis of most frequent publications on the topic showed that there’s no local specialized journals on precision agriculture, most frequently publications appeared in local journals such as “Machinery and equipment for rural areas”, “Soil science and agrochemistry”, “Agricultural machinery and technology”. Predominantly materials were published in specialized foreign journals “Computers and electronics in agriculture” and “Precision agriculture”. Most of the documents were obtained from WOS and Scopus databases, but a lot of them are irrelevant. While searching for foreign documents it makes sense to use all the databases available, but most of the full-size texts in open access are available in the AGRIS database. In the same way AGROS database provide a wide range of full-size texts in the Russian language. Both AGROS and AGRIS databases showed high efficiency of search with most relevant documents in search results since both databases use thesaurus as a linguistic tool.

Increasing the efficiency of investments on survey of abundant land for their return to agricultural us

The "“State program for the effective involvement of abundant agricultural land in the use and the development of the reclamation complex of the Russian Federation” for 2021–2030" assumes the return of 12 million hectares out of 44 million hectares of all abandoned agricultural land (AAL) in the Russian Federation. The costs of 12 million hectares survey can be considered productive, while the costs of surveying the remaining 32 million hectares should be considered unproductive. The application of the new geoinformation database of “Soils of agricultural lands of the Russian Federation” (DB SALRU) developed by the Federal Research Centre “V.V Dokuchaev Soil Sience Institute” allows reduction of unproductive costs. By the example of the Vladimir region, a typical Russian region with AAL, the option of ranking AAL by their quality was demonstrated to determine the order of their return to agricultural use. The soil quality criteria are the bonitet and the normative yield of grain crops, which are part of the DB SALRU. It is proposed to consider the expenditures on the survey of AAL for the soils, which are first to be returned to agricultural use, as productive costs. These soils occupy 25% of the AAL of the region. The best quality soils are characterized by more than 40 points of bonitet and the standard yield of grain crops of more than 20 centners/ha. The cost of surveying the lands of the first order of returning to agricultural use is 10 million 80 thousand rubles. Survey of AAL soils of II–IV orders of involvement in agricultural use, with relatively poor quality compared to the soils of the first order, is proposed to be conducted in the case of expansion of the State program in the future. This would save the unproductive expenses for the survey of AAL for the Vladimir region by 30 million 165.5 thousand rubles. The application of the proposed GIS-approach makes it possible to reduce unproductive expenses for the survey of AAL in the Russian Federation nearly by 5.600 million rubles.

Methodological approaches to the formation of a unified national system of monitoring and accounting of carbon balance and greenhouse gas emissions on lands of the agricultural fund of the Russian Federation

Methodological approaches to the formation of a unified national system for monitoring and accounting the balance of carbon and greenhouse gas emissions are considered. The purpose, typification, requirements for the spatial placement of “carbon” polygons, assessment of the carbon absorption capacity of forests and agricultural ecosystems in the Russian Federation, the standard methodology recommended by the international community for assessing carbon stocks in soils, which should be applied in the Russian Federation to ensure comparability of the results of greenhouse gas accounting between countries, determination of the carbon absorption capacity of natural ecosystems and soils are discussed. The potential of carbon uptake by agricultural soils is shown. The list of indicators for assessing soil carbon according to the IPCC methodology for Tiers 2 and 3 is given. Taking into account the analysis of international practice, as well as on the basis of theoretical and applied experience of national science, the priority measures have been developed, they are aimed at working out and implementation of the national strategy for the use of terrestrial ecosystems in order to regulate greenhouse gas emissions to mitigate climate change.

Diagnostics of soils located in the gradient of urban-technogenic impact

The rapidly progressing urbanization results in decline of environmentally valuable forest territory. Intact ecosystems bordering urban communities suffer from heavy technogenic pressure and degrade irreversibly over time. This situation necessitates studies that analyze the ecological condition of major components of forest ecosystems exposed to various levels of such pressure. The survey was carried out in the city of Petrozavodsk in sites with degraded, slightly disturbed, and undisturbed forest ecosystems. For each site, the soil condition was assessed, the tree stand and the living ground cover were described. As a result, it was found that soils in the slightly disturbed forest ecosystem generally corresponded to the natural background (Ferric Illuvial Podzol). Changes in their morphological and chemical properties compared to soils in the undisturbed reference plot were identified. The thickness and ash content of the upper organic horizon in the slightly disturbed site changed. The forest ecosystem was in the transitional stage (from I–II to III) of recreational digression and required infrastructural improvements. The forest ecosystem in the built-up site was totally destroyed. Irreversible transformation of its natural environment resulted in the loss of woody and ground vegetation. The native zonal soils were ruined, and their diagnostic horizons cannot be identified. There was observed a large amount of rocks and anthropogenic inclusions throughout the profile. According to the Russian soil classification, these formations belong to the subgroup of organo-mineral strata of technogenic surface formations. The collected data can be used as the basis for ecological monitoring of urban soils. Based on the findings, recommendations were given on how to conserve and improve the sanitary and esthetic functions of forest areas adjoining urban built-up land.

Soils in the Bulia micro watershed of Gorontalo province, Indonesia, and their quality assessment

Ten representative pedons from the Bulia micro watershed of Gorontalo Province, Indonesia, were characterized and classified to determine its land quality (LQ) class. Angular blocky, sticky, plastic consistencies and a hard consistency prevailed in the soil structure. In the alluvial plains the soil texture is dominated by the clay fraction, while in the hills and volcanic mountains the sand fraction is dominated. The soils in the Bulia micro watershed also have acid to neutral reaction, with the range of very low to high OC (organic carbon) levels, the reserve of exchangeable bases was dominated by Ca2+ in two series patterns, namely: Ca2+ > Mg+ > Na+ > K+ and Ca2+ > Na+ > Mg+ > K+, cation exchange capacity (CEC) ranged from low to very high, and the base saturation varied from moderate to very high. The alluvial plain is represented by Inceptisol in P1 and Typic Humustepts (P7), also by Oxic Humustepts (P3), then Mollisol on P4 (Typic Argiudolls) and Typic Haplustolls (P6), Alfisol on P5 (Typic Paleustalfs). Entisol on P2 (Typic Ustipsamments) was found in volcanic mountains and P9 (Typic Paleustolls) P8 (Ultic Paleustalfs), P10 (Inceptic Haplustalfs) are typical of volcanic hills. On the alluvial plains the land was categorized as the LQ class II, III and IV, the volcanic mountains were the LQ class IV, while the land on the volcanic hills was categorized as the LQ class VI. River bank erosion on the land river terraces can be held by the manufacture of gabions, talud, cliff reinforcement plants and terraces. The soil temperatures and high clay content can be regulated by mulching and organic materials.

Phosphate regime of sod-podzolic soil in natural and agrophytocenoses

The phosphate regime of sod-podzolic soil (heavy loam) of Cis-Urals under natural phytocenoses (mixed forest, cereal-grass meadow) and agrophytocenoses was studied. The influence of agricultural use of arable land on phosphate regime was evaluated in the long-term stationary experiment (year of establishment – 1978) and the eastern galega (Galega orientalis L.) (year of sowing – 1988). The total content of phosphorus in soil, quantity of its organic, mineral and plant available forms were studied, the fractional composition of mineral phosphates was considered (using Ginzburg-Lebedeva method). The total content of phosphorus in the upper soil layer in all studied objects varied from 1 030 to 1 350 mg/kg. Mineral phosphorus forms prevailed over organic ones in the soil. It was found that the fractional composition of mineral phosphates was 40–62% represented by iron phosphates and 31–48% by calcium phosphates, which is due to the characteristic features of the soil-forming rock – yellow-brown non-carbonate silt drape. Aluminum phosphates amounted to 8–12%. Long-term cultivation of crops during five cycles of the eight-field crop rotation led to a significant decrease in the content of organic phosphorus in the soil. The lower content of iron phosphates (1.6–1.8 times) and the higher content (1.3–2.0 times) of calcium phosphates, available for plants, were observed in the soil of long-term experiment when compared with natural phytocenoses. The content of plant available phosphorus in soil gradually decreased from 239 to 164 mg/kg from the moment of experiment establishment to the fifth rotation. Prolonged fertilizer application (N60P60K60) resulted in the significant increase in mineral and plant available phosphorus forms content in the soil. The residual phosphorus of fertilizers was noted in the Fe-P, Ca-PI and Ca-PII fractions. Under the eastern galega the quantitative and qualitative indicators of the phosphate regime of the soil did not differ significantly from their natural analogues.

Soil mapping in “Pochvovedenie” journal (review of publications since 1899)

The overview of publications on soil cartography in “Pochvovedenie”/“Eurasian Soil Science” journal for the period 1899–2020 demonstrates a high diversity of themes and certain trends in the number and dynamics of papers. Their total number (365), calculated per 5-year-long intervals, was distributed rather evenly among these 121 years: approximately 10–15 papers in each interval, although three maximums are rather clear. The first one fell on the post-war interval and was followed by 1965–1970 and 2010–2015 maximums. Discussion of large-scale maps dominated the early publications, many of them tackled soil surveys and applied problems; in the mid-century papers, soil maps of various regions of the country were described since it was time of extensive terrain investigations; numerous were also papers concerning methodology of soil mapping. New approaches and technique were actively discussed in the papers at the turn of centuries, such as remote sensing or digital soil mapping. Along with map compilation issues, there are publications on applying information provided by soil maps for both traditional and novel purposes: schemes of zoning in the former case and development of prognostic maps or assessment of pedodiversity in the latter case. The majority of papers on zoning, concern soil-geographical (later soil-ecological) schemes, whereas the derived types of zoning, for example, ameliorative or erosional, are discussed in few papers. The performed overview may be regarded as summing up the results of traditional soil mapping development with emphasizing its most valuable achievements, as well as indicating the initial signs of new trends.