Soils of the most productive agricultural lands of the Irkutsk region: mapping, use, assessment of the current state

Relevance. The Irkutsk-Cheremkhovskaya plain, which makes up 11% of the territory of the Irkutsk region, where the main part of farmland is located, has relatively good natural and climatic conditions. The area of agricultural land in the region is 4%, in some areas — up to 48%, of which more than half (and in remote areas more than 70%) have been abandoned since the 1990s — after the “restructuring” of the state system.

The purpose of the work is to assess the state of soil fertility of used and abandoned agricultural lands.

Methods. The assessment of the soil condition was carried out according to the author’s methodology in the form of generalizing data and a system of indices of individual indicators.

Results. It was found that the soils of arable land and deposits in remote areas (Osinsky, Bokhansky etc.) have the best fertility indicators, the worst (according to the results of these studies) are the soils of the Irkutsk region. The soils of the developed part of the territory of the region (Cheremkhovsky, Bayandaevsky and Ehirit-Bulagatsky districts) are assessed mainly as “good” and “satisfactory” according to the main agrophysical and agrochemical indicators (sometimes “excellent”, rarely “unsatisfactory”). Excellent soil condition is observed in the background areas untouched by human economic activity. The soils of the arable lands used near large settlements in almost all areas require the introduction of mineral potash and phosphorus fertilizers, less often nitrogen (mineral or organic). There is a reserve of agricultural land for use in the form of abandoned land, but sometimes they need agrochemical, agrotechnical and other measures, since the soils have not yet recovered enough.

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