Lands and soils as independent components of the environment, issues of their assessment, regulation and management (review)

Abstract

In the scientifi c and industrial spheres of the country, to date, there have not been clear ideas about the separation
of the functions of soils and lands in the fi eld of assessment, rationing and quality management, which leads to a
confusion of concepts and some confusion in the management of modern environmental management and environmental
protection. Th e features of the functioning of soils and lands as independent components of the environment
in matters of their assessment, rationing and quality management system established by the law «On Environmental
Protection» are considered. Th ere is a certain scientifi c and regulatory and methodological inadequacy in relation to
the development of indicators for the total assessment of environmental components included in the natural complex
of lands, especially industrial lands and settlements of the country. Th e ideas about acceptable indicators of soil
quality and levels of anthropogenic impact on them are generalized. Some attention was also paid to the issues of land
standardization with the development of ideas for establishing the natural and natural-anthropogenic background
of soils and related features of assessing the quality of soils of lands of various economic purposes. Th e paper touches
upon the issues of the specifi c trinity of the functioning of lands based on the development of ecological, resource
and socio-economic components. At the same time, the analysis of socio-economic regulation of land quality contributes
to the selection of the optimal direction in the organization of sustainable development of the territory and
the functioning of the entire natural resource complex of lands. To separate the concepts of «soil» and «land» at the
scientifi c and practical level, related to the peculiarities of their assessment, rationing and management, it is proposed
to pay special attention to the development and adoption of the federal law «On Soil Protection».