Articles

Biodegradation is one of the main factors limiting the effi ciency and service life of gel-forming soil conditioners. Th e
study quantifi es this process using laboratory analysis of biological oxygen uptake (BOD) in innovative composite
superabsorbents with an acrylic polymer matrix, amphiphilic agents (humates, peat) and silver ions as an inhibitor
of biological activity. A simple kinetic model of BOD is proposed to standardize the analysis and calculation of the
half-life of polymers aft er their incubation in precision VELP respirometers (Italy). Th e half-life of hydrogels swollen
in distilled water (1:100) at a temperature of 30°C varied in the range from 0,8±0,2 to 2,4±1,6 years. Th e addition
of an aqueous extract from compost sharply enhances biodegradation and reduces the half-life of hydrogels up to
40–60 days. Doses of 0,1–1% silver in a polymer matrix or 10-100 ppm in swollen hydrogels increase their half-life by
5–20 times. Th e new methodological approach makes it possible to fully automatically evaluate the biodegradation
of gel–forming polymers in laboratory conditions, however, for stable materials with a half-life of more than 2,5–3
years, the accuracy of manometric BOD analyzers is insuffi cient for a statistically reliable assessment of the kinetics
of biodegradation even in long (120 days) incubation experiments.

One of the tasks set when establishing the fact of inappropriate use of agricultural land in the framework of law
enforcement practice is to determine the period of non-use of land for agricultural purposes. As the most accessible
methods that can be used to determine the age of a fallow in the absence of documented data on the history of the
land plot and aerial and space survey materials is the study of the vegetation cover formed on the studied sites during
the postagrogenic succession and the transformation of the arable horizon.
In the course of a study conducted on the territory of agricultural lands located within the Kurgan region, it was
found that the exact determination of the period of non-use of land is possible using dendrochronology methods in
the presence of trees on the site. In addition, the study of the species composition of grassy vegetation allowed us to
identify a number of communities belonging to the successive stages of development of postagrogenic succession:
weedy, the stage of rhizomatous cereals, the stage of transition from rhizomatous to loose-turf cereal grasses, however,
it is not possible to accurately determine the duration of these stages. At the same time, a comparative analysis
of the species composition of various areas of grassy vegetation, as well as the thickness and composition of the sod,
allows us to establish the similarity of two or more sites, one of which has woody vegetation, which is a marker of
the age of the fallow and in neighboring areas.
Thus, the main feature that allows you to determine the age of a fallow on the land plot is the age of the existing
woody vegetation. As an additional feature that allows determining a single contour of a deposit of a certain age,
the species composition of the herbaceous biocenosis, the degree of development and the composition of the sod
can be used.

Th e assessment of land degradation neutrality (LDN) is used to characterize the achievement of the UN Sustainable
Development Goal 15 (SDG), Target 15.3 — «to combat desertifi cation, restore degraded lands and soils» by
individual countries and regions. Th e article presents the calculation of land degradation neutrality for agricultural
territories of the Samara region using global indicators (dynamics of land productivity, dynamics of land cover,
dynamics of soil organic carbon) and regional ones, such as yield, erosion, content of mobile forms of potassium
and phosphorus in the soil. Th e Trends.Earth tool presented on the QuantumGIS was used to calculate the fi rst
two global indicators platform. Th e evaluation of the remaining indicators was carried out using stock data and
data from the agrochemical service. According to the results land degradation neutrality was not achieved in the
agricultural territories of the Samara region. Th e indicator of SDG 15.3.1 («the proportion of land that is degraded
over total land area») is 78,61%, and the LDN index is –57,22%. Th e main process leading to a negative LDN index
is water erosion, which leads to a decrease in the levels of indicators such as land productivity and humus content.

On the basis of testing various varieties of ecological and economic assessment of lands on the territory of the Russian
Plain, their systematization was carried out both fr om the standpoint of the ratio of profi t and loss associated with
nature management, and the attribution of these varieties to the areas of economic science that diff erently determine
the role of human economic activity in ecological systems.
The predominance in the Russian Federation of those techniques and methods of ecological and economic assessment,
which are associated with the defi nition of damage/ harm from pollution, degradation and cluttering of land plots, is shown. Th e results of the approbation of the «Methodology for determining the extent of damage from
soil and land degradation» (1994) for agricultural farms located in various regions of the Russian Federation — in the Volgograd, Belgorod, Kaliningrad and Penza regions are presented. It has been established that the damage caused to agricultural lands in all the studied regions is due to the low level of agrotechnical measures carried out
here — mainly insuffi cient application of organic and mineral fertilizers, liming of acidic soils (for example, in the
Kaliningrad region) and gypsum of saline soils (in the Volgograd region).
Methods wh ere the comparison of income and losses is carried out (methodology Y. von Braun, adjusting the value
of land based on information about their ecological condition), are the most diffi cult to implement, but the most promising from a practical point of view. The results of the adjustment of the cadastral value of the lands of the Western Administrative District of Moscow based on the calculation of the indicator of loss of ecological quality of soils are presented. In some cases, the decrease in the cadastral value of land plots was 71% compared to the initial value. It has been established that the assessment of environmental damage refers to the direction of «environmental economics», the assessment of ecosystem services of soils and lands, the adjustment of the value of land based on
information about their ecological condition, the assessment of environmental tax/environmental payments, — to
the direction of «ecological economics», the methodology of J. von Braun and the assessment of environmental risks
of pollution, degradation and littering of land — towards the direction of «green economics».

Th e methodology for biodiagnostics of the ecological state of soils and other environmental objects involves the use
of two approaches: bioindicative observations in situ and biotesting of samples, carried out according to standard methods in controlled laboratory conditions ex situ. An integrated assessment of soils on an interdisciplinary basis in accordance with the international standard ISO19204-2017 makes it possible to diagnose of soils “health” based
on biotic parameters in the course of natural environmental observations, ecotoxicity indicators, which are supplemented
by the results of quantitative chemical analysis (TRIAD methodology). For soils, indicators of the state of higher plants and microbial communities, especially in agroecosystems, are of paramount importance. The article analyzes the advantages and limitations of well-known methods of phytoindication, laboratory phytotesting, soil
respiration, structural and functional indicators of microbiota diversity and bacterial biosensors. Th e responses of living systems to the same pollutant content largely depend on the carbon content of organic matter. The existing regulatory framework for the ecological assessment of the biological state of soil ecosystems practically does not take into account this, as well as the level of mineralization and pH of the analyzed objects. For an adequate assessment of the ecological quality of soils, it is proposed to improve the methods of measuring toxicity by more targeted recommendations for application (for example, for certain gradations of humus content, mineralization, pH).

The purpose of the study was to assess the current state of food security in some regions of the Russian Federation,
to identify bottlenecks that hinder its achievement, and also to try to determine the relationship between food
security indicators and the degree of land degradation – categories that largely determine the socio-ecological
development of the region. Belgorod, Vladimir, Volgograd, Kaliningrad, Penza, Samara regions were selected as
test regions. At the same time, the choice of the self-suffi ciency indicator for the main types of food products as the
most representative indicator for assessing food security at the municipal level is justified. Th e adapted methodology
for calculating self-suffi ciency for the municipal level consisted in using the calculated indicators of the required
production volumes in accordance with rational consumption standards, which allowed us to obtain an objective assessment of how much municipal formations are able to provide the population living there with the main types of products. The adapted methodology proposed by the authors for calculating indicators of self-suffi ciency in basic types of food at the municipal level is described in detail in earlier publications. Th e results of the analysis of the
data obtained on self-suffi ciency in such types of products as potatoes, vegetables, meat, milk, fruits and berries in the municipal districts of the test regions in dynamics for the period 2010-2021 are presented. In addition, the relationship between the calculated indicators of self-suffi ciency in the main types of food and the degree of land degradation in the municipalities of the test regions was revealed. The results obtained made it possible to identify the main problems associated with ensuring food security and develop proposals to improve the situation.<br>

The article is devoted to the theory and practice of applying the concept of land degradation neutrality (LDN) for
the conditions of the Belgorod region of the Russian Federation. Its basic version is considered, based on the analysis
of three sub–indicators, where the assessment of land degradation trends in the study area is based on the analysis of changes in the main indicator — the percentage of degraded land from the total area of the territory, and three
sub-indicators of SDG 15.3.1: changes in land productivity, changes in land cover and dynamics of soil organic carbon reserves. As an adjustment to the basic approach of the LDN, it is proposed to supplement it with regional data on soil characteristics. Th e following soil properties can be recommended as necessary for considering in the
evaluation model — the content of humus and nutrients, as well as pH, these characteristics, on the one hand, are
largely related to soil fertility, and on the other hand, they are most at risk of degradation changes during human
exploitation of soils. Modifi cation of the LDN methodology allows not only to clarify the central (umbrella) indicator,
but also to identify the relationship of the latter with indicators of agricultural production, in particular, gross crop
yields. Analysis of the data using the modifi ed LDN method showed that 64.8% of the region was degraded (which
is almost 2 times higher than the values obtained by the basic LDN method), which leads to a signifi cant loss of crop
yield. Th e article proposes an algorithm for assessing the relationship between land degradation and gross crop yields
based on correlation and regression analysis (spatial models).

Th e response of the microbial community of soils to diff erent levels of oil contamination in a model experiment was studied according to indicators: basal respiration (BR), basal induced respiration (SIR), carbon of microbial biomass (Cmic), potential denitrifi cation (DNF), methanogenesis, catalase activity. Th e soils are represented by light chestnut (Haplic Kastanozems Sodic) and meadow-chestnut (Gleyic Kastanozems Chromic) dry-steppe zone of the Stavropol area, diff ering in the organic matter content, salinity and the content of physical clay. Th e intensity of BR increased aft er 30 days of the crude oil input into the soils and caused the growth of Cmic due to the activation of oil-oxidizing microorganisms in anaerobic zones of soils. DNF varied in light chestnut and meadow-chestnut soils not directly, that was probably due to the level of organic matter content in soils and their salinity. Catalase activity was a sensitive indicator for the petroleum hydrocarbons in light chestnut soil, but salinity was the determining factor in its activity in meadow chestnut soil. Biotesting with the use of worms Eisenia fetida showed the inability of test organisms to survive in non-contaminated chestnut soils. A signifi cant indicator that did not depend on natural factors in chestnut soils was BR and related indicators. Catalase activity and DNF have limitations on the salinity factor.

Th e damage caused by soil and land degradation was assessed at three hierarchical levels (the region as a whole, the municipality, the agricultural sector) of the spatial organization of six test regions of the Russian Federation (Volgograd, Belgorod, Kaliningrad, Vladimir, Samara and Penza regions). Th e indicators of soil and land degradation for all test objects
were a decrease in the content of exchangeable potassium, a decrease in the content of mobile phosphorus, a decrease
in the content of humus, a change in the acidity index of soils. In addition, for the test objects of the Volgograd region, the indicator of land salinization was used, the Belgorod region — soil erosion, the Kaliningrad region — the indicator of the metabolic coeffi cient (qCO2) of soils. It was found that the minimum and maximum values of the specific total damage fr om degradation can be detected for regions with a similar composition of soil cover (Saratov and Belgorod regions, respectively, wh ere chernozem soils predominate). When the values of specifi c total damage from soil and land degradation are close to each other at various hierarchical levels of spatial organization of regions (Vladimir, Saratov, Belgorod and partly Penza regions), in terms of intensity and scale of manifestation of the studied degradation processes, the agricultural farm is «typical» for the entire municipal district, and the municipal district is «typical» for the entire region.

Th e article analyses the problems of establishing factual circumstances of environmental violations against soils,
presents examples from the judicial practice, shows the possibilities of using special knowledge when considering
cases relating to negative anthropological impact on soil-geological objects. Th e following methods were used in the
research: observation, analysis, synthesis, description, comparison. It is substantiated the need for wider application
of results of forensic examination of geological evidence in the administration of justice. Th e most eff ective and
science-based form of using special knowledge is forensic environmental examination and particularly geological
evidence examination or forensic environmental and soil expertise. Such kind of examinations are actively carried
out in FBE «Russian Federal Centre of Forensic Science of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation» and in
FSPI «Forensic Expert Centre of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation». It is given an example of a
complex forensic environmental examination. Proposals are presented to expand the range of persons conducting
forensic environmental and soil examinations.