Viktor FFrantsevich Basevich

Methodological aspects of identification, accounting, analysis of development and interaction of soil heterogeneities of various genesis are considered. The modern views on their origin are summarized, methodigical approaches and features of the study are shown. Conceptual views in the field of soil science are presented, which allow a deeper and more comprehensive approach to the assessment of such a phenomenon as soil heterogeneity: the hierarchical orga- nization of soil space, historical and modern («soil-memory» and «soil-moment») components of soil heterogeneity, soil succession and their role in understanding the essence of the phenomenon under consideration. The concept of primary and secondary heterogeneities is formulated, which are defined as a universal feature that manifests itself at all levels of the organization of the soil space and is formed, respectively, by paleo- and cenotic mechanisms. It is shown that the primary heterogeneity is the result of the action of pedogenesis factors, which reflects the desire of the soil to find an equilibrium state with the environment. Secondary heterogeneity is a consequence of the action of various natural and anthropogenic factors that bring the soil system out of equilibrium. A scheme of factors and causes of primary and secondary heterogeneities is proposed and formalized, as well as a scheme of modern factors and causes leading to the emergence of secondary heterogeneity of various origins. The priority role of the works of E.A. Dmitriev and his school in the formation of modern views on the heterogeneity of soils, in the development of field and statistical methods for analyzing the assessment of this natural phenomenon, which he put in a number of direct objects of research, is emphasized.

The historical and modern concepts of fallow lands (abandoned cropland), the causes of their occurrence and some features of their functioning are considered. The main stages of the development of abandoned cropland are highlighted from the perspective of a consistent change of vegetation in agrophytocenoses that arise after the cessation of soil cultivation. The literature data and existing approaches to assessing the land area of arable land withdrawn from agricultural circulation are analyzed. The prospects of using abandoned fallow lands both in the agricultural sector of agricultural production and in the broader ecosystem plan are considered. Attention is drawn to the fact that deposits of different ages are, in fact, chronological sequences of various dynamic biogeocenoses with actively transforming plant and soil components, which make it possible to assess, among other things, the rate of soil formation and degradation processes.