Минобрнауки России
Федеральный Исследовательский Центр
Почвенный институт имени В.В. Докучаева
Fig. 1. Location of reconnaissance sites on the physical map of the Stavropol region
Reconnaissance trip of the employees of the FRC “V.V. Dokuchaev Soil Science Institute” to the Stavropol region
On April 21-23, 2024, employees of the FRC V.V. Dokuchaev Soil Science Institute conducted reconnaissance of potential sites for establishing new carbon soil pool monitoring stations in the agroecosystems of the Stavropol region.
The expedition was attended by Doctor of Agricultural Sciences, Chief Researcher N.B. Khitrov and Researcher N.I. Lozbenev. The organization and conduct of the reconnaissance were supported by the management of the North Caucasus Federal Scientific Agricultural Center. The trip was accompanied by the Chief Researcher, Doctor of Agricultural Sciences V.K. Dridiger.
Participants visited 3 farms located in the central and southeastern parts of the Stavropol region (Figure 1).
Soils of the Krasnoselskoye LLC agroholding "ASB" in the Grachevsky district are represented by southern chernozems and dark chestnut medium loamy soils on deluvial deposits. The enterprise is engaged in cultivating winter wheat, barley, peas, winter rapeseed, sunflower, maize, and flax.
No-Till technology is used on the entire farm for 6-17 years. Farmers in adjacent lands use traditional soil cultivation, that allows comparisons of the effectiveness of the applied technologies for carbon accumulation (Figure 2).
The farm of the individual entrepreneur "Glava K(F)Kh Vodopyanov S.S." in the Petrovsky city district of the Stavropol region, Nechaev village (Figure 3), has also been applying no-tillage technology for 8 years. The soils are southern chernozems and dark chestnut medium loamy soils on loess-like loams. Of particular interest is the high contrast between soil-forming and underlying rocks: in some places, loess-like deposits are underlain by sandstone plates or sands from a depth of 1-2 meters. Farmers in adjacent lands also use traditional soil cultivation. This site will be evaluated for differences in carbon stocks both between applied agricultural technologies and between soils on different parent rocks.
Fig. 2. N.B. Khitrov inspects the condition of crops and soil surface in the winter barley fields at Krasnoselskoye LLC.
Fig. 3. Inspection of the IE "Glava K(F)Kh Vodopyanov S.S." fields to assess the condition of crops and humus horizon structure.
Fig. 4. Inspection of crop conditions together with agronomists and management of the Kavkaz Limited Liability Company.
The Kavkaz LLC in the southeastern part of the region applies No-Till across all fields; however, its distinct feature is the use of biological agents (instead of chemicals) as elements of plant nutrition and protection (see Figure 4). Soils in this area are represented by dark chestnut medium- and heavy loamy soils, highly dusty in some areas. Micro-depressions and micro-elevations with overmoistened (meadow-like) soil variants are encountered in some places. Farmers in adjacent lands use traditional and shallow soil cultivation. The test site in this farm will not only allow for an assessment of current carbon content and stocks but also a consideration of differences in carbon accumulation when using original agricultural technologies.
Employees of the Federal Research Center "V.V. Dokuchaev Soil Science Institute" are participants in the Soil Group of the "RITM of carbon" consortium working on the project "Russian Climate Monitoring System" (a key innovation project of national importance, KIP NI, supervised by the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation).