Restoring the soil fertility of carbonate soils in landscape farming systems

Abstract

In the extremely difficult soil and landscape conditions of the Krasnogvardeisk test site in the Belgorod region, it was possible to stop erosion losses, which contributed to an increase in the carbonate soils fertility. Despite the short period in terms of the natural rates of the soil-forming process, a statistically significant increase in the humus status of soils was established. The content of organic matter in the arable layer increased by 0.64% (abs.) on average for the site, by 0.87% (abs.) in the soils of the southern slope. In the subsoil layer, the increase ranged from 0.67 to 0.75% (abs.) depending on the relief element. The humus content in the soils of forest belts is on average slightly higher than in the space between the belts. This is caused by higher (2.5 times) rates of humus accumulation in the first period after the development of landscape farming systems. The accumulation of humus contributed to the optimization of the reaction of the soil environment. The shift in pH_s values from the area of alkaline reaction, characteristic of washed away carbonate soils, to the area of neutral and close to neutral values is statistically significant. An increase in the overall soil cultivation of the Krasnogvardeisk test site is evidenced by the transition to a higher level of provision with mobile forms of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium.