Geoinformation Analysis of Chernozem Diversity and Protection in Russia

The areal and typological representativeness of chernozem soil diversity throughout Russia and within federal-level specially protected natural areas (SPNAs) was assessed based on geoinformation analysis using a vector soil map of Russia at a scale 1 : 2 500 000 (the combined version of the Soil Map of the RSFSR and Soil Map of Crimea). All chernozem soils cover 123.5 million ha (7.4% of the country’s soil cover), of which 86.4% are actually chernozems and 12.3, 0.8, and 0.5% are chernozem-meadow soils, meadow–chernozem-like soils, and chernozem complexes, respectively. Natural representatives of chernozems are found in 36 federal natural protected areas (15 nature reserves, 13 national parks, and eight wildlife sanctuaries), where 390.2 thousand ha (0.3% of the area of these soils in the country) are protected. The representativeness index of the network of federal natural protected areas with regard to the typological diversity of chernozems is 55%. The degree of territorial protection of individual varieties of chernozems has been determined with respect to the completeness of areal representativeness: satisfactory for eight map units (their areas cover 55.0 million ha, or 45% of the area of all chernozem soils in the country); insufficient for nine map units (46.0 million ha, or 37%). Representatives of 13 chernozem varieties are not protected in the network of federal natural protected areas (22.4 million ha, or 18% of the area of all chernozems). The most significant massifs of chernozems not represented in federal natural protected areas are in the Pre-Caucasus (Carbonate-micellar ordinary and southern chernozems, 9.8 million ha, or 7.9% of the area of all chernozems) and in the south of Western Siberia (Glossic and pocket leached chernozems, Glossic ordinary chernozems, and Glossic southern chernozems, 9.0 million ha, or 7.3% of the area of all chernozems). The preservation of these soils in a virgin state, at least as examples for comparison with anthropogenically transformed analogs, requires an inventory of all areas of their distribution and the assignment of conservation status.