Potential of soil protection and resource-saving (carbon-saving) agriculture in the Middle Volga region

Modern agriculture, based on the intensification of land use, contributes to the massive loss of soil carbon. Disturbance of the structure of cultivated areas, intensive tillage, excessive application of fertilizers, primarily nitrogen fertilizers, and the development of erosion processes are the main causes of soil carbon loss. The calculation of the humus balance in the current structure of acreage showed that it develops with a deficit of 0.804 t/ha, which, with an average weighted carbon content of 58% in humus, is estimated at 0.466 t/ha of carbon or 1.7 carbon units. Based on 1.3 million hectares of cultivated land, carbon losses amount to 605 thousand tons annually or more than 2.5 million carbon units. Only the development and implementation of new approaches to agriculture will ensure the sustainability of production and the preservation of soil fertility. The purpose of the presented studies is to substantiate the feasibility of soil-protective and resource-saving agriculture in the Middle Volga region (using the example of the Ulyanovsk region) and to assess the sequestration potential of soils. Our research has established a high potential for carbon accumulation in the soils of the Ulyanovsk region. To increase carbon sequestration in specific soil and climatic conditions, it is important to choose scientifically sound methods of soil protection and resource-saving (carbon-saving) agriculture, the main elements of which are: direct sowing, abandonment of pure vapors, cultivation of PPK (cover crops), widespread use of leguminous crops as a source of biological nitrogen, microbiological drugs (instead of pesticides and fertilizers), etc. The development of direct seeding technology will ensure the accumulation of at least 0.1 tons per hectare/year, which, according to our calculations, will amount to at least 133 thousand tons in the region.