Comparison of Chestnut Soils of Central Asia with Their Analogs in Other Soil-Geographical Provinces of the Dry-Steppe Zone of the Eurasian Subboreal Belt

Abstract

A comparative description of the natural conditions and some properties of zonal (chestnut) soils of different soil-climatic provinces of the Eurasian dry steppes are given. The diversity of their properties is shown. The main difference between chestnut soils of different provinces is in the granulometric composition and salinity. The article compares the properties of chestnut soils to different climatic provinces of dry steppes that form on sediments of light granulometric composition. The distribution area of chestnut soils on rocks of different granulometric composition in different soil-climatic provinces of the dry-steppe zone of Russia was calculated for the first time on the basis of a digital soil map of the Russian Federation with a scale 1: 2500000 (1988, 1996). It has been established that soils of light granulometric composition, which are often gravelly, predominate in the territory of the eastern Siberian province, which results in their differences from the typical chestnut loamy soils of the European part of Russia. Comparison of the properties of soils with a light granulometric composition revealed a certain similarity. In particular, it is shown that sandy loamy soils, unlike loamy soils, are poorly humic, nonsaline, and nonsolonetzic, and they do not contain gypsum. Thus, these traits cannot be attributed to climatic provincial features of chestnut soils, since they are primarily associated with soil-forming rocks.