Peculiarities of ecological and geological systems of coarse-clastic soil massifs

Abstract

Ecological and geological systems formed on massifs of coarse clastic soils have a number of characteristic features of both abiotic components (lithotope, edaphotope) and biotic (microbocenosis, phyto- and zoocenosis). It has been revealed that the structure and functioning of these ecological and geological systems (EGS) are largely determined by the features of their lithotope – complexly built massifs of coarse clastic soils with a certain genesis (relating to the eluvial, water, glacial, slope or volcanogenic-sedimentary series), geological structure, relief and exogenous geological processes developed within these massifs. The main features of the EGS lithotope of the coarse-grained soil massif include the following: 1) discrete structure of the massif due to rock fragments of different sizes; 2) the shape of the debris; 3) the presence and features of the porous filler; 4) chemical and mineral composition of fragments; 5) soil salinity; 6) geochemical migration of substances; 7) physical and mechanical properties of the soil; 8) soil weathering; 9) its water cut; 10) expressiveness in relief; 11) paragenesis of modern exogenous geological processes (weathering, erosion, cryogenic processes, as well as slope gravitational processes: landslides, screes, stone avalanches, etc.). This abiotic component affects both the formation of soils and the formation of microbiocenoses, phyto- and zoocenoses developed within these systems. The features of a specific ecological-geological system of a coarse-clastic soil massif are considered on the example of the Big and Small Iremel mountains in the Southern Urals (Republic of Bashkortostan), whose specific biocenosis is characterized by a boreal mountain-taiga type. Scale-type epilithic lichens play an important role in the formation of their phytocenoses.