Soil evaluation in the Ganja-Kazakh cadastral region of the Republic of Azerbaijan

Abstract

The solution to many national economic problems to a certain extent depends on the rational use of soil resources. Their qualitative and quantitative accounting is the basis for the economic evaluation of the land as a result of which it is possible to provide an objective basis for solving the issues of rational use of land on the most comprehensive and wide scale. A qualitative assessment of agricultural land is relevant and necessary for the dry-steppe Ganja-Kazakh zone with intensive agricultural production and unstable natural landscape complexes. The authors conducted soil and field studies to solve the problem in 2018–2020. The authors also laid 32 soil profiles and conducted laboratory analyzes of soil samples taken from them. In the course of the study, soil data were collected and processed from stock materials. The authors of the article conducted a qualitative assessment of the lands of the Ganja-Kazakh cadastral region and compiled the main scale of their bonitet based on the methodological recommendations of I.I. Karmanova, F. Ya. Gavrilyuk, G.Sh. Mammadov. As a standard, mountain brown soils were taken, relative to which the ranking of the yield of other lands was made. The authors used correction factors for the degree of salinity, alkalinity, erosion, and the level of soil cultivation to calculate the quality score of soil varieties. The main, detailed, and final bonitet scales were compiled, and the weighted average scores and the coefficient of comparative dignity of the land quality of a given territory were calculated. According to the results of calculations, the authors found that the dark gray-brown soils of the Ganja-Kazakh cadastral region have the highest level of crop-producing power which is estimated at 93 points, and alluvial-meadow-forest soils are among the soils with the lowest level of crop-producing power - 33 points. The weighted average quality score of the lands in this area was 59 points.