Degree Of Degradation Research Articles

Synergistic improvement of antioxidant and antibacterial properties of carbon quantum complexes with zinc doping and chlorogenic acid for longan preservation

The deterioration of fruit could reduce the shelf life, decreased marketability and substantial economic value. Thus, a safe, simple, economical and environmentally friendly preservation technology for fruit is of great significance. Here, the postharvest preservation technology was investigated with zinc-doped carbon quantum dots and chlorogenic acid (Zn-CQDs/CGA) composite. Zn-CQDs/CGA composite were synthesized, which exhibits superior antioxidant and antibacterial activities. The binding mechanism of the Zn-CQDs/CGA composite was investigated, which revealed that the bindings of two components were mainly driven by hydrogen bonding and van der Waals forces to create a novel composite. The Zn-CQDs/CGA composite was applied to longan preservation and was found to significantly reduce the incidence of mildew spot, browning of fruit endocarp and pulp, as well as the degree of degradation of quality indexes. These results suggest that the Zn-CQDs/CGA composite has the potential for inhibiting browning and preserving the quality of longan during storage.

Dynamic simulation of land use change and habitat quality assessment under climate change scenarios in Nanchang, China.

Investigating habitat quality under different climate scenarios holds significant importance for sustainable land resource management and ecological conservation. In this study, considering Nanchang as a case study, a coupled patch-generating land use simulation (PLUS) and system dynamics (SD) model was employed in the simulation and prediction of land usage under shared socioeconomic pathway (SSP) and representative concentration pathway (RCP) scenarios. To assess the habitat quality in Nanchang from 2000 to 2020 and in 2030 under three diverse climate scenarios, we used the Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Trade-offs (InVEST) model to analyze spatial and temporal changes. The findings indicate that the regions of forest land, cultivated land, and grassland in Nanchang City will dramatically decrease by 2030, the construction land will rapidly expand, and the fluctuations in the unutilized land and water area will be minimal. Additionally, the habitat quality declined from 2000 to 2020, and its spatial distributions changed. Zones having a high overall habitat quality were distributed in the mountains, hills, and lake areas, whereas those with relatively low quality were found in cultivated and urban areas. Under three climate scenarios, in 2030, the habitat quality index for Nanchang City will show a decreasing trend, mainly owing to areas with an index of 0.3-0.5 transitioning to <0.3. Considering each scenario, the degree of habitat degradation increased in the order SSP585>SSP245>SSP119. The findings of this study will inform high-quality development and biodiversity conservation in Nanchang City.

Three-Dimensional Printing of Multifunctional Composites: Fabrication, Applications, and Biodegradability Assessment.

Additive manufacturing, with its wide range of printable materials, and ability to minimize material usage, reduce labor costs, and minimize waste, has sparked a growing enthusiasm among researchers for the production of advanced multifunctional composites. This review evaluates recent reports on polymer composites used in 3D printing, and their printing techniques, with special emphasis on composites containing different types of additives (inorganic and biomass-derived) that support the structure of the prints. Possible applications for additive 3D printing have also been identified. The biodegradation potential of polymeric biocomposites was analyzed and possible pathways for testing in different environments (aqueous, soil, and compost) were identified, including different methods for evaluating the degree of degradation of samples. Guidelines for future research to ensure environmental safety were also identified.

Principle and method of deception systems synthesizing for malware and computer attacks detection

The number of different types and the actual number of malware and computer attacks is constantly increasing. Therefore, detecting and counteracting malware and computer attacks remains a pressing issue. Users of corporate networks suffer the greatest damage. Many effective tools of various kinds have been developed to detect and counteract these effects. However, the dynamism in the development of new malware and the diversity of computer attacks encourage detection and countermeasure developers to constantly improve their tools and create new ones. The object of research in this paper is deception systems. The task of this study is to develop the elements of the theory and practice of creating such systems. Deception systems occupy a special place among the means of detecting and counteracting malware and computer attacks. These systems confuse attackers, but they also require constant changes and updates, as the peculiarities of their functioning become known over time. Therefore, the problem of creating deception systems whose functioning would remain incomprehensible to attackers is relevant. To solve this problem, we propose a new principle for the synthesis of such systems. Because the formation of such systems will be based on computer stations of a corporate network, the system is positioned as a multi-computer system. The system proposes the use of combined baits and traps to create false attack targets. All components of such a system form a shadow computer network. This study develops a principle for synthesizing multi-computer systems with combined baits and traps and a decision-making controller for detecting and countering IEDs and spacecraft. The principle is based on the presence of a controller for decisions made in the system and the use of specialized functionality for detection and counteraction. According to the developed principle of synthesizing such systems, this paper identifies a subset of systems with deception technologies that must have a controller and specialized functionality. The decision-making controller in the system is separate from the decision-making center. Its task is to choose the options for the next steps of the system, which are formed in the center of the system, depending on the recurrence of events. Moreover, prolonged recurrence of external events requires the system center to form a sequence of next steps. If they are repeated, the attacker has the opportunity to study the functioning of the system. The controller in the system chooses different answers from different possible answers for the same repeated suspicious events. Thus, an attacker, when investigating a corporate network, receives different answers to the same queries. Specialized functionality, in accordance with the principle of synthesis of such systems, is implemented in the system architecture. It affects the change of system architecture in the process of its functioning as a result of internal and external influences. This paper also considers a possible variant of the architecture of such deception systems, in particular, the architecture of a system with partial centralization. To synthesize such systems, a new method for synthesizing partially centralized systems for detecting malware in computer environments has been developed based on analytical expressions that determine the security state of such systems and their components. In addition, the experiments showed that the loss of 10-20% of the components does not affect the performance of the task. The results of the experiments were processed using ROC analysis and the algorithm for constructing the ROC curve. The results of the experiments made it possible to determine the degree of degradation of the systems constructed in this manner. Conclusions. This paper presents a new principle for the synthesis of multi-computer systems with combined decoys and traps and a decision-making controller for detecting and counteracting IEDs and spacecraft, as well as methods for synthesizing partially centralized systems for detecting malware in computer networks.

Nondestructive detection of Pleurotus geesteranus strain degradation based on micro-hyperspectral imaging and machine learning.

In the production of edible fungi, the use of degraded strains in cultivation incurs significant economic losses. Based on micro-hyperspectral imaging and machine learning, this study proposes an early, nondestructive method for detecting different degradation degrees of Pleurotus geesteranus strains. In this study, an undegraded strain and three different degradation-level strains were used. During the mycelium growth, 600 micro-hyperspectral images were obtained. Based on the average transmittance spectra of the region of interest (ROI) in the range of 400-1000 nm and images at feature bands, feature spectra and images were extracted using the successive projections algorithm (SPA) and the deep residual network (ResNet50), respectively. Different feature input combinations were utilized to establish support vector machine (SVM) classification models. Based on the results, the spectra-input-based model performed better than the image-input-based model, and feature extraction improved the classification results for both models. The feature-fusion-based SPA+ResNet50-SVM model was the best; the accuracy rate of the test set was up to 90.8%, which was better than the accuracy rates of SPA-SVM (83.3%) and ResNet50-SVM (80.8%). This study proposes a nondestructive method to detect the degradation of Pleurotus geesteranus strains, which could further inspire new methods for the phenotypic identification of edible fungi.

Analysis of Mechanical Properties of Welded Joint Metal from TPP Steam Piping after Its Operational Degradation and Hydrogenation.

In this paper, the mechanical properties of various zones of the welded joints of a heat-resistant steel 15Kh1M1F in different states (in the initial state, after an operation on the main steam piping of a thermal power plant (TPP) for 23 years) were determined, and the fracture surfaces were analyzed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images. The effect of hydrogen electrolytic charging on mechanical behavior and fracture mechanism was also studied. The long-term operation of welds resulted in a higher degradation degree of the weld metal compared to the base one, indicated by the deterioration of mechanical properties: decrease in hardness, strength characteristics, and reduction in area, which was accompanied by an atypical increase in elongation at fracture. All studied zones of the operated welded joints were characterized by higher hydrogen content, 2.5-3 times higher than that in the initial state. Additional hydrogen charging of the weld joint metal led to a decrease in the strength and ductility characteristics, more significantly for the operated weld compared with the non-operated one. This justified the possibility of using short-term tests of hydrogenated WM in the air to assess the degree of its damage during operation on a steam piping.

A novel identification approach of mesh reflector based on tie cable tension sensing

The mesh reflector suffers inevitably from complicated environmental interferences during long-term on-orbit operation and consequently the reflector may deviate significantly from its initial state. It is thus crucial to identify the deformed reflector on-orbit in order to evaluate timely the mesh reflector accuracy. However, the existing reflector identification methods are difficult to achieve this object as the most of them need to install additional equipment on antenna or satellite. Aiming at realizing on-orbit mesh reflector identification, a novel identification approach based on tie cable tensions sensing (TCTS) is proposed in the paper. The TCTS method leverages real-time measurements of tie cable tensions through embedded force sensors to calculate the remaining cable tensions required to address reflector deformations. For this purpose, an optimization problem is established based on tension balance equation and then solved using a proposed iteration solution algorithm incorporating the genetic algorithm. The actual configuration of mesh reflector is then determined by all cable tensions according to the force density method and the reflector can be identified ultimately. The simulated studies on reflector identification of a mesh reflector with 8 m aperture diameter are conducted under temperature loads and cable stiffness degradations respectively. The results indicate that the TCTS method possesses high reflector identification accuracy and good anti-noise capability under different environmental interferences. Furthermore, a reflector identification method based on partial tie cable tensions sensing (PTCTS) is developed in order to reducing system complexity and cost. The sensitivity analyses of tie cable tensions are performed in order to provide a reference for location placement of force sensors in the PTCTS method. The simulated results indicate that the optimized location placement scheme can enhance significantly the reflector identification accuracy of PTCTS method. Besides, the PTCTS method exhibits equal anti-noise capability with the TCTS method. Finally, the experimental studies are conducted on reflector identification of a mesh reflector test model with 1.5 m diameter and 0.5 m height under cable stiffness degradations. Through comparing with the reflector identification results obtained by the photogrammetry method under different cable stiffness degradation degrees, the accuracy and effectiveness of the TCTS/PTCTS methods are demonstrated experimentally.

Dual time-scale state-coupled co-estimation of state of charge, state of health and remaining useful life for lithium-ion batteries via Deep Inter and Intra-Cycle Attention Network

The reliable and safe battery operations demand accurate estimation of battery states in the battery management system (BMS). Due to the complex electrochemical process, it is challenging to directly measure SOH and RUL of batteries for online applications. Moreover, the battery aging can strongly influence SOC estimation. The paper proposes a SOC, SOH, and RUL co-estimation method based on Deep Inter and Intra-Cycle Attention Network (DIICAN). From BMS data, the dual time-scale inter-cycle and intra-cycle features are automatically extracted with neural networks. The state degradation attention (SDA) unit is employed to recognize the state evolution pattern and evaluate battery degradation degree based on inter-cycle features. In addition, the extracted inter-cycle and intra-cycle features are simultaneously coupled for the SOC estimation to calibrate the capacity degradation. The mean absolute error (MAE) and root mean square error (RMSE) of the state of health (SOH) estimation are 0.30% and 0.43%, respectively. For the remaining useful life (RUL) estimation, the MAE is 178.5, and the RMSE is 230.3. With state coupling, the MAE of the state of charge (SOC) estimation decreases from 2.36% to 1.00%, and the RMSE decreases from 3.27% to 1.36% over the entire lifespan. In summary, the proposed method can not only accurately co-estimate SOH and RUL, but improve SOC estimation accuracy over the entire battery life.

Implications of tussock degradation for soil properties in Momoge wetland, Northeast China

Carex schmidtii wetland, as a unique landscape in the Momoge National Nature Reserve, has suffered from serious degradation due to climate change and anthropogenic disturbance before 2017 and soil properties of degraded tussock meadows have changed in last 30 years. In the present work, typical (TT), slightly degraded (SLT), severely degraded (SET) and completely degraded (CDT) tussock wetlands based on plant coverage was used to construct the degradation succession so as to study the effects of tussock degradation on soil properties. Soil physicochemical properties, stable isotopes of carbon (δ13C) in plants and soil organic carbon (SOC) were thoroughly investigated in field so as to predict the consequences of tussock degradation. Results showed that soil pH value was decreased with the degree of tussock degradation increased. The SOC, total nitrogen and total phosphorus of SLT had peak values among the four wetlands. The δ13C value in soil and plants demonstrated that the change of SOC during degradation process have no significant relevance with Carex schmidtii. Principal component analysis indicated that the clusters of TT and SLT are different from SET and CDT. Tussock degradation had a significant negative effect on soil properties. The findings can contribute to establishing the evidence for predicting the influences of tussock degradation on soil properties in Momoge wetland.

Experimental Study on the Compressive Strength and Fatigue Life of Cement Concrete under Temperature Differential Cycling

Concrete, as an engineering material with extremely wide applications, is widely used in various infrastructure projects such as bridges, highways, and large buildings. However, structures such as highways and bridges often need to be situated in variable and harsh service environments for long periods. They not only face cyclic reciprocating vehicle loads but also have to contend with the effects of temperature cycling. Therefore, studying the impact and mechanism of temperature differential cycling on the compressive strength and fatigue life of cement concrete has certain theoretical significance and practical value. This study employed a comprehensive experimental design to investigate cement concrete specimens subjected to typical temperature variations (20–60 °C) and different numbers of temperature differential cycling (0, 60, 120, 180, 240, 300). Axial compressive strength tests, ultrasonic tests, and compressive fatigue tests were conducted. The axial compressive strength test measured the compressive strength of the cement concrete. It was found that with an increase in the number of temperature differential cycling, the compressive strength exhibited a trend of an initial increase followed by a decrease: at 60 cycles, the strength increased by 10.8%, gradually declined; returned to near-initial strength at 120 cycles, and continued decreasing, reaching a decline of 19.4% at 300 cycles. The ultrasonic test measured the ultrasound velocity of the concrete specimens after different temperature differential cycling. It revealed a decreasing trend in ultrasound velocity with an increase in times of temperature differential cycling, showing a strong linear relationship between the ultrasound velocity loss and strength loss, confirming the correlation between the degree of concrete strength degradation and internal damage. The compressive fatigue test analyzed the fatigue life variation in cement concrete under different times of temperature differential cycling and stress levels, showing good adherence to the Weibull distribution pattern. Based on the approximation assumptions of log-normal distribution and the Weibull distribution, the Weibull distribution parameters for the compressive fatigue life of cement concrete under temperature differential cycling were obtained.

Effect of Silver willow “Russian olive” (Elaeagnus angustifolia) on extensive sheep management

We carried out a study in the Karcag Research Institute, which affected the areas of narrow-leaved silver willow. In the framework of this research, we performed Balázs's coenology, and thus established the degree of Borhidi degradation, which resulted in the fact that the areas of the silver willow were degraded practically irreversibly, the diversity of the grassland has decreased. We consider it very important to study these grassland areas of silver willows, as they can provide an additional fodder base for sheep grazing, which will also increase the sustainability of the grassland. The obtained soil analysis results show that the soil samples of the silver willow areas are richer in nitrogen (p-value: 0.006) and phosphorus (p-value: 0.003) than the examined control area.

Thermal Aging Characteristics of Silicone Rubber Exposed to Mineral Oil

Room temperature vulcanized (RTV) silicone rubber is extensively utilized as a coating material for power transformer bushings because of its high hydrophobicity and excellent anti-pollution flashover resistance. However, the performance of silicone rubber may suffer significantly when exposed to mineral oil. Till now, literature available on understanding the degradation behavior of silicone rubber exposed to mineral oil at different temperatures is very rare. Therefore, in the present work oil immersion test is performed. RTV silicone rubber was thermally aged in mineral oil at 40°C and 80°C for 200 hours. Post ageing, to examine the changes in the surface properties of the aged specimens 3D microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis, contact angle, proof tracking index (PTI), and shore hardness measurements were made. The results indicate that the degree of surface degradation was proportional to the temperature. Further, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential thermal analysis (DTA), and infrared thermography were employed to evaluate the thermal properties of aged and unaged specimens. TGA-DTA and infrared thermography indicated a remarkable reduction in thermal stability and heat dissipation capability post mineral oil ageing. The effect became more adverse with increasing ageing temperature. Also, ageing resulted in a decrease in alternating current (AC) breakdown voltage and PTI. Finally, all the experimental outcomes were correlated and the degradation dynamics of mineral oil-aged silicone rubber are explained in detail through possible chemical reactions, fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDAX) investigations.

Geospatial model of negative processes of agricultural land as a means of digitalization of the educational and experimental farm

The article discusses the creation of a series of maps of negative processes for the purpose of digitalization of the Educational and Experimental Farm of the Stavropol State Agrarian University when assessing the degree of degradation of agricultural lands. The article is devoted to the problem of studying modern methods for assessing the condition of agricultural lands subject to negative processes. As a result of the research, the main negative processes were established, the degrees of their development and the intensity of their spread were determined. The main task of creating a geospatial model is to determine the current state of agricultural land and the possibility of their further use in agriculture. As a result, the prospects for the economic use of agricultural land were determined based on a comprehensive assessment of the qualitative condition of the land, a geospatial model will identify the dangers of the development of negative processes and a system of practical recommendations for planning the economic use of agricultural land.

ЧИСЛО АКУСТИЧНОЇ КАВІТАЦІЇ ТА ЙОГО ВПЛИВ НА ІНТЕНСИВНІСТЬ ОКИСНЮВАЛЬНОЇ ДЕГРАДАЦІЇ ДІАЗОБАРВНИКА КОНГО ЧЕРВОНОГО

A combination of two periodate activation strategies was proposed for highly efficient and highly intensive oxidative degradation of Congo red diazo dye. It was found that at the average power of the ultrasound generator of 10.2 W, which corresponded to the value of the acoustic cavitation 720, the degradation degree of Congo red using the innovative to 97.2 %, and the rate constant was 9.1·10-3 s-1. An increase in the intensity of the oxidative degradation of Congo red with a decrease in the acoustic cavitation number was revealed. The destruction ultrasound/KIO4/FeSO4 oxidation process was equal

Deterioration law and mechanism of autoclaved aerated concrete under sulfate attack

Autoclaved aerated concrete (AAC) is a lightweight porous material, which is widely used as wall material. However, the performance of AAC under sulfate attack is still unclear. Therefore, this experiment investigated the performance changes of AAC with different bulk densities in sodium sulfate solution. Meanwhile, the influence of B05 grade AAC under erosion by sodium sulfate, magnesium sulfate and ammonium sulfate solutions was studied separately, and the degradation degree of its performance in different concentrations of sodium sulfate solution was analyzed. Mass change, relative dynamic modulus of elasticity (E rd) and compressive strength, mineral phase and micromorphologies were investigated. The results revealed that E rd decreased more obviously with a higher bulk density class, but the variety of the compressive strength was inversed. Moreover, the performances of AAC samples degraded more significantly while they were exposed to sodium sulfate solution. With an increase in sulfate solution concentration, the performance of AAC deteriorated more seriously.

Importance of quality control in sample preparation workflow of forensic degraded samples for massively parallel sequencing (MPS)

Molecular genetic analyzes occupy a significant part of laboratory tests in forensic practice. Pre-prepared commercial kits used for DNA extraction are an excellent choice for samples provided by living people, but in forensic practice, most of the samples that undergo molecular processing are often degraded and may pose a challenge in the laboratory. A special challenge is to provide quality genetic material from post-mortem samples that would be suitable for further analysis with massively parallel sequencing. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the applicability of two silica-based DNA extraction methods for post-mortem blood samples with varying storage time and degrees of degradation, and also, to establish proper quality control in sample preparation workflow for Massively Parallel Sequencing using Ion Torrent GeneStudio™ S5 platform. The study was performed on 48 blood samples with different storage time. Silica-based DNA extraction protocols was applied and quantification was made using Qubit 3.0 fluorimeter, followed by Real-Time PCR quantification. The results indicate high variability between the obtained DNA quantities from post-mortem blood samples with different storage time. Correlation was determined between storage time and sample quantity and quality. The Qiagen Mini Kit &amp;amp; Micro Kit are applicable for DNA extraction from blood samples with various storage periods and degradation levels, which can be used for further NGS analyses after careful quality control and optimization of library preparation conditions.

Comprehensive analysis of the influence of magnetic field gradients on single-beam SERF atomic magnetometer

Magnetic field gradients interfere with the coherence of the atomic ensemble and degrade the performance of the spin-exchange relaxation-free (SERF) atomic magnetometer. In this paper, the influence of magnetic field gradients is incorporated into the response model of single-beam atomic magnetometer, and the theoretical models of transverse relaxation rate, spin polarization and scale factor are established. Based on this model, we find that magnetic field gradients in different directions can cause varying degrees of degradation in the performance parameters of the magnetometer. The magnetic linewidths under different light power and magnetic field gradients are measured using the designed dedicated magnetic field gradients coils, and the spin polarization and magnetic field gradients relaxation rate are obtained through fitting. An unevenness and deviation of the curve are also observed in the experiments, indicating the presence of the magnetic field gradient of approximately 2 nT/cm in the magnetic shields. Furthermore, in a magnetic field gradient environment of 20 nT/cm, the mean of the long-term sensitivity decreased by 3.5 times and the standard deviation increased by 11 times. It shows that the magnetic field gradients will not only affect the signal-to-noise ratio, but also make the magnetometer more vulnerable to external interference when working. The sensitivity and stability of magnetometer will be greatly reduced. The research in this article provides a theoretical and experimental basis for eliminating the influence of magnetic field gradients and improving the accuracy of magnetic field measurements.

Effect of Fe content on physical, tribological and photocatalytical properties of Ti-6Al-xFe alloys for biomedical applications

The aim of the current study is to evaluate the effect of iron content (0, 2, 4, 6 and 10 wt%) on the structural, tribological and photocatalytical properties of a nanostructured ternary alloy Ti-6Al-XFe, prepared by high energy milling. The alloys’ characteristics such as lattice parameters, powder morphologies, surface roughness, relative density/porosity, and microhardness, were evaluated using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), surface profilometry, porosimeter and micro durometer, respectively. The W-H method was utilized to determine the crystallite size. Micro strain was also calculated, which is produced in the lattice due to the diffusion of iron atoms. The photocatalytical characterization was conducted by measuring their absorbance as a function of time using spectrophotometer of visible and ultraviolet light in the wavelength range of 500–800 nm. The tribological characterization was performed using an oscillating tribometer under wet conditions, simulating the human body environment using Phosphate Buffered Saline (PBS) solution with neutral pH 7.4, under different applied loads of 2, 6 and 10 N, respectively. Results showed that the addition of Fe has a significant effect on the structural properties of the developed alloys. The lattice parameter (aα) decreased with increasing Fe content from 2.9493 Å (0 wt% Fe) to 2.9491 Å (10 wt% Fe), while the average grain size increased considerably from 6.965 nm (0 wt% Fe) to 44.42 nm (10 wt% Fe). The wear test results showed that, friction coefficient and wear rate considerably decreased due to the formation of protective films such as TiO2. The photocatalytical characterization showed that, the degradation of methylene blue (MB) increased with increasing Fe content. The Ti-6Al-4Fe -catalyst gave the best degree of degradation of 90.76% within 60 min, which meant that the decolorization process could be operated rapidly at a relatively low cost without UV irradiation.

Effects of crop residue incorporation on soil‐biodegradable mulch film degradation in a broccoli‐sorghum rotation system

AbstractSoil‐biodegradable mulch films are designed to be incorporated into the soil at the end of the crop cycle, to be degraded by soil microorganisms. Despite growing scientific interest, open‐field studies about the fate of these mulch films in soils are rare, with most research conducted in laboratories. We performed an open‐field trial to evaluate the effects of soil incorporation of both a combining a commercial soil‐biodegradable mulch film and broccoli and sorghum crop residues over two cropping seasons. The mulch film was sampled after broccoli harvesting and placed inside mesh bags that were buried horizontally or vertically at different depths. Film biodegradation was assessed by direct (CO2 emissions) and indirect indicators (film mass and area loss). Three experiments were conducted to evaluate (a) how incorporating crop residues affect mulch film degradation; (b) temporal changes of soil microbial activity after the incorporation of crop residues and mulch films; and (c) possible bias in the measurement of soil CO2 emissions due to horizontal vs. vertical mesh bag orientation. Incorporation of crop residues enhanced mulch film degradation and increased the soil esterase activity. However, abundance of soil fungi and bacteria in bulk soil was not increased by mulch film presence. Mesh bag orientation did not alter the soil CO2 efflux or affect the degradation degree of mulch films. Film in mesh bags buried at 10–15 cm depth showed greater degradation than those buried at 0–5 cm. Further in‐field studies are necessary to evaluate the effects of soil incorporation of residue from different crops and impacts of other associated management practices such as various soil tillage regimes.

Comprehensive assessment of degradation and methods of phytomelioration of low-yielding soils of the Volga region

In the Volgograd Region, more than 3.9 million hectares of agricultural land, including 2.1 million hectares of arable land (36%), and 1.8 million hectares of hayfields and pastures (64%), are subject to degradation and desertification to one degree or another. The article presents the results of a survey of the Trans-Volga region, by the percentage ratio of areas of low-yielding soils subject to degrading factors and calculations of a complex indicator of soil Dр. It was found that the low-productive lands of the Bykovsky district are subject to a moderate level of degradation (Dp = 0.94). An increased level of soil degradation was noted in the Mykolaiv and Staropoltavsky districts with a Dp equal to 0.91 and 0.89. A high level of degradation was detected in the Leninsky, Pallasovsky and Sredneakhtubinsky districts with Dp equal to 0.87, 0.86 and 0.83, respectively. In areas with a moderate level of degradation, a set of measures with superficial improvement is proposed. With an increased and high level of degradation, it is proposed to use root and surface improvement with the use of drought-resistant and halophytic vegetation. The results of calculations of the complex, indicator of the degree of degradation of low-yielding lands of the Volga region and the proposed methods of phytomelioration are the basis for making tactical decisions to reduce the impact of degradation factors on the soil.