Ha Of Agricultural Land Research Articles

Application of Unmanned Aerial Systems in Crop Production as an Aspect of Digitalization of the Agro-Industrial Complex

In this article the authors provide an economic assessment of the technology of using unmanned aircraft systems in digital agriculture and justify the optimal requirements for its main technological parameters. As a measure of comparative evaluation of various options for implementing the system, an estimate of the cost of performing the technological process of using pesticides, fertilizers and other agrochemicals in conditional price units is proposed. A multi-factor experiment was carried out and variants of a mathematical model describing the relationship between agrotechnological factors and the final resultant, expressed in the conditional cost of processing 1 Ha of agricultural land, were obtained. The optimal values of the parameters are obtained for various variants of fixing factors at the specified levels. The influence of the most significant agrotechnological factors on the cost of the technological process of using pesticides, fertilizers and other agrochemicals is shown. The values of factors that should be used in the development of new types of unmanned aerial vehicles to ensure their maximum demand in agriculture and economic efficiency are proposed.

PENGARUH KUALITAS KOMPOS PAITAN (Tithonia diversifolia) DAN KOTORAN SAPI TERHADAP HASIL DAN BINTIL AKAR TANAMAN KEDELAI (Glycine max. L.) PADA ALFISOL

Indonesia has around 82% of the total 58 million ha of agricultural land, which is classified as sub-optimal due to intensive land management and not concerned with soil fertility. Therefore, it is necessary to add organic material which is expected to increase soil fertility. Compost is an organic soil repairer that can reduce the use of chemical fertilizers so that it can increase yield and plant root nodules are largely determined by the quality parameters contained therein. This study was aimed to explore the effect of quality of paitan (Tithonia diversifolia) compost and cow dung on soybean (Glycine max. L.) yield and root nodules. This study was conducted using a randomized block design with two stages, i.e., compost making with five treatments and three replications and compost application with six treatments and three replications. The results showed that the quality of the compost was able to increase the yield and nodules of soybean n plants. There was a positive correlation between compost quality and soybean yield.

Diverging hydrological drought traits over Europe with global warming

Abstract. Climate change is anticipated to alter the demand and supply of water at the earth's surface. Since many societal impacts from a lack of water happen under drought conditions, it is important to understand how droughts may develop with climate change. This study shows how hydrological droughts will change across Europe with increasing global warming levels (GWLs of 1.5, 2, and 3 K above pre-industrial temperature). We employed a low-flow analysis based on river discharge simulations of the LISFLOOD (De Roo et al., 2000) spatially distributed physically based hydrological and water use model, which was forced with a large ensemble of regional climate model projections under high emissions (RCP8.5) and moderate mitigation (RCP4.5) Representative Concentration Pathways. Different traits of drought, including severity, duration, and frequency, were investigated using the threshold level method. The projected changes in these traits identify four main sub-regions in Europe that are characterized by somehow homogeneous and distinct behaviours with a clear south-west–north-east contrast. The Mediterranean and Boreal sub-regions (defined in Sect. 3.1.1) of Europe show strong but opposite changes at all three GWLs, with the former area mostly characterized by stronger droughts (with larger differences at 3 K), while the latter is expected to experience a reduction in all drought traits. In the Atlantic and Continental sub-regions, the changes are expected to be less marked and characterized by a larger uncertainty, especially at the 1.5 and 2 K GWLs. Combining the projections in drought hazard with population and agricultural information shows that with 3 K global warming an additional 11 million people and 4.5 ×106 ha of agricultural land are projected to be exposed to droughts every year, on average, with the most affected areas located in the Mediterranean and Atlantic regions of Europe.

REGIONAL DIVERSIFICATION OF INVESTMENT OUTLAYS AND LABOUR PROFITABILITY IN AGRICULTURE IN POLAND

The main purpose of the study was to assess changes in labour profitability against changes in the level of investment outlays in Poland in a regional approach. Empirical material consists of statistical data from the Central Statistical Office for the years 2000-2017. The following diagnostic variables were used for the analysis: (1) characterizing the profitability of the labour factor – gross value added in agriculture per one agricultural employee; (2) characterizing the investment activity of farmers – the value of investment outlays in agriculture per one employee in agriculture, the value of investment outlays in agriculture per 1 ha of agricultural land, the value of investment outlays in agriculture in relation to the value of gross fixed assets in agriculture, the value of investment outlays in agriculture in relation to gross value added in agriculture. On the basis of a set of diagnostic features describing the investment activity of farmers, a classification of voivodships was carried out using cluster analysis using Ward’s method, and a statistical evaluation of the relationship between the investment activity of farmers and the profitability of labour was performed. There has been a significant diversification of farmers’ investment activity and labour profitability in terms of regions. It was found that the level of investment outlays is a crucial factor in the process of improving the efficiency of the use of the labour factor. A level of investments that is loo low does not allow for favourable structural changes and for modernization and restructuring of agriculture to take place.

Support of Internal Transport Optimization in Farms with the Use of Spatial Information Systems

Abstract Excessive distribution of holdings is one of the most important barriers which causes that in a great part of Poland rational use of farms in impossible. This problem particularly concerns the south and east region of the country. Correct spatial distribution of lands belonging to holdings is one of the most crucial factors that enable an economically profitable activity of these farms. The aim of the paper was verification of the applicability of the prepared spatial data base, farm-land configuration of agricultural plots of the selected agricultural farms to indicate the areas of optimization of the internal transport. As a result, based on the developed spatial data base, an impact of the land configuration of agricultural plots in the investigated group of agricultural producers on organization of the field transport between the holding and agricultural plots was determined. The scope of the paper covered a vegetable producer group, which associates 5 farms that have in total 620 ha of agricultural land.

Assessment of urban land expansion using remote sensing and GIS: A case of Shiraz city, Iran

Urbanization and urban development is undoubtedly one of the most crucial aspects of modern civilization, causing various changes in the environment. Shiraz an area identified for rapid urban growth is less explored in the matter of study. In this context, this study presents a combined approach of remote sensing and GIS techniques for monitoring land use changes of Shiraz city in Fars Province, Iran. Firstly, various satellite images, including MSS 1982, TM 1996, ETM 2006, and OLI 2018 based on five classes, namely agriculture, urban areas, bare land, tree cover and street were classified. For classify the remote-sensing data maximum likelihood algorithm was used. Then, digital topographic maps 1:50000 of Geographic Organization of the Armed Forces and Mapping Organization were used as ancillary data for interpreting the images, also for geometric correction of the images. In the final phase of the study, the extent and status of changes in each application were determined, and the trends of changes were investigated. The results indicate a significant change in land use in regard to expansion of an urban area from 17.30% (1982) to 46.40% (2006) and 47.8% (2018) by encroaching into agricultural and bare lands. Over this period, urban area has expanded by 624 Ha per year on the average while this increase has been 238 Ha per year for the period 1996-2006. Moreover, during the first period, 198 Ha of agricultural land has been degraded annually while this rate was 14 and 19 Ha for the second and third periods, respectively, showing, increasing and declining trends in cover and application of the land over the three periods within the study area. The results of this research can be utilized as essential data to strengthen the effectiveness of the later urban planning of Shiraz City.

Investments in Polish Agriculture: How Production Factors Shape Conditions for Environmental Protection?

In recent years, social and economic goals have been preferable compared to environmental issues. However, global problems with the environment, increasing pollution, and gas heating emissions have made environmental issues a major priority. Suddenly, human beings have realized that environmental investments are needed to maintain better world conditions for future generations. This article investigates the development of agricultural investment in the context of production factors in Polish voivodeships in the years 2000–2018. Farmers have to choose between investing and developing production or being more environmentally friendly and invest on a smaller scale or transform their farms into organic production. Moreover, the investment in environmental protection in Poland was analyzed. Investment outlays on fixed assets for environmental protection and outlays on fixed assets for water management were investigated. The level of investment has changed since Poland joined the EU. With membership, Poland gained access to new markets and technology. Particular attention has been focused on production factors (land, capital, and the work force). We have conducted as a proxy regular regression analysis and after panel regression to measure the impact of the chosen factors on explained variables: investment outlays in agriculture, and investment outlays per 1 ha of agricultural land. We have used correlation analysis to examine the relations between explanatory variables and total gross investment in agriculture and total investment outlays in agriculture per 1 ha of agricultural land, outlays on fixed assets for environmental protection, and outlays on fixed assets for water management. Our analysis confirms that explanatory variables are important in shaping total investment outlays in agriculture and total investment outlays per 1 ha of agricultural land.

Agricultural production and flood control dry detention reservoirs: Example from Lower Savinja Valley, Slovenia

Dry detention reservoirs are frequently used as a measure to alleviate flood risk. When implemented on agricultural land, they decrease the productive capacity of a rural landscape and negatively impact soil characteristics, crop quality and quantity, agricultural infrastructure (i.e., irrigation equipment), and agro-economics. The Slovenian government prepared a Detailed Plan of National Importance to ensure flood safety in the Lower Savinja Valley. The proposed plan foresees the implementation of a chain of 10 dry reservoirs (520 ha of agricultural land) to provide a higher level of flood protection for the cities of Celje and Laško. We explored how economic calculation can adequately address flood risk management initiatives and prevent adverse effects on high-quality agricultural land. The results of agro-economic scenarios for the study area showed that expected damage to agriculture production (crop yield) in a worst-case flood event occurring during the growing period would be EUR 1.7 million. The most exposed farms would suffer damage in the range of three to five average annual salaries. These agro-economic findings indicate the need for discussion on agriculture-focused mitigation measures before the construction of flood protection measures.

Regional Structure of Tractor Market in Poland

Abstract There are ca 1,492 thousand tractors currently used in Poland, with the average power of 45.3 kW. There are 9.8 ha of agricultural land per one tractor, their average age is ca 25 years and the degree of wear 77%. There are between 20 to 30 thousand tractors newly registered per year, however, these are both new and used tractors imported from abroad. These new registrations, which also reflect new purchases, are diverse depending on the region. Based on the 2018 records of the Central Register of Vehicles and Drivers (CEPiK), the paper establishes essential parameters of the registered tractors, such as price, power, age, depending on the region. There were 25,422 records under analysis, as some of the original records were dismissed as errors after verification. It was established that in the western part of Poland, with farms twice or three times bigger than in the rest of the country, the purchased tractors were characterized by higher power and lower age and, consequently, higher prices (81-95 kW, 14-18 years, PLN168-186 thousands). In contrast, the tractors in south-east Poland, where the dominant farms are of agricultural land below 10 ha, had worse parameters (76-86 kW, 14-18 years, PLN76-86 thousands).

Could the recycled yarns substitute for the virgin cotton yarns: a comparative LCA

Cotton yarns spun from natural fibers are widely used in the apparel industry. Most of waste cotton goods are now disposed by incineration or landfill, which brings resource and environmental challenges to the society. Using the waste cotton to spin yarns is an alternative way to forward a more sustainable future. In this research, two scenarios for the environmental impacts of yarns spun from corresponding fibers are investigated, including recycled cotton fibers and virgin cotton fibers. The life cycle assessment (LCA) has been conducted according to the collected data from on-site investigation of typical production factories. The life cycle for the recycled cotton yarn production is divided into five stages, i.e., raw material acquisition, transportation, breaking, mixing, and spinning. The life cycle of virgin cotton yarn production is been divided into four stages, i.e., raw material acquisition, transportation, mixing, and spinning. The functional unit is 1000 kg produced yarns which are used for weaving into the fabrics. Notable impacts on climate change, fossil depletion, water depletion, and human toxicity were observed. The life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) results show that environmental impacts of recycled cotton yarns are far less than those of virgin cotton yarns, except for climate change and water depletion. The reason is that the land occupation and irrigation water have great impact on environmental impacts of cotton cultivation. In spinning, the electricity is the key factor whose environmental impacts account for the most in the virgin cotton yarn scenario, while the electricity and water consumptions are the key factors for the recycled cotton yarn scenario in the life cycle of yarn production. The sensitivity analysis indicates that improving energy efficiency can significantly reduce environmental burdens for both the two scenarios. The uncertainty distribution of water depletion, human toxicity, fossil depletion, and climate change of the two scenarios were determined with a 90% confidence interval. The LCIA results reveal recycled cotton yarn is a viable alternative to relieve resource and environmental pressure. About 0.5 ha of agricultural land can be saved, 6600 kg CO2 eq can be reduced, and 2783 m3 irrigation water can be saved by using 1000 kg of the recycled cotton yarns. It can be concluded that the recycled cotton fibers can be served as a substitute for virgin cotton fibers to reduce agricultural land and avoid environmental impacts generated from the cotton planting.

Development of a non-coupled algorithm for simulating long-term sedimentation in the Zonouz dam reservoir, Iran

This paper reports the development of a non-coupled algorithm and its application in a real case study. The main objective was to provide 2D/3D, long-term simulation of dam reservoir sedimentation by removing the part of calculations which did not significantly affect the results. The model was used to simulate sedimentation in the Zonouz dam reservoir, Iran, over a 30-year period. The non-coupled algorithm couples the flow, sediment transport, and bed modules, solving the depth-averaged Navier-Stokes equations for the flow module, the 3D equation of sediment mass conservation for the sediment module, and the Exner equation to calculate the bed deformations. This algorithm minimizes the computational costs by optimizing the frequency of interactions between the modules, based on the validity of the quasi-steady-state approximation for the flow and sediment modules. The algorithm is developed using the continuity correction to account for the impacts of time and space lags, and adjust the flow parameters after small changes in the bed level. Due to the highly varying water surface elevations and sloping bed in the reservoir, flooding and drying phenomena may occur. Therefore, some artificial resistance was introduced. The Zonouz dam, located on the Zonouzchay River, supplies water to 950 ha of agricultural land, and has other environmental purposes. The predominant sediment type was suspended sediment. The reservoir surface was discretized by a 91 × 80 grid. The number of layers in the z-direction was eight, with different thicknesses. The reservoir was hydrographically surveyed in 2012 and 2016, and the numerical results were verified accordingly. The “quasi-steady time step” and the “updating time step” were equal to 1 day and 8 h, respectively. For flood days, a 3-h updating time step was used. The criterion for determining the steady-state condition was 2%. The simulation indicated that the sediment deposition in the reservoir area was mostly accumulated at the inlet of the reservoir. The predicted value of the total cumulative volume of the deposited sediment in 2042 was approximately about 1.0 Mm3. The present study demonstrated the appreciable accuracy and efficiency of the non-coupled algorithm. This algorithm shortened the simulation time and proved that the 3D sediment model is applicable in long-term modeling.

Importance of drive-row vegetation for soil carbon storage in woody perennial crops: A regional study

Increasing the carbon (C) content of agricultural soils can help mitigate rising atmospheric CO2 concentrations, improve soil health and increase crop yield. Unlike annual cropping systems, soils planted to perennial woody crops, such as vineyards and orchards, are left undisturbed for many years making them particularly amenable to soil C storage. Here, we used a regional sampling campaign of over 80 commercially-managed sites across the Okanagan Valley, in the southern interior of British Columbia, Canada, to examine the spatial distribution of soil C under irrigated perennial woody crops. Using this living lab approach, we collected soils from the crop and drive rows of apple and cherry orchards, and vineyards subjected to a wide range of real-life management regimes (e.g., for weed and pest control, fertilizer application, etc.). Sites were selected with soils belonging to five surficial deposit classes, representing 40% of the mapped agricultural land area. Soil C was spatially heterogeneous across all the sites, with the surface soil (0–15 cm) of drive rows containing more C than the soil in adjacent crop rows. Clear differences emerged among cropping systems, despite the variation in management practices applied by individual growers. Drip-irrigated apple orchards showed the greatest spatial heterogeneity, with C concentrations of 2.9% in the drive row and 1.8% in the crop row, while vineyard and cherry orchard soils showed the least, with differences between crop and drive rows of approximately 0.3%. Higher C concentrations in the drive rows appeared to be the result of recently assimilated/less processed litter and fine root C inputs from the shallow-rooted understory vegetation. This was confirmed using stable isotope analysis: drive row soil C was significantly 13C depleted compared to the crop row soil, to a depth of 30 cm. Overall, cherry orchards contained the most C (70 Mg C ha−1 to a depth of 30 cm), vineyards the least (48 Mg C ha−1), and apple orchards were intermediate (66 Mg C ha−1). A recent land-use survey in 2015 determined that 8501 ha of agricultural land in the Okanagan Valley was planted to apples, cherries or grapes, and that large shifts in crop land area have occurred since the previous survey, conducted in 2006. We estimate that apple orchards currently hold approximately 199 Gg C, vineyards 188 Gg C and cherry orchards 110 Gg C. Marked differences in soil C storage between the cropping systems, despite the fact some were less than 10 years old, suggests that soils in this region are responsive to changes in crop and associated management practices over relatively short time periods. We conclude that the drive rows of vineyards offer the greatest scope for increased soil C storage among woody perennial horticultural cropping systems in the Okanagan Valley but that ‘long-term’ soil carbon storage may not be possible in these soils.

Changes in agrarian structure in the EU during the period 2010-2016 in terms of typological groups of countries

The paper presents the changes in the spatial structure of agricultural holdings in the European Union between 2010 and 2016 from the perspective of typological groups of countries. The research was conducted based on Eurostat data. The holdings were divided into the following groups: up to 5 ha of agricultural land (AL), 5–20 ha, 20–50 ha, and over 50 ha. Based on the fuzzy classification method, 4 typological groups of countries with a similar spatial structure of holdings were distinguished. The intergroup diversity is high. The dynamics of changes in the number of holdings in particular countries per typological group was presented. A downward trend in the total number of holdings and smallholdings was observed, in particular in countries characterised by a fragmented structure of holdings. In these countries, an upward trend in the number of holdings of 20–50 ha and over 50 ha was noted. Between 2010 and 2016, the structure and composition of typological groups changed. There were also slight changes (in different directions) in the structural distance between the groups.

Remote sensing-based detection of agricultural land losses around Greater Cairo since the Egyptian revolution of 2011

Over the last four decades, the loss of agricultural land has been observed in Egypt at high rates. However, the highest rates of losses have occurred since the January 25th revolution in 2011. Greater Cairo (GC), which is the largest metropolitan in Egypt, has witnessed a massive loss of agricultural land since the 2011 revolution. However, until now, no study or official report has revealed the volume of agricultural land losses in this region. This study quantifies agricultural land losses around the GC using Landsat satellite images from 2010 and 2018. Supervised classification was performed using the maximum likelihood algorithm in QGIS software. A post-classification comparison method was applied to detect the land use/land cover changes between the classified images; then, the loss of agricultural land was quantified using Arc GIS software. Visualizations of the gains and losses in agricultural land and the spatial trends of agricultural land losses were created using TerrSet software. The results show that 9600 ha of agricultural land were converted to urban use during 2010–2018, which means that the annual rate of agricultural land loss has tripled and now reaches approximately 1200 ha per year. Decay of executive authority, rapid population growth, real estate market speculation and fragmentation of agricultural land were the main driving factors of agricultural land losses during this period. The results of this research may help decision makers understand the current high rate of agricultural land loss. Hence, appropriate strategies may be adopted to prevent future losses of this valuable land.

Evaporation rates in a vital lake: a 34-year assessment for the Karaoun Lake

ABSTRACT The evaporation of water is an indispensable process in the earth water cycle. While high rates of evaporation made access to water resources harsher and costlier, monitoring the spatial and temporal variability of the evaporation rates, particularly in an open lake, is critical. Such information would enable to establish adequate management plans focusing on the sustainable use of available water resources. In this research, a vital lake in Lebanon, namely Karaoun or Qaraoun, was investigated. The importance of such reservoir lies in providing, solely, the required water for more than 500 000 households and 19 000 ha of agricultural lands. The evaporation rates were evaluated, both spatially and temporally, between 1985 and 2018 using the widely acknowledged Mapping EvapoTranspiration at high Resolution with Internalized Calibration (METRIC) system. This latter is based on 30 m. Landsat 4, 5, 7 and 8 satellite images. Main results emphasize the evaporation rates increase over the lake, particularly noticed since 2005. Between 1985 and 2018, the annual mean evaporation rate was 2.24 mm day−1. More precisely, the annual mean evaporation rate has nearly doubled between 1985–1989 and 2014–2018 periods (i.e. 1.87 vs. 3.12 mm day−1). Mann-Kendall test and Sen’s Slope estimates were produced to check the significance of the observed trends as well as to investigate the main driving factors behind this increase. Main causes were divided into natural (i.e. significant increase at α = 0.001 for temperatures and at α = 0.05 for solar radiations) and anthropogenic (i.e. deteriorating water quality) related factors. The most probable future scenario would highlight a fearful increase of 1°C in the next decade and an evaporation rate multiplied one and half times by 2038. These findings should help local management authority to mitigate water quality and turbidity effects, as well as to accurately estimate the water budget in an open-water lake. The concerned government should also benefit from these results to draw clear policies on how to conserve water resources with an increasing global warming trend. Such study could be portable to other regions where evaporation-related datasets are missing.

Soil Material Quality and Environmental Potential of Metallically Contaminated Soils

The paper presents the results of the evaluation of the environmental potential of soils in the area affected by the long-term mining activity. The environmental potential index consists of a numerical expression of the ability to provide water storage, immobilization of risk elements, and immobilization and transformation of organic pollutants. The exceedance of the limit values Hg, Cu, Zn, As, Cd and Pb was found in the soils of the investigated area of central Spiš. The rate of soil immobilization of risk elements is very low to high. The point value expressing the ability of agricultural lands to provide environmental functions is very low to medium in the studied areas, the financial expression of the values of the environmental potentials indexes is in the range of 7 100 to 14 000 € ha-1, while the average value of 1 ha of agricultural land in Slovakia is about 14 200 €.

The current situation and future perspectives of Quercus ilex and Pinus halepensis afforestation on agricultural land in Spain under climate change scenarios

Between 1994 and 2017, 137,455 ha of agricultural land were afforested in Andalusia (Spain), using a great diversity of tree species, under the Common Agricultural Policy scheme. Quercus ilex and Pinus halepensis were the most used species. In view of the need to know the spatial distribution of survival according to the potential species habitat, the current survival was assessed under current and foreseeable future climate change scenarios, using ensemble species distribution models (SDMs). Predicted potential distributions together with 2009 survival data were used to predict the distribution of the survival rate of the two species. The set modelling approach gave very accurate results for the current potential distribution of Q. ilex (AUCtrain = 0.908, TSS = 0.647, Kappa = 0.647) and P. halepensis (AUCtrain = 0.983, TSS = 0869, Kappa = 0.868) and moderately accurate estimates of the distribution of the survival rate of Q. ilex and P. halepensis (RMSE = 0.23). It was found that 25–38% of the Q. ilex and P. halepensis plantations planted between 1993 and 2000 were established in the optimal area of occurrence (probability of occurrence > 70%), but only 12.3% (Q. ilex) and 22.9% (P. halepensis) presented simultaneously an acceptable survival rate (> 50%). In addition, the volume of the environmental space defined by Q. ilex decreased, while that defined by P. halepensis remained constant in future projections under climate change. The potential of SDMs to predict the survival rate distribution of Q. ilex and P. halepensis and to assess the future stability for each of these species has been confirmed. In the worst case, ~ 5% of Q. ilex and ~ 33% of P. halepensis of planted surface would withstand climate change.

Land Degradation of the Republic of Kalmykia: Problems and Reclamation Methods

The Republic of Kalmykia is located in the European part of the arid belt of the Russian Federation, in which the desertification of a significant part (up to 80%) of its territory is a serious environmental and socioeconomic problem. Thus, of the 6 264 000 ha of agricultural land, 77.9% are subject to various types of degradation, of which 93 960 ha are waterlogged, 526 180 ha are eroded, 1 753 920 ha are deflated, and 2 505 600 ha are saline. The highest deflationary degradation indices are observed in the southeastern regions of Kalmykia (DId 31.7–71.1 points), which is due to natural (increased aridity of the climate) and anthropogenic (excessive pasture load) factors. A conceptual model that reflects the mechanism of reclamation impact on degradation processes occurring on agricultural land under the influence of natural and anthropogenic factors has been developed. An agrobiological method for the phytomelioration of degraded lands on open sand massifs is proposed, including the planting of Calligonum aphyllum (Pall.) Gurke, Leymus racemosus Lam. Tzvel. Bassia prostrata (L.) A.J. Scott, Krascheninnikovia ceratoides (L.) Gueldenst., and Agropyron sibiricum (Willd.) P. Beav. Complexes of land reclamation measures that are differentiated for various categories of agricultural land have been developed to ensure the creation of optimal conditions to increase the natural resource potential of arid ecosystems and to prevent the desertification of the territories, to level the complexity of the soil cover, and to reduce the natural and anthropogenic salinity, salinity, and the risk of other negative processes.

Scientific Validity of Approaches to Solving a Number of Agricultural Problems in Azerbaijan

Annotation: The Republic of Azerbaijan, which translates into a physically-geographical area, a way to the eastern part of the Caucasus, where the Big and Small Caucasus, Tallinn Region, Kurinskaya oblast and Nakhichevan. The Republic is 86.6 this. Per km2 or 40% of the landfill make up the oil, 60% of the landfill, and snow. He small Caucasus and its lowlands, the complex geographical location of Azerbaijan's historic lands, have been inhabited for thousands of years and have been used extensively in agriculture and livestock. The complexity of the natural conditions here and the ineffective activities of people have led to increased anthropogenic pressures and exogenous processes, which have led to catastrophic erosion processes that have developed and developed. The results of the soil-erosion study conducted in the occupied territories of the region (2004-2012) show that all types of erosion, including surface, linear, silt, grass, as a result of the complex geological and geomorphological situation of the Karabakh region and the combined impact of anthropogenic pressure. Wind and military erosion have developed in a wide range and are measured by the following average statistics. Goranboy-40.9%; Tartar - 45.0%; Aghdam - 31.3%; Barda - 23.2%, Yevlakh - 26.4%; Kelbajar - 52.4%; Beylagan - 19.8%; Aghjabadi - 15.7%; Fizuli - 45.7%; Gabriel - 63.3%; Zinc - 57.7%; Qubatly - 44.0%; Lachin - 48.0%; Serum-20.9%; Upper Karabakh - 37.0%, which means that 884,000 ha of agricultural land is in danger of being out of crop rotation.

Identification of the features of the regions that are most preferable for the use of precision farming technologies in agricultural production

As the main hypothesis, it is suggested that the existing unevenness in the number of precision farming elements used in agriculture in the subjects of the Russian Federation is related to regional characteristics and specific features of the agricultural sector of the regional economy. The purpose of the study is to identify the geographical features of the regions that are most preferable for the use of precision farming technology in agricultural production. Mathematical modeling uses data from 20 subjects of the Russian Federation on the dynamics of the introduction and use of precision farming elements and the characteristics of these regions for 14 different indicators that can in one way or another affect the introduction of these technologies. Multiple correlation was obtained using 5 characteristics of regions (the correlation coefficient was r=0.89±0.1). At the same time, two indicators (the change in the level of registered unemployment and the amount of subsidies per 1 ha of agricultural land) were inversely dependent on the result of the introduction of precision farming elements. The selected indicators determined the intensity of introduction of precision farming elements in the regions by almost 80% (the coefficient of determination was D=0.798). The identification of these features and the construction of an appropriate model allows to predict the most preferred regions for the use of precision farming elements in agricultural production based on the generalization of existing experience.