Part Of Slope Research Articles

Colonial Roots of Environmental Degradation of the Elgeyo Escarpment and the Search for Livelihoods

The Keiyo who inhabits and occupy the southern part of the Elgeyo escarpment are the subject of this study. Before the 1970s, the escarpment was carpeted with lush, semi-tropical vegetation. But due to factors associated with human activities, a large part of the mountainous slopes has been destroyed together with its ecosystems. It is a study in historical context that traces the demographic profile of the Keiyo and the economic challenges that they have faced in search of livelihoods. The study is about understanding the relationship between history, environmental degradation and peasant livelihoods. The theoretical starting point is provided by Kirk’s environmental perception mode and studies on human behavioural characteristics. The Keiyo are culpable of reckless destruction of their ecosystem with devastating consequences of death, deluge and destruction. Landslides that have become a common occurrence began from the 1980s. This has been blamed on wanton tree cutting for charcoal and the use of fire to clear land for the cultivation of maize.

Seepage Characteristics of Agricultural Reservoir Embankment Based on Installation of Overtopping Prevention Structures

In this study, a structure that can effectively prevent overtopping caused by abnormal rainfall was installed in a deteriorative agricultural reservoir, and seepage characteristics were compared and analyzed through model experiments and numerical analysis. The experimental conditions were observed by installing a stepped gabion, vertical gabion, and parapet in combination with a gabion retaining wall, geomembrane, and core on the dam crest. Small horizontal and vertical displacements without defects were found, such as overturning and failure, to effectively prevent overtopping. A comparison of seepage line and pore water pressure results indicates that the seepage water drained smoothly to the toe drain through the filter from the upstream slope. It was perceived that the concentration of seepage water on the upper part of the dam crest might cause leakage to the upper part of the downstream slope and affect the stability of the overtopping prevention structures. The distribution of the hydraulic gradient was found to be stable in all cases on the downstream slope. The upper part of the downstream slope could be vulnerable to leakage, so careful management is required when constructing the geomembrane. Overall, among the three overtopping prevention structures applied, a stepped gabion retaining wall did not cause such problems as overturning and leakage. Therefore, it is considered better than the other types of overtopping prevention structure.

Experimental Investigation of Polymer-Induced Fouling of Heater Tubes in the First-Ever Polymer Flood on Alaska North Slope Part II

Summary A polymer flood pilot has been ongoing in the Schrader Bluff viscous oil reservoir at Milne Point on the Alaska North Slope. The results from the pilot are encouraging. However, a major concern of the operator is the influence of polymer on the production system after breakthrough, especially the fouling in heat exchangers. This work applies a multiexperimental approach to study the severity of polymer-induced fouling in both dynamic and static states of produced fluids to determine safe operating conditions. Dynamic scale loop (DSL) tests were conducted to study fouling due to polymer at different skin temperatures (165–350°F) in a dynamic state of fluid flow where the fluids’ flow mimics the residence time of fluids in the heat exchanger of the field pilot. Static deposit tests were also conducted at similar skin temperatures of 165–250°F using a novel experimental apparatus designed and built in-house. It was found that at higher skin temperatures of 250–350°F, tube blocking was observed in the DSL tests, whereas the tests at 165–200°F did not show any tube blocking, even in a more extended test period. The deposit test showed that the deposit rate generally increases with skin temperature, and the presence of polymer aggravates the fouling. The copper tube performs best when the skin temperatures are 165–200°F, while the stainless steel tube performs best at a skin temperature of 250°F. These experiments also manifested the influence of the cloudpoint of the solution as the deposit rate increased significantly when the skin temperature was higher than the solution cloudpoint. The study provides a source of practical guidance to the field operations.

Habitat characteristics of <i>Shortia uniflora</i> as a local resource plant with the flower landscape in Tomiyama-funato district, Nakagawa Town, Tochigi Prefecture.

This study examined the habitat characteristics of Shortia uniflora, which is one of the main attractors of flower tourism in hilly and mountainous areas. Due to the distribution and vegetation surveys around the open flowering site, nine colonies with areas of 300–700 m2 and some above 1000 m2 were found in addition to seven colonies with an areas of 50–200 m2. The results revealed that S. uniflora prefers steep, upper parts of the north-facing slope and avoids the cedar forest with many litters. The communities were also commonly distributed within evergreen cypress forests, which were deciduous broadleaf forests 70 years ago, in 1950. Regardless of the type of forest canopy (cypress forest, including the open flowering site, and deciduous broad-leaved forest), the floristic composition was dominated by common species. This species is shade-tolerant and has continued to grow in the forest even after the conversion to cypress forest. The area of the community in the open flowering site was 8,000 m2, and the community size was much larger than other surrounding communities. The extremely large size of the community is a result of the continuous appropriate forest floor management according to the habitat characteristics, and the flowering landscape was evaluated as a local resource based on the ecological and sociological area-context.

A study on the entrepreneurial orientation of the 65-villagers in a part of slope of mountain Arjuno East Java Indonesia

Our interest is to explore such a characteristic of the villagers who live in a part of the slope of Mountain Arjuno, located in the East Java Province of Indonesia, before their existing entrepreneurial orientation. Using question-naires -developed based on (Miller, 1983) definition about entrepreneurial orientation-, spread to the villagers there and their analysis, it was found that their entrepreneurial orientation E.O. following equation as - 0.003 + 0.334 innovativeness I + 0.334 proactiveness P + 0.333 risk-taking R.

WATER SOIL EROSION IN RIGHT-BANK UKRAINIAN FOREST-STEPPE ZONE

Problem Statement and Purpose. A water soil erosion is one of the most important ecological problems of the world because in the result of it the soil cover completely destroys and is not able to renew for a long time. In opinion of dr. Montgomery D., the loses of agricultural soils even limited the lifetime of ancient civilizations and the same problem closely touches today human being. Following to the information of scientists in 1970-s, about 430 million ha of lands were destroyed in different countries because of water soil erosion. Annual loses of product lands on our planet equal 5–7 million ha. In Ukraine at the end of first decade of 2000s following to National report (2010) the square of eroded agricultural lands equaled 15.954 million ha or 38.4 per cent of their common territory including 12.940 million ha of arable lands or 39.9 per cent. On average the soil loses about approximately 15 t/ha/year. Thereby the purpose of the study is a spatial distributed quantitative assessment of the intensity of erosion soil loses in the right-bank forest-steppe zone of Ukraine and definition of arable squares with different rates of erosion load considering present climate changes and land use peculiarities. Data &Methods. For the estimation of average soil wash off three typical slope plots (К1-р, К2-р, К3-р) were used. The plots are situated within the territory of Educational and Scientific Stationary of the Odesa I. I. Mechnikov National University that is in Podilsk district of the north part of Odesa region. This territory is on south hills of Podolska upland in forest-steppe zone. The plots are the different parts of small valleys slopes which are annual plowed up and used for growing of the most profit-making crops – wheat, corn, barley and sunflower. No any scientifically based crop rotation uses there at least for the last twenty years. The spatial distributed physical and statistical model of soil wash off and accumulation was used as a working model for the estimation of average annual soil loses consideringthe peculiarities of land cultivation and anti-erosion crops properties. The model was developed in Department of Physical geography, Nature Management and Geoinformation Technology of Odesa I. I. Mechnikov National University and realized in GIS‑package PCRaster (Utrecht University, Netherlands). Results. The quantitative assessment of today erosion soil loses on typical plots considering land use demonstrates very high rate of soil erosion degradation which is obviously representative for the most territories of the right-bank forest-steppe zone of Ukraine. Areas of more than 20 t/ha/year wash off equal 23–27 per cent. Areas of less than 2 t/ha/year wash off where the intensity of soil erosion equals to soil restoration are about one third of all arable lands. The average values of wash off for plots К1-р, К2-р, К3-р are 14.2; 26.3 and 14.8 t/ha/year respectively. However, these values are not above the same ones obtained earlier, but even some less. This is due to the decreasing of soil erosion because of snow melting in the spring which is connected with global warming. But simultaneously the hydrometeorological conditions of rainstorm erosion have not change. And essential decreasing of wash off has not happened because the part of snow melting erosion is only 15–20 per cent in the right-bank forest-steppe zone of Ukraine. The huge values of average wash off and significant areas with high and very high wash off (about one third of arable lands) evidence about decreasing of economic and ecological worth of lands commonly. Applying of soil protection crops rotation well influence on soil decreasing the rate of erosion. The plowing of lands with great slopes (6–7° and more) and using them for row crops without rotation leads to catastrophic wash off and increasing of areas with high erosion danger. Such lands need to be exclude of plowing up.

Effects of soil erosion and deposition on the spatial distribution of soil microbial quantity in Mollisol area of Northeast China.

Revealing the responses of soil microbial community to soil erosion can provide guidance for agricultural ecosystem management. We investigated the impacts of soil erosion intensity on soil microbial quantity at the Binzhou River Basin, a typical thin layer Mollisol area in Bin County of Heilongjiang Province, using 137Cs tracer. The results showed that there were seasonal variations in soil microbial quantity. The abundance of soil microbes in summer was considerably higher than that in autumn. Bacteria was more sensitive to seasonal variation than fungi and actinomycetes, which was increased by 1.4-2.6 times and 1.4-2.2 times in summer compared with autumn in different parts of slope and watershed, respectively. The spatial variation of soil erosion intensity had an important effect on the spatial distribution of soil microbial community. The highest proportion of bacteria was found at lower deposition area of slope (84.4%) and at the lightly eroded area of the downstream (85.4%). The numbers of soil microbes, soil bacteria and actinomycetes were negative linearly correlated with soil erosion modulus, with correlation coefficients of -0.595, -0.554 and -0.291, respectively. Soil erosion and deposition induced spatial differences in soil physical and chemical properties, with consequences on spatial distribution of soil microbial community.

Factors influencing the ground thermal regime in a mid-latitude glacial cirque (Hoyo Empedrado, Cantabrian Mountains, 2006–2020)

Air and near-surface ground temperatures were measured using dataloggers over 14 years (2006–2020) in 10 locations at 2262 to 2471 m.a.s.l. in a glacial cirque of the Cantabrian Mountains. These sites exhibit relevant differences in terms of substrate, solar radiation, orientation, and geomorphology. Basal temperature of snow (BTS) measurements and electrical resistivity tomography of the talus slope were also performed. The mean annual near-surface ground temperatures ranged from 5.1 °C on the sunny slope to 0.2 °C in the rock glacier furrow, while the mean annual air temperature was 2.5 °C. Snow cover was inferred from near-surface ground temperature (GST) data, estimating between 130 and 275 days per year and 0.5 to 7.1 m snow thickness. Temperature and BTS data show that the lowest part of the talus slope and the rock glacier furrow are the coldest places in this cirque, coinciding with a more persistent and thickest snow cover. The highest temperatures coincide with less snow cover, fine-grained soils, and higher solar radiation. Snow cover has a primary role in controlling GST, as the delayed appearance in autumn or delayed disappearance in spring have a cooling effect, but no correlation with mean annual near-surface ground temperatures exists. Heavy rain-over-snow events have an important influence on the GST. In the talus slope, air circulation during the snow-covered period produces a cooling effect in the lower part, especially during the summer. Significant inter-annual GST differences were observed that exhibited BTS limitations. A slight positive temperature trend was detected but without statistically significance and less prominent than nearby reference official meteorological stations, so topoclimatic conditions reduced the more global positive temperature trend. Probable existence of permafrost in the rock glacier furrow and the lowest part of the talus slope is claimed; however, future work is necessary to confirm this aspect.

New record of Polygonatum multiflorum in Hyrcanian forests, north of Iran

AbstractPolygonatum multiflorum (L.) All. (Asparagaceae) is a geophyte and remarkable forest species and the specimens have been collected from woodlands of highland forests in the Hyrcanian region. In this study, this species is described for the first time as a new record for the flora of Iran. Besides, based on localities of the observed and collected areas, the geographical distribution of the species is mapped in the Caspian forest zone from East to central parts of northern slopes of Alborz Mountain. According to the population status of the species, IUCN threat categories of these species have been discussed.

Research into landslide processes in the coastal zone of the Takhtakorpureservoir using vertical electrical sounding method (the southeastern slope of the Great Caucasus)

Landslide-prone areas on the coastal zone of the downstream of the Takhtakorpu reservoir located on the arid-hilly part of the southeastern slope of the Great Caucasus mountain system (Azerbaijan) were investigated using vertical electrical sounding (VES) method. The entire research area is geologically active. It is complicated by seismicity (with an intensity of 8—9 points on the MSK-64 scale), vertical (uplift of the Earth’s crust about +6 mm/year) and horizontal (4 ± 1 mm/year, generally north-north-east) movements, landslides (in more than 5 centers) as well as the Gaynarja mud volcano, in the form of hill ≥100 m in diameter with griffins. Tectonically, the mud volcano is timed to the consolidated part of the anticline of the same name, which currently is located in the right-bank zone, closer to the water of the Takhtakorpu reservoir. Therefore, the erupted products of the mud volcano come into contact with the aquatic environment. The geological structure of the territory is dominated by rocks of the Pliocene Productive Stratum (N2). With respect to lithology, they consist of clays and argillaceous rocks. Groundwater occurs sporadically, with a total salinity of 7 g/l and a filtration coefficient of 4 m/day. Geological sections of the area were studied to a depth of 40 m, the thickness and composition of individual layers of rocks were described. 3D models of the study area were developed completely in an arbitrary cut and also along the X, Y and Z axes. It was revealed that the layers composing the geological section of the region are subject to the impact of plicative dislocations due to the geodynamic processes. It is assumed that landslides in the study area are mainly formed at the contact of eluvial-deluvial deposits with bedrocks. One of the main reasons for the formation of landslide phenomena, apparently, is also associated with the steepness of the slopes and their constituent rocks, which absorbing atmospheric precipitation become waterlogged. The depths of the assumed slip planes in individual landslide blocks were revealed and the thickness and direction of the landslide body were determined.

The paleoecology and depositional model of the Oligo-Miocene coral reefs in the Mohammad Abad Area, the west of Baft, SW Kerman, Iran

This paper deals with the Oligo-Miocene coral reefs in the Mohammadabad Area, W Baft, SW Kerman. The studied coral reefs include 11 families, 25 genera and 33 species of the scleractinian corals. The coral reef successions have deposited in three cycles on a mixed siliciclastic-carbonate platform. To understanding the paleoecology, reef architecture and depositional model of studied reefal successions, statistical analyses based on the coral niches, sedimentology analyses based on the grain size of the marly strata and microfacies analyses on limestone strata have used. Based on the statistical analyses, the coral community includes eight ecotypes. The distribution of these ecotypes indicates that, despite of various thicknesses, in all three coral reef successions, the branching and fast growth ecotypes are present at the basal parts and the massive, placoid and meandroid colonies are recorded in the slope, crest and distal parts of the reefs. The main disruptive phenomenon that stopped the reef development and affected the reef architecture has been the addition of clastic deposits to the carbonate system. This sediment load increase is recorded as marly strata. By The addition of clastic sediment load to the system, the carbonate content of the system has diluted, the salinity, water transparency and photic level is decreased, the favorable attachment hard substrate for coral polyps is limited, the nutrient and oxygen flux is disrupted and the coral reefs are suffocated.

Soil Erosion Risk Assessment for Prioritization of Soil Conservation Measures Using RUSLE Integrated with GIS in Chemoga Watershed, Upper Blue Nile Basin, Ethiopia.

Soil loss by runoff has become series problem in Ethiopian; particularly the northern Ethiopian highlands are among the most seriously affected regions in the country due to highly rugged topography, population pressure, over grazing and cultivation of steep lands and erosive nature of rainfall. Hence, soil erosion risk assessment is critically required for prioritization of soil conservation measures. The main objective of this study is to estimate soil erosion rate and identify hotspot areas of soil erosion to facilitate conservation management practices in Chemoga watershed, Upper Blue Nile Basin, Ethiopia. In this study, RUSLE method was used integrated with GIS technique to estimate soil erosion rate of a watershed and prioritize for soil and water conservation practice. In the study rainfall erosivity factor (R), Length slope factor (LS), soil erodability factor (K), vegetation cover factor (C) and erosion control factor (P) were used as an input to the RUSLE model. The rainfall erosivity factor has been determined from monthly precipitation data. The soil survey data was used to develop the soil erodability factor and the digital elevation model (DEM) of study area was also used to generate topographic factor (LS). The value of cover management factor and support practice factor were obtained from land use land cover map and validated with field observations. The results show that midstream and upstream parts of the watershed is more sensitive to soil erosion than the lower part. In the study, the erosion hazard maps were reclassified for the periodization of the watersheds. Based on the special distribution of the erosion hazards, 4.93% of the watershed area was classified sever soil erosion risk zone (30 up to 50 ton/ha/year) and 4.91% categorized as very sever soil erosion risk zone i.e above 50 ton/ha/year which are situated in the narrowest steep slope parts of the upper catchments of the watershed. These parts of the watersheds were identified as the primary erosion hotspot area which needs immediate attention in terms of management perspective.

Синтаксономическое разнообразие лесных лугов Обь-Инского водораздела в пределах Новосибирской области

Синтаксономическое разнообразие лесных лугов Обь-Инского водораздела в пределах Новосибирской области

Синтаксономия ксеропетрофитной растительности Южного Урала: союз Elytrigion pruiniferae all. nov.

Синтаксономия ксеропетрофитной растительности Южного Урала: союз Elytrigion pruiniferae all. nov.

Characterization of Tsunami and Palaeo-tsunami deposits in the Neil Island, South Andaman, India

The nature of tsunamigenic and palaeo-tsunamigenic sediments in Neil Island, deposited by the great Indian Ocean in 2004 is documented herein. Pit, trench and core samples were collected from the four beaches, namely, Bharatpur, Ramnagar, Sitapur and Lakshmanpur; which exhibit distinguished anomalies in the sedimentological parameters, viz . skewness, kurtosis and standard deviation at various depths. The palaeontological study shows the simultaneous occurrence of characteristic benthic taxa of near-shore environment and upper part of continental slope along with the open ocean dweller planktic foraminifera- an intermixed foraminiferal assemblage is mainly due to the tsunami wave actions. The multiproxy approach reveals the occurrence of the tsunami and palaeo-tsunami deposits in Neil Island from 9 to 40 cm and below 60 cm depth, respectively.

Геоинформационный анализ пространственной изменчивости геосистемы острова Райкоке (Курильские острова)

Volcanic eruptions significantly transform natural geosystems, which is most characteristic of components such as terrain, flora and fauna. The theoretical significance of this research lies in acquisition of new knowledge that contributes to a deeper understanding of response of natural environment to consequences of volcanic eruptions of various types and power. The practical significance is due to possibility of using the obtained results in substantiating assessment of volcanic hazard territories and compiling corresponding maps. Eruptions of the Raikoke volcano are rare, but all recorded facts of activity are characterized as strong, and significantly changed appearance of Raikoke Island. The research used satellite images from Sentinel-2 and Landsat satellites. Spatial dynamics of coastline was studied on the basis of synthesized images (NIR-SWIR-RED). In the research of vegetation transformation, time series of normalized relative vegetation index (NDVI) was used. We analysed the time course of changes in the area of Raikoke Island, the maximum and average NDVI values within its limits from 1972 to 2021, and also compiled a schematic map of the dynamics of the components of the geosystem of Raikoke Island. Grass and grass-shrub vegetation covered about 80 % of total area of island in 2018. The areas devoid of vegetation cover are confined to large mobile talus slopes, beach, marginal parts of lava flows around perimeter of the island, as well as large block mass collapse of crater floor. As of 2021, the closed vegetation cover occupies no more than 0.03 % of the island’s area and is fragmentally located in central part of southern slope, lower parts of eastern, northern and western slopes. An analysis of eruptive activity of the Raikoke volcano and the time course of NDVI suggests that it will take about 100 years for vegetation cover occupy an area comparable to area before eruption of 2019.

Designing and Explanation of Reinforcement of Operated High Fills with the Injection of Solidifying Solutions

Stability loss of slopes of the operated high fills is associated with a complex of adverse factors. Formation of glide lines under loss of stability is of the probabilistic nature and depends on the soil physical and mechanical properties as well as on the weakened zones location. Loss of stability of the slope parts of the fill can occur according to various scenarios, for each of which its own reinforcement zones location is possible. Therefore, in order to assess the reinforcement zones of high fills and to further determine the optimal reinforcement schemes, three structural designs of high fills are considered, which model various scenarios of the stability loss. Numerical modeling allowed us to assess the stress-strain state of the high fill in operation and to identify the most adverse zones in the subgrade body that are of high priority for reinforcement – locations of weak zones. Assessment of reinforcement zones of the high fills in operation alongside with identification of their locations as well as evaluation of the nature of the stress-strain state are made based on the results of modeling the deformations and the stability loss of the high fill according to the revealed effects of the loads heavy impact with the application of the finite element method. Models of the operated high fills strengthened by reinforcement with the injection of solidifying solutions are theoretically substantiated and developed. For each model, an element-by-element description is performed and its application conditions are justified. Reinforcement elements in the models are selected with due regard to peculiarities of the stress-strain state in the zones which need reinforcement. Modeling the operation of the reinforced exploited high fills is carried out according to modern approaches to the mechanics description of the anisotropic medium that is represented by the soil mass which contains its reinforcing elements.

Pengelolaan Hulu Sub-DAS Logawa dalam Perda Penataan Ruang Kabupaten Banyumas

The watersheds upstream degradation in Java, is alarming and trigger changes to overall hydrological character of watersheds and its ecosystem services. Maintaining healthy watershed from future degradation can be initiated by a means formulating policies and designing appropriate management plan. The Logawa sub-watershed is not a critical watershed, nonetheless the upstream is part of mountain slope with very high annual rainfall. The headwater of Logawa sub-watershed plays an important role in catching annual rainfall and provide the underground and surface water supply for Kota Purwokerto. It is important to study the government's regulation related on its management, to determine the current management policy. This study aims to analyze the district level spatial and regional planning regulation related to the upstream management of the Logawa Sub-watershed. When this study was conducted, Local Government Regulation Number 10 year of 2011, concerning regional spatial planning was the only regulation of the Banyumas district that could regulate management of the upstream zone of Logawa sub-watersheed. This spatial regulation assign the upstream area of the Logawa sub-watershed as conservation zone, as well as the development area for generating electricity and river tourism, but does not specifically stipulate a minimum conservation zone forest land cover. The regulation is not sufficient for managing healthyness of the upstream Logawa Sub-watershed for the future, as well as to manage the upstream zone of the Logawa Sub-watershed as an upstream watershed ecosystem.

APPLICATION OF VEGETATION INDECES FOR DOGITAL SOIL MAPPING BASED ON SENTINEL-2 SPACE IMAGES

At present, the works devoted to the creation of digital soil maps using geographic information systems (GIS) and remote sensing (RS) data are relevant. In the work the analysis of vegetation indices (VI) for soil mapping was carried out, the maps of vegetation indices were created: Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Optimized Soil-Adjusted Vegetation Index (OSAVI), Soil-Adjusted Vegetation Index (SAVI), Tranformed Soil-Adjusted Vegetation Index (TSAVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index2 (EVI2) for the territory of ZAO Mirny farm of Kochenevsky District using Sentinel-2 A satellite image (May 10, 2021). ). As a result it was revealed that the vegetation indices OSAVI and EVI2 allow to establish spatial boundaries between the main types of soils of automorphic, half-hydromorphic and hydromorphic moisture regimes.
 Background. Multispectral space and aerial photos for thematic mapping of soil resources are of greater practical application. Sentinel-2 A space image with good spatial and spectrozonal resolution (10 m, 20 m and 60 m) and territorial coverage (290 km) was used in this article. This made it possible to calculate and analyze various vegetation indices for the purposes of digital soil mapping.
 Purpose. аnalysis of vegetation indices for digital soil mapping based on Sentinel-2 A images.
 Materials and research methods. The research was carried out on the territory of CJSC Mirniy, Kochenevsky District, Novosibirsk Region. The methods of digital processing of space images, mapping and geoinformation analysis with the use of Sentinel-2 A satellite image (May 10, 2021) were used. The method of equal intervals was used for comparative analysis of images. This allowed using GIS ArcGIS to make thematic maps of images with the allocation of gradations: very low, low, average, above average, high value.
 Results. Field soil surveys were carried out on the territory of CJSC Mirny farm in Kochenevsky district of Novosibirsk Region. Using SAGA geoinformation system the space image was atmospherically corrected and spatially referenced, NDVI, OSAVI, TSAVI, EVI2 raster maps were compiled. Geoinformation analysis of the large-scale 1:1000 soil map and raster EVI maps revealed that OSAVI allows to establish spatial boundaries between the main types of soils of automorphic, half-hydromorphic and hydromorphic moisture regimes. Very low values of VI are typical for the soils of hydromorphic humidification regime, formed near small lakes, along the banks of the Sharikh river.
 Very low values of UI have objects of hydrography, marsh peaty, meadow-marsh humus soils, marshy and peated marshes, marsh solonchaks, marsh solonchaks, formed in lowered areas of relief with depth of groundwater occurrence less than 0.5 m.
 Ploughed ordinary chernozems, deposited in the upper and middle part of the gentle slope, have low values of WP. These are soils of automorphous moisture regime with depth of groundwater occurrence more than 6 m.
 Average and above average values are characteristic of gray forest saltwort soils under woody vegetation, as well as meadow-chernozem soils under meadow vegetation in the lower part of the gentle slope with groundwater occurrence depth from 3 to 4 m. High WI values were obtained for meadow soils with dense grass cover. Wetting conditions of soils, location in the relief, and vegetation type significantly influence VI values. The obtained VV values can be used at the stage of training data preparation in the form of reference classes for basic soil types required for automatic image recognition.

Stability of phytomass dynamics in protected low mountain-steppe landscapes and pastures in the Southern Urals

In the steppe zone, the high sensitivity of plant cover to humidity contrasts raises the question of what landscape conditions provide a stable predictable phytoproductivity. Authors of the article tested the hypothesis about the inequality of the spatial factors of variability of functioning under the conditions of the reserved regime and anthropogenic impact on the example of the Aytuarskaya steppe. Based on the deviations of the intra-seasonal increments of the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) for 33 pairs of terms from the mean values, the measure of instability of the types of dynamics of green phytomass (Shannon's index) was calculated. To identify the clusters of high and low phytoproductivity, the Hot Spot Analysis was applied based on Getis–Ord statistics. On grazed areas, the background type of dynamics of green phytomass is not dominant in area in contrast to protected areas. The reserve regime stabilizes the dynamics of phytomass due to a higher subordination to landscape-scale processes. Summer loss of phytomass outside the reserve occurs over a larger relative area than in the reserve. Zones of the most unstable phyto-production functioning with high variability of the shape of spots of increased phytomass are characteristic of catchment depressions, lower parts of slopes, and narrowed sectors of gullies.