Abstract form

Soil salinization in the Volga delta landscapes
L. V. YAKOVLEVA*, A. V. FEDOTOVA
Astrakhan State University 20a, Tatichev st, Astrakhan, 414056 Russia
The soil cover of the delta of the river Volga is characterized by a wide variety and
mosaic-like appearance. It is represented as high-contrast combinations and complexes
of inefficient saline, alkaline, conjoint and water-logged soils that are characteristic for
about 80 % of the territory, and also there we can find mellow lands of zonal alluvial
soils of the bottom-land of delta of the river Volga. The territory of the region is
differed a complex landscape-geomorphological structure. Ecological regimes, defining
the condition of the land cover, within these landscapes are different. That is
conditioned with the presence or absence of the surface overflowing and it’s dynamics.
The main feature of the study region is soil cover’s natural inclination to the salt
impoundment. The processes of salt impoundment are an integral part of genesis and
evolution of the bottom-land and deltoid landscapes. The factors of salt impoundment in
delta of the river Volga are the land configuration, the salinity of soil-forming rock, the
marine wind, Ber’s hills, man’s activity. The positive element of the land form is hills
and low ridge that are the accumulators of salts, and lower areas are desalted. The
intensification of the salinization of the soil body can be seen in a closer deposit of
salted soil-forminf rock – most commonly it is khvalynskiy clay.
Keywords: soil covering, salinity, salt impoundment, saline soil
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