The work is devoted to the study of granulometric composition of soils of 120-year and 240-year agricultural development of meadow-steppe landscape on the example of Belgorod region. In the lateral distribution of the silt fraction contained in the arable horizon, a significant increase in its proportion in the lower parts of the soil catenas of the 120-year arable, for the 240-year arable the lateral variations of the silt fraction are less noticeable. The averaged values of silt content over slope profiles of 240-year arable land showed local maximum of silt confined to subsoil horizon. An inverse relationship was found for slopes on 120-year-old arable land, namely the fact that the percentage of silt fraction increases at depth does not lead to an increase of the same fraction in the subsoil layer. Numerous blindfolds were found in the soil sections studied by caten, especially many of them were detected at a depth of up to one meter. Average area occupied by mole crusts on the walls of averaged transects is 80-90% on the 120-year arable and 70-80% on the 240-year arable. On soils of background catenas, 30-40% of the walls of soil transects are occupied by mole-rats. Blistergrasses are more often found in soils of catens of northern exposition - both 120-year and 240-year arable land.

The study of acid-alkaline conditions of arable soils in different terms of agricultural use was carried out in the Belgorod region on a key site corresponding to the meadow-steppe zone landscape of the forest-steppe. As a result of field studies, 32 incisions were studied in the meadow-steppe section (6 incisions on background catens and 12 incisions on open catens). Each incision was provided with layered values of morphometric indicators of soil horizons. For background steppe soils, shade slopes are characterized by more alkaline conditions, in comparison with southern slopes. For 140-year-old arable land, the situation is opposite: shadow slopes have a more acidic reaction of the medium, in comparison with insoluble ones; for 240-year-old arable land, alkaline-acid conditions on the slopes of opposite exposures do not significantly differ. In the first 140 years of plowing, acidification of the soil profile occurs; the difference in the pH value between the background and arable land values of 140 years of age on the slope of the northern exposition reaches 1.6 on the surface, gradually decreasing to 0.2 at depth. Further plowing leads to alkalization of the soil profile by 0.6-0.9 pH units, however, the initial, background level is not achieved.

The studies of the age influence of agricultural development on topogenic soil interfaces were carried out in Belgorod region on two main plots contacting to broad-forest and meadow-stepp zone landscapes of forest steppe. The aim of the study was to assess the impact of agricultural development in different years on the arable soils properties. As a result of field studies, 41 sections were studied in a broad-leaved forest main area (13 sections in the background area, 14 sections each on plowed catenas of different development ages) and 32 sections in a meadow-steppe area (6 sections on background catenas and 12 sections each on plowed catenas). A common pattern characterizing the agrogenic evolution of topogenic soil conjugations in the southern and northern exposures is their progradation into black soils as the use age increases. We have identified the following groups of external anthropogenic factors that directly affect the soil fertility after a long agricultural development: mechanical (pressure on the soil and its treatment with agricultural technology, the creation of micro - and nano - reliefs); organizational and territorial (linear boundaries and forest belts); chemical (applied fertilizers, although in small quantities, but affecting the micro ecosystem of studied areas).