Throughout years-long observation, the properties of cultured soils in European Russia were studied (including the geographical location, physical, chemical, and biological properties of soils, the composition and structure of bacterial communities in them, etc.). Groups of microorganisms with various reactions to anthropogenic impacts were analyzed. Biological and fermentation power indicators manifest the ongoing soil-forming processes. The increase in the numbers of microorganisms of their biological activity (denitrification) is observed along the North-South line with the maximum values in the steppe zone. For acidic soils, the following indicators and susceptible soil microorganisms were determined: Actinomadura roseola, Methylococcus sp., Nocardia carnea, Sphingomonas capsulata, as well as for alkaline soils: Rhodococcus equi, Streptomyces sp. The following dominating species were found in the microbial consortium of the taiga zone soils: – Rhodococcus rhodochrous, and the dominant species for the wooded steppe, steppe, and dry steppe zones is the association of anaerobic Ruminococcus sp. with vesicular-arbuscular micromycetes. The data obtained are crucial for environmental monitoring and the development of nature protection actions to support soil fertility.

Among the arguments in favor of new crop production technologies are the need for improvement of regional ecology and biodiversity, and high-quality biological products. Methods for reducing crop losses caused by air and soil droughts in the central and southern regions of Russia were analyzed. Field observations (2010-2016) were carried out using a crop rotation scheme of experimental fields with a wide range of crop varieties: wheat, barley, corn, sunflower, peas, chickpeas, alfalfa, and flax. The purpose of the article is to assess regional characteristics of effective soil fertility using different resource-saving technologies. Biological productivity (regional, local) was used as an integral indicator of effectiveness of agricultural technologies and crop yields. High effective fertility was observed when using a zero agrotechnology in Volgograd region and minimum tillage method in Stavropol region. The need for the control of soil fungistasis as a basis of biological activity of the soil and long-term improvement of effective fertility of the arable land was emphasized.