The middle stabilizing role of perennial grasses in modern challenges of ecological and climatic character

Abstract

It is shown that in the development and application of soil-protective measures on erosion-prone territories, it is extremely important to take into account soil and climatic features of natural ecosystems. The global warming observed in the last decades has a special sense and importance for the Russian Federation by virtue of its physical and geographical position and agricultural climate opportunities. New natural resource potential of light, heat and moisture formed on this basis, significant growth of climate extremes and dangerous hydrometeorological phenomena (droughts, overmoistening, hailstorms, frost etc.) of the Central Non-Chernozem area violate sustainability of agricultural sector. They reduce the production potential of agrolandscapes, bring noticeable destabilization in the processes of soil formation, ecological regimes of soils, processes of growth, development and productivity of field crops. To the same extent, and as long-term studies show, even to a much greater extent, this can be said for areas located on sloping lands. Climate changes as a result of warming bring to reorganization of arable horizon with deterioration of its agrophysical basis: increase of density by 3...5 % and hardness by 20...22 %, reduction of agronomically valuable macrostructure by 10...19 %, weakening of water capacity of soil units by 9...13 %, worsening of nutrition and water regime that in the end negatively affects productivity of agrolandscapes and their ecological stability. It is hardly possible to solve the problem of soil degradation as a result of erosion by applying individual elements of the complex of soil protective measures. Only a systematic approach will allow to obtain the proper ecological and economic effect on sloping lands, where soil-protective grain-grass crop rotation plays a leading role. Key words: CLIMATE CHANGE, SLOPING LAND, NORTHERN DEVELOPMENT, CROWN AGRICULTURE, SOIL EROSION