Institute of Soil Science and Agrochemistry SB RAS

Sovetskaya St. 18, Novosibirsk, 630099, Russia
Phone: 7(383-2) 22-76-52, Fax: 7(383-2) 22-76-52
E-mail: soil@issa.nsk.su

South-taiga (geographical) field station.
Ust-Kamensky forest steppe field station.
Forest steppe environmental and agrochemical field station.
  South-taiga (geographical) field station. South-taiga (geographical) field station situated in south-taiga sub-belt of Western Siberia has at hand a set of scientific equipment that permits to carry out investigations of dynamics of soil regimes and to determine emission of hotbed gases. Natural modelling is also performed here; it is based on selection of models which represent themselves chrono- topo- or other sequences that gives a chance to study soil evolution at geologically measurable periods. This station has been functioning since 1970.

Aim: to base the questions of genesis and evolution of principal Siberian soil types.
The territory where field station is situated is included into the belt of abundant moistening and insufficient heat supply. Its climate is characterised as that of taiga or Siberian belt and due to intercontinental position it is specified as boreal climate with cold winter, warm summer and with more cold and moist spring as compared to autumn.
Thermoenergetic resources amount about to 28-30 ccal per sq sm per annum. As compared to the same latitude of European part of Russia, heat resources are here by 10-12 per cent less.
As for the structure of radiation balance, it is accounted for evaporation up to 70 per cent and for turbulent exchange approximately 30 per cent. Radiation balance during vegetation season is almost equal to its annual value. Its maximum values are recorded in June and July. At the same time the freezing is not deep - mean annual freezing depth makes up to 130 cm. The depth of penetration of seasonal frost is not more than 150 cm.
Not deep soil freezing is due to thick snow which appears early and covers unfrozen soil. Snow cover is kept as long as 200 days. Its mean annual height amounts to 45-55 cm. Maximum snow moisture storage is not more than 100 mm. Hydrothermal factor (by Selyaninov) is 2.0-2.1 and indicates that according to moisture supply the area of south-taiga belt is universally characterised by excessive moistening.

  Ust-Kamensky forest steppe field station.

Ust-Kamensky forest steppe field station for the research of endogenic soil-forming processes (Novosibirsk Region, Toguchin District, village of Ust-Kamenka) that is situated within the limits of Bugotak small cone-shaped hills (Prisalair area) has at hand minimum equipment (analytical and technical balances, thermostates, soil thermometers, chemical glassware for sampling liquid and solid runoffs of thawing water, weight snow gauge); this equipment permits to carry out observations on the magnitude of surface discharge of thawing water on sloppy soils under bio- geo- and agrocenoses, on solid phase and micro-organisms removal due to this water, depth of freezing of virgin and arable lands, as well as soil hydrothermal regime. Field station is situated at 60 km north-west of Novosibirsk and is connected with it by motorway. Field station has been functioning since 1976.

Aim: the study of regularities of appearance and specific features of development of erosion processes in Siberia, elaboration of erosion control measures. Special interests are aroused in the research environmental aspects of appearance of erosion processes and elaboration of the principles of assessment of erosion damage, influence of human impact on structure and functioning of microbe communities, participation of individual physiological groups of micro-organisms in soil processes. The researches are being carried out in Prisalair area which is defined as elevated hilly plain inclined, in a general way, sideways West-Siberian lowland. In Prisalair area several sub-regions are classified by degree of dissection of the territory, Bugotak small cone-shaped hills stand out especially among them.
The area of Bugotak small cone-shaped hills is clearly pronounced against general background of Prisalair area. The cone-shaped hills as a whole extend from north-east to south-west as large hills with sharpen peaks formed by albitophires and diabases. The slopes and spaces between hills are formed by loose eolian, alluvial and deluvial Tertiary and Quaternary deposits. The heights range from 250 to 380 m. The largest hills are as follows: Bolshaya, Mokhnataya, Kholodnaya, Rogachev, their heights range within the limits of 323-381 m.
The chain of Bugotak cone-shaped hills with absolute elevation above the level of the rest of the site of 50-80 m is as the natural barrier for advective transference of aerial masses eastwards. This exerts a definite mesoclimatic influence on windy eastern territories, on northern extreme of Kuznetsk hollow, in particular. In addition, these elevations are a generator of atmospheric precipitation and as a source of groundwater.
Within the limits of Bugotak small cone-shaped hills the Prisalair type of erosion dissection of relief is widely spread. The watersheds only occupy 15-25 per cent of total area. Watershed plots are superior to gully bottoms by 75-100 m and to river level by more than 100 m. The slopes are complex and rather long. As for soil cover, automorphic dark-grey, grey soils and chernozems are predominant on hilly slopes. The lower part of the slopes are occupied by meadow chernozem, meadow and meadow swampy soils. In consequence of essential dissection of the territory, availability of rock outcrop the specific edaphic conditions are created for the formation of taiga relics in the centre of forest steppe belt where grey and light grey podzolized soils are presumably formed.
Strong dissection of the territory, considerable snow and water supply (100-170 mm), high intensity of spring processes (night temperatures at the beginning of April are as low as minus 10-150C and during the day are plus 10-150C) create ideal conditions for the formation of abundant surface discharge of thawing water and large erosion loss of soil. Therefore the percentage of eroded soils in Prisalair area already amounts to 25. Slightly eroded soils are most common, strongly eroded soils are fragmental in occurrence , and warp soils occupy not more than 1 per cent of the area.   Forest steppe environmental and agrochemical field station.

Forest steppe environmental and agrochemical field station (Novosibirsk Region, Iskitim District, village of Talmenka) is situated in forest steppe belt of Western Siberia, it has at hand a greenhouse with 300 vegetative pots, distiller (25l water per hour), analytical and technical balances, photoelectrocolorimeter «Spekol», chemical glassware. The station is situated at 70 km south-south-east of Novosibirsk and at 12 km of Iskitim (District Centre), it has functioning since 1971.

Aim: environmental and agrochemical aspect for the research of production process of biological cultures in connection with monitoring of mineral nutrition of plants. A premium is placed upon elucidation of the part of two macro-elements, i.e. nitrogen and sulphur, as well as to application of retardants during intensive cropping. In soils which are rich in plant residues with small C:N ratio heterotrophic nitrogen cycle involving the processes of mineralisation and immobilisation has specific feature. It lies in the fact that in applying nitrogen fertilisers the processes of mineralisation of organic compounds are enhanced, due to this fact an additional amount of nitrogen is released that influences on plant growth. In this case nitrogen supply of the plants can prove to be as a little regulated flow, in order to eliminate its negative consequences one should interfere into production process by means of expeditious of nitrogen nutrition during vegetation season.
Subsequent to nitrogen, sulphur is by its significance the second protein-forming element used by plants from soil. It has been investigated incomparably less than the first one. The significance of sulphur for wheat is determined not only by its usual part in vitally important functions but also by status of element responsible for consumption quality of the grain. In this connection the control of sulphur providing is necessary and evident although sulphur requirement of wheat, for example, is relatively low as compared to cruciferous and legumes and comprises about 10 kg per ha. Field and greenhouse experiments showed that depending on sulphur lack in wheat nutrition the obvious deficiency (decrease in yield) as well as latent deficiency could be revealed (deterioration of grain quality, i.e. decrease of protein or sulphur content in grain). In order to improve grain quality it takes to increase the degree of sulphur reutilization or perform foliar nutrition with this element. These problems have not yet been studies at all. In co-operation with the Institute of Chemical Kinetics an Burning the experiments are conducted during grain filling on wheat foliar sulphur dressing (by means of aerosol method). Such original researches are only conducted in Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences.