Classical Russian soil hydrology created by works of A.A. Rode, his colleagues and associates is based on the concept of water forms in the soil and soil hydrological constants. At the present state of development the soil hydrology uses all conceptual approaches designed by A.A. Rode and his colleagues which allow us to characterize the soil hydrology as an actively developing science, which has its own historical path, principles, application limits, benefits and possible long-term development path, which uses the developed and experimentally confirmed by A.A. Rode concept of “capillary-suspended” and “capillary-backed” water and, accordingly, the field and the capillary soil water capacities. The current stage of soil hydrology is characterized by the active application of quantitative approaches. At the present, in hydrology the soil water retention curve takes the central place, which stand out as the break point corresponding to the capillary water capacity and values of “air entrance pressure”. The examples describe the nonlinear characteristics the water retention curves with clearly dedicated air inlet pressure for heavy soddy-podzolic soil, gray forest soil and chernozem. Shaped hydrological characteristics of A. A. Rode such as “capillary-suspended” and “capillary-backed” soil water are still actively used in actual educational process.

A review of results obtained for 65 years of investigations of soil water conducted by A. A. Rode and a team of Djanybek Stationary is provided. The mechanisms of precipitation distribution over the territory during the snow transport and melt waters runoff are revealed. Soil and hydrological constants, such as maximum and minimum water holding capacity, moisture of capillary bounds destruction, and wilting point, were determined. The efficiency of precipitation and summer fallow in arid conditions were evaluated. There also was evaluated the role of vaporous water for trees water supply. The specificities of water regime and water circulation for virgin lands and meliorated solonchak solonetzes, light chestnut soils and meadow-chestnut soils under forest strips were studied. A method of water balance calculation was suggested, including the determination of ground water consumption by plants and then evapotranspiration. A new method of melioration of solonchak solonetzes in dryland conditions was suggested basing on the additional snow accumulation with the help of narrow-row forest stands. There are suggested ways of creation of sustainable agro-forest meliorative complexes and forest pricklies on that territory, characterized by longevity due to optimal snow mass distribution and optimal use of ground waters from fresh water lenses of local topography depressions. The perspectives of investigations of soil waters in semidesert ecosystems in conditions of climate changes and changes in agricultural use of semidesert lands were marked.

On the basis of experimental works considering the condensation of vaporous atmospheric water within the soil, A.A. Rode concluded that the summer night water condensation in dry surface soil layers with volume 0.1-0.2 mm is a common phenomenon. Along with that, the possibility of atmospheric water condensation in the aeration zone and on the level of ground waters has insufficient stipulation. However, the latest investigations allow us to state that the condensation of atmospheric moisture is impossible in the zone of aeration and at the level of ground waters. Movement of vaporous waters is carried out on a background of water stores contained within the soil, and are subjected to the seasonal and daily rhythms of warmth flows. The volume of the transfer is proportional to the flow. It is experimentally set that during the period of summer warming of the aeration zone on the key plot of sands of Volga Region through 1 cm² of horizontal surface at the depth of 50 cm 3 000 cal. of warmth penetrates into the lower layers. At the depth of 100 cm it contains 2 500 cal., at the depth of 200 cm - 1 700 cal., and at the depth of 300 cm - 1 000 cal. correspondingly. Hence, the vapor transfer within the soil into the lower layers of the soil contained 5.1, 3.3, 2.0 and 1.2 mm. The same values of transfer, but backwards are detected during the cold period of the year. The movement of vaporous water is completely faded within the zone of constant temperatures.

The basic properties of solonetzic soils of (Early Khvalyn) part of Caspian Depression were investigated. This area is characterized by the absence of significant hollow microtopography, specific for the North of Caspian Sea region. Despite the actual poor significance of microtopography there is a specific for Post-khvalyn plain contrast threefold complex soil cover with deeply washed meadow-chestnut (dark-colored soils), light chestnut solonetzic soils and solonchak solonetzes. Such complexes are widely spread in the North of Caspian Sea region and they are related to the heights of 35-50 m above sea level. The combined investigation of the microtopography and soil density is conducted at two key plots, which are located in the region of Lepekhinka (Saratov Oblast) and Borsi (Western Kazakhstan) villages. The present flatness of the microtopography is caused by the flattening of the surface of Post-khvalyn valley during its evolutionary development, mostly due to microhighs sinking. The sinking is caused by the compaction of the initially loose extremely salinized soil material of sub-solonetzic layers of solonchak solonetzes (with “pseudo-sand” structure) as a result of long-term impact of capillary fringe on sub-solonetzic layers during the period of ground waters rising. The properties of desalted dark-colored (meadow-chestnut) soils in that case have a relict character and inherent from the previous stages of the territory development. These stages were characterized by the increased moistening of these soils due to significant hollow microtopography.

The comparative study of impact of long term agricultural use (for 20, 60, and 120 years) on migratory-micellar (typical) chernozems of Stony Steppe (Voronezh oblast, Russia), was conducted. The following properties were investigated: morphology, humus state, structure, water and physical properties, and water and temperature regimes. It is revealed that agro-layers of chernozems are sustainable in time. Their residual specificities are preserved even under long-term (130 years) layland. During the first 10-20 years of agricultural use the decrease of humus content is revealed: the decrease of the humus content including the labile humus matter, and also the decrease of organic carbon content. Hereafter, there occurs the stabilization of their humus state, though on the lower layer, due to relative equilibrium with the processes of organic matter new formation. In the first years of the agricultural use there is observed the insignificant increase of the bulk density, deterioration of the structure and the decrease of the porosity, water capacity and plant available water content. Further the physical state of these layers of chernozems is preserved on the optimal level. The heath provision of the plowland is higher than that under the natural vegetation due to the heating to the higher temperatures which causes the physical desiccation and accumulation of carbonates in the surface layers. The water regime of chernozems as mixed-aged plowlands, and long-termed layland of Stony Steppe may be determined as periodically percolative regime with additional ground moistening. The main reason of that may be the presence of water-accumulating layer (200-300 cm) above the aquiclude, which is composed of clays lying at the depth of 300 cm.

Processes of cyclic freezing and thawing make considerable contribution to configuration of soils and rocks. X-ray tomography method allows us to research undisturbed soil samples in frozen condition. Because of difference in x-ray attenuation coefficient we can separately study mineral matrix, ice inclusions and pore space. This fact essentially increases opportunities for investigations of soil and rock cryogen deformations. In this paper we present the results of model experiment with bulk soil samples of different genesis investigated by a method of X-ray tomography. This experiment revealed the specificities of the soil structure and its pore space dynamics in conditions of freezing and thawing cycle. We developed a research scheme for structure and pore space dynamics, and studied the soil structure and pore space dynamics after different number of cycles of freezing and thawing. Example of kaolin and sand mixture shows the ring-shaped sorting of sand particles and their movement to ice schlieren surface. We postulated that the matter of soil of different genesis has different reaction on freezing and thawing impact. The rank from major to minor cryogenic changes in soil material: Albiluvisol - Chernozem - Solonetz.

The specificity of stationary is in the possibilities of direct investigation of micro- or particular (according to A. A. Rode) processes on relatively small homogenous (stationary) soil area which stayed unchanged for 10 years and more. The results of comparative analysis of macro-and micromorphologic properties of basic genetic layers of Gypsic Salic Solonetz (Albic, Siltic, Columnic, Cutanic, Differentic) are presented. On the basis of these results, the trends of major elementary soil forming processes are settled for the last 11 years (2002-2013) on Djanybek stationary. In general, the direction of elementary soil forming processes has been preserved since 1982. Such a conclusion may be made on a basis of pattern of changes of diagnostic elements of microcomposition (microforms of the organic matter, the amount of plant residues, the state and composition of fine matter, the character and relative composition of different soil new formations (gypsic, carbonatic, humic and ferric, and ferro-manganese)). According to the changes of micro-specificities which were marked within the over-solonetzic and solonetzic layers, there occurs the intensification of the following processes: humus accumulative, biogenic and cryogenic aggregation; the migration of clayey-humic fine matter; the cracking of the soil and penetration of organic matter and plant roots into solonetzic layers; the active assimilation of illuvial cutanas into the interped mass. The under-solonetzic layers are characterized by the compaction of the soil material due to the destruction of the pseudo-soil microaggregates with the emergence of the massive dusty-clayey- carbonatic mass with ferric micro-patterns and carbonatic cutanas. The increasing of moistening in the sub-solonetzic layers is, supposedly, connected with periodic local wetting in lateral cracks on the background of the fixed increasing of the amount of precipitations during the spring and summer. The emergence of the low amount of the number of mobile salt neoformations (gypsic and carbonatic) is related to biogenic pore channels and is connected to the destructive indraught of solutions. The strong and long-termed moistening within the transitional layer to the parent rock due to the capillary indraught of the ground waters, located close to this layer, promotes forming of large gypsic neoformations and increasing of migration of iron and manganese. Also it is accompanied with forming of numerous dendritic neoformations at the local changes of oxidation-reduction potential around the biogenic pores.

Forestry of Lisino is the perspective area for the organization and conduction of soil and ecologic monitoring. It is characterized by ecosystems, typical for the North-West, which are least altered by anthropogenic impact. Also it is characterized by the availability of long-term investigation materials of soils and soil cover, and the availability of soil monoliths collected at different years. A. A. Rode made a substantial contribution in the investigation of soils and soil cover of forestry of Lisino. The changes of typomorphic characteristics were determined and the analysis of taxonomic structure of microbiome was conducted for the soddy-podzolic soil developed on driftless clay loam. On the basis of comparative analysis of actual samples from the soddy-podzolic soils and the samples from soil monoliths, it was set that the significant pH decrease occurred during the 75 years, and the degree of base saturation also decreased significantly. The monitoring polygons are lain along the II International Soil Scientists Congress route held in 1930. The separation of seven objects of soil and ecologic monitoring is substantiated, as they characterize all ecosystems typical for Lisin forestry. The soils of the four objects of monitoring are included in the Red Book of soils of Leningrad oblast: the soddy-podzolic soil developed on the moraine loams - “the Pit of Rode”, the soddy elluvial metamorphic developed on varved clays - “Kostenki”, the peat humic gleyzem oxidative gley - “Sulanda” and alluvial gray humic soil - “Lustovka”.