The Analytical Centre of Russain Ministry of Agriculture was created in 2017 to increase the management quality of Russian agro-industrial complex of Russia, prepare of objective and valid information on the agriculture development for Ministry and country superiors. The main purpose of creation of this center was to integrate all state information resources on the country's agro-industrial complex, to create a unified automated system for collecting and analyzing the data on the state of Russian agriculture and infrastructure, forecasting the development of agro-food markets. Within the framework of the center creation, the Unified Federal Informational system on the agricultural lands and lands, which are used or provided for agriculture among other lands, was created. The information on soils is the important part of this system. In addition to information on soils collected by agro-chemical services of the Russian Ministry of Agriculture, the main source of data at the state and regional levels is the Unified State Register of Soil Resources of Russia. On the basis of the register, with the use of information on the terrain and climate of the country's territory, a database with a priori information on the resource potential of the Russian lands has been created in the Unified Federal Information System. It includes data on the rating assessment of the federation subjects and municipalities on the potential fertility of soils and the share of unfavorable lands, used in agriculture. It also includes a generalized assessment of the soils and lands quality for agricultural production, a rating for the quality of land for cultivation of certain crops, and data on the ranking of climatically subjects potentially possible yields of major crops. A more detailed information about the soils in the analytical center will be needed in future for the land classification of particular agricultural lands.

The calcareous inclusions in soils of Pym-Va-Shor (Nenets Autonomous District) are interesting due to the possibility of observation of ancient and present impact of thermal waters on the soil cover. The water mineralization 1.48 g/l, the content of hydrocarbonate-ion 0.15-0.16 g/l, pH 8.0-8.5, SAR 4.9-10.1 which allows them to form the travertines of calcareous composition (with the rate of 0.037-0.090 mm/year). The two types of calcareous inclusions are classified according to the macrostructure: first are the dense calcitic rocks from the early Devonian and Carbonic periods; the second are the porous travertines. The comparative analysis of microspecificities allowed us to observe the prevalation of grains of the cryptocrystallic and micritic calcite with specifically dense package. The solution specificities are marked precisely from the outer sides of pieces. There are always inclusions of foraminifera in rocks and there are no ferric and clay films specific for travertines of soil horizons. Travertines also show traces of mollusks shells and prevailing of sites with different size and density of calcite packing. Loose packed zones with crypto-grains (<5 mm), the coarser and more compactly packed crystals are located between them (5-35 mm and >35 mm). The specificities of travertines microcomposition stipulate about the active microbial participation during their forming, along with participation of vegetation, and low expense of water with temperature about 30°C. We determined the microspecificities of travertines, reflecting the processes of their transformation in denudations and the soil profile: increase of calcite crystals (the process of recrystallization is specific for sustainable denudation conditions); forming of high internal fine porosity (the leaching process is specific for travertins decomposition in soils near modern thermal springs); cracky pores between minerals (the process of physical decomposition of inclusions in soils outside thermal springs). All of the studied soils, except the podzolized podbur, include the travertines similar in microstructure at the depth of 90 cm, which is a feature of the existance of the previous “older” and more powerful hydrothermal system.

The impact of soil cultivation methods (tillage with soil overturning at a depth of 20-22 and 14-16 cm, beardless plowing and surface treatment respectively at a depth of 14-16 and 6-8 cm, and also zero or minimal tillage)) on biological activity of various ecology-trophic groups of microorganisms on agronochernozems of the Kamennaya Steppe (Voronezh oblast) using classical inoculation methods on elective media. It is shown that chernozems are highly resistant soils that are resistant to external impacts, preserving high biological activity even at the maximum mechanical treatment. Tillage with soil overturn leads to aeration of the arable horizon and the activity initiation of aerobic microorganisms of the carbon cycle, responsible for the mineralization of both complex and simple organic compounds of the soil. The contribution of microorganisms of the nitrogen cycle (nitrate-reducers and nitrogen fixers) to the overall biological activity of migratory-micellar chernozems of arable land and layland was minimal. The level of mechanical impact on the soil affects the quantitative indices and biological activity of microorganisms in the soil - the stronger the effect, the deeper layers are affected. The processes of entrance for fresh organic matter prevail over the processes of mineralization practically in all variants of the experiment, except for tillage with the soil overturn to a depth of 14-16 cm, as indicated by the values of the mineralization coefficients. The strongest humus-accumulative effect was observed in the variant with zero treatment, which is maximally approximated to such processes, occurred in a layland. Minimal soil cultivation will help to preserve the unique structure of chernozem soil, to increase the flow of fresh organic remains, to preserve the high biological diversity which is specific for natural biocenosises.

Morphological, physical-chemical properties, texture, salt composition mineralogical composition of the particle-size fractions <1, 1-5 and >5 mkm of dark-humus quasigleyic solonchakous solonetzic cryoturbated deeply permafrost loamy-sandy soil developed from alluvial sediments (Salic Mollic Reductaquic Turbic Cryosol (Eutric, Loamic, Calcaric, Fluvic, Sodic)) are presented. The soil is situated at the northern-eastern part of Barguzin Depression in the impact zone of dumping of nitrogen siliceous thermal underground waters of Kuldur type (Kuchiger springs). The soil forms from materials of disintegration of high-content-potassium calcareous-alkali granites of Barguzin complex of Angara-Vitim Batholith. It was found soil salinity of weak to very strong degree, presumably sulfate-sodium with gypsum. There is a net of gypsum filaments in the solum that is observed by morphological analysis. Low amount of rectorite was found in clay fraction of undisturbed layers of alluvium at the depth of 54-145 cm in the studied soil profile. Regular structure of rectorite comprised mica (A) and smectite (B) packets with alternation motive ABAB… is transformed into irregular structure of mica-smectite interstratifications by impact of soluble sodium salts and cryoturbation of soil material in soil horizons at the depth of 0-54 cm formed from the alluvium. Regional peculiarity of studied soil is small shear of quartz in silt and sand fractions that is a result of mineral composition of biotite and amphibole-biotite granites and granitoids. Irregular mica-smectite interstratifications with high shear (>50%) of smectite packets are destroyed by impact of sodium sulfate and hydrocarbonates hydrogenic accumulation in the solum and are partially illuviated into middle part of soil profile with formation of humus-clay cutans on the lateral sides of aggregates by infiltration of rain waters. Existence of humus-clay cutans is an evidence of weak degree of solonetzic process.

It is shown that the profile principle of arable soils classification, implemented in the new classification of Russian soils is not correct. The separation of 2-3 new soil types in a single tilled soils was conducted only according to the presence of the arable layer. The profile of the arable soil was not analyzed. This led to serious errors, overloading of the classification by excessive, non-existent types of soils that do not carry useful information and, therefore, distorting the reality. The analysis of properties and processes in arable soils considered in the article has shown that just plowing, crops cultivation and economic activities do not change significantly the processes that formed the soil before plowing. They lead to changes of some properties in the arable soil and, however, do not reach the new natural-agrogenic horizon. Therefore, it will be correct to separate the arable soil on the level of the subtype of the soil, which was tilled. Some changes, which occurred in the properties of tilled soils are in fact new specificities superimposed on natural horizons which were created in virgin soils. Precisely this was done in the Classification and Diagnostics of Soils of the USSR (1977) during the analysis of profiles for cultivated, reclaimed and cultivated soddy-podzolic soils. However, these soils were related to the new type - the type of cultivated soddy-podzolic soils. As it is seen in the name of the soil, the genetical connection with the virgin soils was preserved. If this soil is also eroded, it will be proposed to determine the soil water erosion degree and to separate it already at the level of a type within a subtype of arable land. This could be done by the analysis of profile remains, and by using the comparative-geographic method. A new process in arable soil, which is able to form a different soil horizon, and which is not manifested only in the form of various specificities, might occur only with great efforts in soil cultivation or radical reclamation: irrigation, drainage. Only when a new horizon appears in the arable soil, according to the principles indicated in the soil classification, a new type of arable soil is separated. A significant change in the humus horizon in arable soddy-podzolic soil: its thickness, color, humus content, structure, and other properties may serve as the basis for separation of a new type - the cultivated soil type. The proposed approach will make it possible to compose a highly informative substantive-genetic classification of soils not only for natural, but also for various arable soils.

Specific soils of mountainous regions having no analogues on plains occupy less than 3% of Russia. On the soil maps of Russian Federation (1 : 2.5 M scale, 1988), they are represented by 10 mapping units, the names of which, along with the term “mountainous” reflecting characteristic properties of these soils (general youth, thin profiles, high content of gravels, underlying by hard bedrock) contain information about the particular landscape conditions of soil formation. For updating of the map, the soils shown on it are renamed in agreement with the new Russian substantive-genetic soil classification system. The profile-genetic approach lying in the basis of this system excludes the use of landscape terms in soil names. The reclassification of mapping units is performed with due account for individual features of each particular polygon shown on the map. In essence, it consists of the search of information about the soil properties for identification of the diagnostic horizons and genetic properties of the soils to give formulae of their horizonation (in symbols of diagnostic horizons and properties). This search is based on the program and explanatory text to the map and various regional publications presenting information about the soils and the agents of soil formation. The formulae of the profiles are used to determine classification position of the soils in the substantive-genetic classification system. Most of the soils from this section of the legend belong to the order of organo-accumulative soils. The differences between them are related to differences in the types of humus and surface organic horizons. In the case of the low thickness of the profiles, the soils belong to the orders of lithozems and/or poorly developed stony soils (petrozems). As a rule, the same unit in the legend to the map corresponds to two or more soils in the new classification system. The mapping unit “mountainous forest-meadow soils” has been subdivided into five different soils with due account for the regional specificity of soil properties and landscape features. In the course of this study, several suggestions to improve the classification system of Russian soils have been made.