The morphological structure of the profiles of two vertisols on microelevations of the gilgai complex of the Bolshoi liman (Svetloyarsk district of the Volgograd region) was studied. Despite the same microrelief position and equal relative heights of microelevations, morphological differences in the profiles at the subtype level were revealed. In one of the profiles, due to the higher humidity, the signs of vertisol genesis were less pronounced. Whereas in the second, more pronounced signs of vertic processes were described – slickensides with 15–30 cm length, smaller slickensides up to 10 cm, wedge-shaped aggregates. The proportion of the clay fraction in the mixed horizons, obtained by the Gorbunov method, was 45– 52%. Analysis of the qualitative mineralogical composition of the clay (<1μm) fractions showed that the smectite phase is represented mainly by disordered and mixed-layered smectite-illite formations. Individual illite belongs to the biotite variety according to the filling of the octahedral layer. Analysis of the ratio of the main mineral phases showed the predominance of illite (53–87%) in all soil samples. In the first pit an increase in the proportion of the smectite component with depth (from 1 to 35%) is noted. In the second pit, there are no regularities in the distribution of mineral phases (fluctuations within 24–37%), which may be associated with the involvement of chocolate clays layers in the profile during soil formation. Mineralogical analysis of chocolate clays (parent rocks) showed their high heterogeneity depending on the depth of the studied layer. No correlation was found between the severity of the signs of vertic processes and the proportion of the swelling component. Illustration of the stages of the formation of the soil cover on the investigated plot of the liman is given. The main reasons that led to the formation of different soils on microelevations are the unevenness of the “squeezing out” of soil blocks upward in the process of microrelief formation in combination with local erosion.

Dust is a major component of atmospheric aerosols – 75% of the global aerosol load. Natural and anthropogenic sources are listed, as well as dust research methods. According to different estimates, the average mineral dust load in the atmosphere ranges from 20 to 33 Tg, and the annual dust emission is 1 200–5 900 Tg/year. Reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) inform about the total direct radiative forcing of dust ranging from -0.56 to +0.1 W/m², with little scientific understanding of the processes leading to this result. The particle size, including soil aerosol, is divided into fine (<5 μm), medium (5–10(20) μm) and coarse (>20 μm) dust. Fine dust cools the global climate due to dispersion of solar radiation, while coarse dust (greater than 5 μm) warms the climate by absorbing solar and thermal radiation. However, the coarse dust (above 20 μm) remains poorly investigated, with very little data on its content and emission. Recent studies suggest that coarse dust (17 Tg), missed by the global models, contributes on average 0.15 W/m² (0.10 to 0.24 W/m²) to atmospheric heating and also affects the global distribution of clouds and precipitation. In addition, soil dust is characterised by a complex and diverse particle shape and structure, heterogeneous mineralogical and chemical composition; due to its dispersion ability and large surface area dust reacts with other types of aerosols, resulting in the formation of different films on the particle surface or internal mixing. All this significantly changes the optical properties of mineral dust and complicates the development of models for its investigation.

Soil samples and granulodensimetric fractions isolated from them ((silt particle size less than 1 µm, light fraction (LF) with a density of less than 2 g/cm³ and a fraction of the residues) of ordinary chernozem from experimental fields of the Kamennaya Steppe agricultural landscape of the Voronezh region were studied. The main differences between the variants of the experiment are introducing or stopping mineral fertilizers, and in the aftereffect of irrigation (13 years). There is an increase in the content of LF when using mineral fertilizers, as well as a change in the composition of sizedensity fractionations, expressed in different content of C and N and hydrophobic-hydrophilic components of humus substances (HS) of soils, silt and LF. The irrigation had practically no effect on the hydrophobichydrophilic composition of the initial soils, while the relative content of the hydrophilic components of the silt fraction of the soil increased, and the hydrophilic composition of HS LF decreased. The use of mineral fertilizers led to a significant variation in the degree of hydrophilicity of HS in silt and LF with a smaller change of this indicator for the HS of the soil as a whole. The abolition of fertilizers application, on the contrary, affected the hydrophobichydrophilic composition of the soil as a whole, and the composition of the soil silt and LF. The increase in the proportion of hydrophilic components in the composition of soil HS, as well as in the composition of HS silt and LF occurred simultaneously with an increase in the hydrophobicity of the surface of the solid phase of soil and with an increase in the carbon content in the soil, which indicates the stability of the system as a whole. Since the physical fractions of soils reacted more intensively to changes in the agrogenic load, compared with native soil samples, and changes in their qualitative composition were traced in two versions of the experiment, monitoring of hydrophobic-hydrophilic components of soil and soil granulodensimetric fractions is advisable to monitor and diagnose soil changes during agricultural use.

The paper assesses the pollution of soils and grounds of green spaces in Moscow with heavy metals and de-icing agents. The analysis of literature sources indicates a decrease in integral pollution index of soils and grounds of green spaces in the city in recent years. The decrease in the integral pollution index is determined by the reduction of emissions from industrial enterprises and by the land reclamation with the replacement of the upper soil layer. At the same time, an observed increase in the lead concentrations in urban landscapes was caused by intensive automobile traffic. The lack of green territories was noted in central part of the metropolis, which is below the norm recommended by WHO (50 m² of tree plantations per person). The processes of soil salinization and suppression of urban vegetation caused by the use of de-icing reagents are described. The literature data on the anthropogenic transformation of physical and chemical properties of soils and forms of heavy metal compounds in soils are presented. It is indicated that the study of these issues is promising for solving ecological-hygienic problems of the megalopolis. Soils of green spaces in Moscow are proposed to be divided into three groups, taking into account the genesis, ecological and geochemical state: 1) soils on artificial bulk ground of designed landscapes, 2) transformed soils with traces of past anthropogenic impact (postagrogenic soils, soils of post-settlement territories, 3) soils on the territories of parks, forest parks and forests, slightly affected by human activities and retaining the properties of natural zonal soils.

The studies were carried out in the western part of the Bryansk Region in the landscapes of the Sozh River basin (Iput’ River, tributary of the 1^st order, south of the village of Perevoz; River Besed', tributary of the 1^st order, northwest of the village of Baturovka; River Unecha, tributary 2nd order, west of the village of Lopatny). The aim of this work is to study the features of the vertical and horizontal distribution of the gross content of Cu, Ni, Zn, Mn, Cr, Cd, Pb, Co, Mo, As in the alluvial soils of floodplain landscapes. The selection of soil samples for the determination of the gross content of trace elements was carried out in subsystems of the floodplain landscape, different in geomorphology and hydrology, by the method of soil springs. Each key soil plot was a full-profile soil pit and four reconnaissance pits. Samples were taken from the walls of the cuts every 5 cm, mixed and averaged by the quartering method. The gross content of trace elements was determined by the atomic absorption method, after preliminary decomposition of the samples with a mixture of concentrated nitric and hydrofluoric acids using a microwave system. Variations in the content of trace elements in the layers of alluvial soils were assessed using the coefficient of variation. To characterize the degree of concentration or dispersion of trace elements in soils, the concentration clarke was calculated. As a result of the research, it was found that the vertical distribution of trace elements in the 0–20 cm layer is determined by their chemical properties and the genesis of the soils of the floodplain subsystems, and can be uniform, decreasing/increasing with depth or with concentration in separate layers. Clarke concentrations of microelements and their content increase in the direction from the riverbed to the near-terrace subsystem of the floodplain. Concentrations of elements in the soils of floodplain landscapes do not exceed the clarke value. The exceptions are Cr, Zn and Cu in the soil of the near-terrace subsystem of the river Unecha, Cd – in the soil of the central subsystem of the river Besed’, as well as Cu and Cd – in the soil of the near-terrace subsystem of the river Besed’. An excess of the clarke value for some elements may indicate their anthropogenic origin.