Scientific Bases for Enuring Productive Longevity of Agrolandscapes in Russia

Resumo

V.V. Dokuchaev’s ideas are the foundation of modern ideas about rational nature-usage methods in our steppes in order to ensure productive longevity of agro-ecosystems and agrolandscapes, to obtain high and sustainable yields. Agrolandscape-ecological zoning, analysis and assessment of the areas under study by the natural-economic areas of the southern European part of the Russian Federation (the Central Black-Earth Region, the Northern Caucasus, and the Volga region) were carried out with the aim to develop scientific bases for ensuring productive longevity of agrolandscapes in Russia. Scientific bases for providing the productive longevity of agrolandscapes and a system for assessing the status and management of agroecosystems and agrolandscapes in Russia have been developed. A balanced ratio of productive and protective ecosystems in the infrastructure of the agrolandscape (arable land, meadows, forests, and water bodies), grain, tilled crops and perennial grasses in the structure of sown areas and crop rotations is a prerequisite for creating an effective and sustainable agriculture. Systems of measures for managing agroecosystems and agrolandscapes include improving the structure of land areas, optimizing the structure of crop areas and improving crop rotation, improving farming systems, developing, implementing and optimizing norms for anthropogenic loads upon agrolandscapes in the whole and for individual elements of their spatial structure (arable land, pastures, hayfields, and forests), rational allocation of agricultural crops in the land use area, etc. Perennial grasses are the main source of carbon and nitrogen for replenishing humus reserves, as well as the main factor for protecting the soil from erosion. In the rational structure of the acreage, there must be a necessary and sufficient amount of perennial grasses and legumes (at least 20–25%) and a minimum one of clean fallows and row crops.