Vol 6, No 2 (2016)

This paper shows the expediency of using the cartographic method for assessing soil resources by area with the addition of resource diversity (production, energy, and information resources). It studies the genetic nature of a production resource, which is an important category of diversity. Ratios are revealed for the values of annual growth and plant litter and the share of total biomass reprocessed into food; the threshold concentration of nutrients and competitive relations in their consumption act as factors of mobilization of unused resources.

The ecological problems of the Caspian Sea and its coast are related to both long-term natural changes in the sea level and climate and present-day socioeconomic problems. The destruction of the coastal landscapes and infrastructure caused by contemporary changes in the sea level, as well as the extraction of mineral deposits, leads to additional water pollution by oil products. The study of the causes of changes in the sea level, outcomes, and forecast of its multiannual oscillations are of primary importance. Geological models that make it possible to explain the causes of short-term oscillations in the level with application of the seismogeodynamic model of compression-tension of a sedimentary sequence of the South Caspian depression are considered.

The ecological problems that may occur in seismically active regions have not been paid enough attention until recently. The need to carry out forecasting geoecological research in the region is substantiated by the example of the eastern Caucasus territory. Methods of forecasting an imminent seismic event based on the analysis of a formed anomalous hydrogeodeformation field (HGD field) and deformation monitoring have been developed. It is recommended that works on seismic microzoning and the establishment of a network of seismometer stations proceed in the region.

A biophysical methodical approach to the evaluation of soil status by the luminescence of humic substances and plants has been developed in order to create a conceptual basis for application of the method with express-monitoring of the soil status and for modeling of the ecological risk of the degradation processes. The use of optical methods to study the problems of aridization and environmental contamination will help to inform and enhance the ability to forecast future developments and to develop means to prevent soil degradation at the initial stage in a timely manner.

The current state and prospects of the development of ground waters in Dagestan have been reviewed. A complex theoretical and experimental study of the mechanisms by which biologically active substances of geothermal waters influence yeast metabolism has served as the basis for the development of biotechnologies to produce biochemically active Saccharomyces strains, bakery products, and ethanol. The application of new technology products in various industries opens up possibilities for creating high-performance agroindustrial enterprises in both Dagestan and other regions of Russia with geothermal resources.

The structure of the variability of the morphological (dimensional and quantitative) signs of the reproductive shoot of the zigzag clover Trifolium medium L., the seeds of which were collected according to the altitude factor, was studied under the conditions of its introduction in mountainous Dagestan (1100 m above sea-level). An assessment is given for the variability of vegetative and generative morphological signs.

The Dagestan Branch of the Dokuchaev Soil Scientist Society presents a short review of scientific and applied research as part of the events dedicated to the International Day of Soils. The results of the increased activity of the public and pupils in a program for the conservation of soils as a national resource are shown to be significant.