The soil is not homogeneous structure. It consists of several soil-forming components. But biggest difference observed if you look at the soil in cross-section. The soil layers in the section are represented by different horizons.
What is a soil horizon? From a genetic point of view, the soil horizon is a certain layer distinguished by its own color, density, structure and other qualities.
The topsoil is the area of the most intense biological activity. Many living organisms live in this layer, and plants extend their roots into this layer. Plant roots are actually very important to this layer because vegetation helps hold this layer of soil in place. Topsoil is usually a layer in which minerals that can dissolve and are very fine particles, such as clay, are missing. This is because clay-sized particles end up in the lower layers when water seeps into the ground.
The horizons are located one above the other parallel to the soil surface and together make up the soil profile. The formation of soil horizons takes many years. The number of soil horizons, depending on the classification system, is 15-16 pieces.
The soil performs very important functions for plants. In fact, she is theirs digestive system— many soil microorganisms process organic and mineral substances, preparing them for plants. Plants themselves cannot perform such functions.
There are no soluble minerals because they dissolve easily in fresh water, which passes through this layer and is transferred to the lower layers of soil. This is the region where soluble minerals and clays accumulate. This layer will be lighter Brown and wetter than the topsoil due to the presence of iron and clay minerals. This layer will have less organic material.
There will be some evidence of weathering in this layer, but fragments of the original rock can still be seen and the original type of rock that formed this soil could be identified. Not all climate regions develop soil, and not all regions develop the same horizons. Some areas develop five or six different layers, while others develop only very thin soils, or perhaps no soil develops at all.
Plant roots receive water and oxygen through the soil. Soil keeps plants upright and protects their roots from pests and unfavorable climate conditions.
Of greatest interest is the upper fertile layer soil, also known as the upper horizon of the soil.
Topsoil is a complex of upper soil horizons that provide fertility. It consists of several horizons.
If we talked to soil scientists, you would learn that there are thousands of soil types. Soil scientists study each of the many various characteristics each soil and place them into very specific groups and have many different names for soils. Let's look at much more simple model, which takes into account only three soil types. This will help you understand some basic ideas about how the particular climate in an area creates a certain type of soil, but there are many exceptions to what we're learning right now.
Let's consider the type of soil that would form in a region of the world where there are forests of trees that lose their leaves every winter, called deciduous trees. In order for trees to grow here, there must be a lot of rain, at least 65 cm of rain per year. Where there are trees, there is enough rain to help them grow! The type of soil that forms in a forested area is called pedal soil, and this type of soil is common in many temperate, East End U.S.A. This type of soil is usually very fertile, dark brown or black soil.
These are various remains of animal and plant origin: grass, leaves, fungi, insects and other dead small organisms. Creates shelter for seeds and pre-root parts of plants.
This soil layer has a depth of up to twenty centimeters. Contains organic matter processed by insects and worms and particles of uneaten plants and animal organisms. This is the most valuable nutrient layer for plants.
It is rich in aluminum clays and iron oxides. climate type, most of soluble minerals dissolve and are carried away, leaving less soluble clays and iron oxides. Figure 10: Pedalfer is a dark, fertile type of soil that forms in wooded areas.
Another type of soil-related climate, called pedocal, occurs in drier temperate areas where grasslands and brush are common species vegetation. These areas receive less than 65 cm of rain per year, so there is less chemical weathering for these soils. With less rainfall there is less soluble mineral dissolution, so there are more soluble minerals present but fewer clay minerals are formed. With less rainfall, there is also less vegetation, so the soils have lower amounts of organic material, making them slightly less fertile soil types than pedal.
Mineral layer
Source minerals for plants. This layer is formed throughout for long years and contains mineral elements remaining in the process of complex long-term transformations of organic and inorganic matter. Contains dissolved gases, water, nitrogen, carbon and others essential components, necessary for plants.
The pedal is called for the calcite-enriched layer. Some water begins to move down through the soil layers, but before it gets very far, it begins to evaporate. Soluble minerals such as calcium carbonate are concentrated in a layer that marks the lowest point water could reach before it evaporated.
Figure 11: Pedal is an alkaline soil type that forms in grassland regions. Figure 12: Laterite is a type of dense, nutrient-rich soil that forms in tropical forests. A third type of soil, called laterite, forms in tropical areas where rainfall is so intense that it literally rains every day. Tropical a tropical forest is an example of this type of region. In these hot, humid tropical areas, intense chemical weathering creates arid, nutrient-starved soils.
Humus layer
In this layer, biosynthesis processes from organic waste also occur, but due to specific conditions, these processes occur differently - not like in upper layers. As a result of biosynthesis, flammable gases are formed in the humus layer, which are a source of energy and heat.
Natural resources and their isolated fragments as objects of rights have long been the subject of legal regulation, but not always qualitative certainty relevant legal concepts sufficient for regulation to be carried out with the required efficiency. Such “legal insufficiency” is not characteristic of some secondary and secondary aspects, but of the most fundamental, initial provisions. In this regard, it would be appropriate to note that the long-awaited Land Code of the Russian Federation of October 25, 2001, in defining the basic concept of objects of land relations, turned out to be extremely laconic, establishing in Article 6 only that the objects of land relations are:
So much weathering occurs here that there is virtually no humus. All soluble minerals are removed from the soil, and all plant matter nutrients are leached or carried away. The rest are the least soluble materials, such as aluminum and iron oxides. These soils are often colored red from iron oxides. These soils bake as hard as brick if they are planted in the sun to dry out.
You can probably name many climates very quickly that have not been mentioned here. Each climate will produce a distinctive soil, which is formed under the particular circumstances found there. Where there is less weathering, the soils are thinner, but soluble minerals may be present. Where there is intense weathering, the soils may be dense but nutrient poor. In any case, soil development takes a very long time. It may take hundreds or even thousands of years to develop good, fertile top soil.
1) land as a natural object and natural resource;
2) land plots;
3) parts land plots.
At the same time, only a land plot received a relatively detailed definition as an object of land relations, which is understood as a part of the earth’s surface (including the soil layer), the boundaries of which are described and certified in in the prescribed manner. But such a construction of a definition can hardly be considered successful: one unknown (a plot of land) is defined as a part of another unknown (the surface of the earth), and the latter includes a third unknown (the soil layer). In this way, not only the logical rules of definition are violated, but also, most importantly, the actual state of affairs is presented in a deformed form. Unfortunately, the current land legislation turned out to be impervious to the fact that not only in everyday life, but also in the language of law, there are the words “land” and “soil”, which refer to the same natural resource, but characterize it differently various sides. Concerning land, That this concept"lucky" in much to a greater extent, rather than soil. According to the Constitution of the Russian Federation, land and other natural resources are used and protected in Russian Federation as the basis for the life and activities of the peoples living in the corresponding territory (Article 9 of Chapter 1 “Fundamentals of the Constitutional System”). In Chapter 2 of the Constitution, “Rights and freedoms of man and citizen,” the legislator again mentions land rights. Such attention to land in the Basic Law of the country is, of course, largely due to the urgency that the land issue has acquired in the course of recent socio-economic reforms. Developing these constitutional provisions, the Land Code (clause 1 of Article 1) speaks of land as natural site, protected as an essential part of nature, a natural resource used as a means of production in agriculture and forestry and the basis for carrying out economic and other activities on the territory of the Russian Federation, and at the same time as about real estate, about the object of ownership and other rights to land. In relation to soil the legislator prefers not to speak out definitively. This is all the more strange since it is the soil that is the first and real value of the land in the above understanding of the latter. According to science, soil is a surface film one and a half to two meters thick with a radius globe 6000 kilometers, but in this vanishingly thin shell the potential is concentrated, allowing a person to receive about 99% of food, more than 95% of the planet’s gene pool - plants and animals - is concentrated in it. There are only 9% of soils suitable for farming in the world. In Russia, chernozem occupies only 7% of the territory, but 80% of agricultural products are obtained from it. At the same time, in Russia, as well as throughout the world, there is a process of loss of fertile soils, which experts call the “silent crisis of the planet.” Every year, Russian arable land loses more than 1.5 billion tons of fertile layer, the increase in eroded areas reaches 1.5 billion hectares, the growth of ravines is 80 - 100 thousand hectares, every third hectare of arable land and pastures is eroded . It would seem that these data could already stimulate the legislator to develop a normative understanding soil, however, this has not yet happened. Even in the “core” Law of July 16, 1998 No. 101-FZ “On state regulation of ensuring the fertility of agricultural lands,” the concept of “soil” is not among the basic concepts and is used only as a complete synonym for “agricultural land.” In general, it is most difficult to define the things and phenomena that constitute the material and spiritual basis of the existence of man and humanity. The task of defining the concept “soil” is no exception. Even soil scientists approach the task of characterizing soil in completely different ways, using different starting points: from structural and qualitative and quantitative analytical parameters to emotional and poetic assessments .
In poor conditions this can take thousands of years! Figure 13: Organic material can be added to soil to help increase its fertility. Soil is only a renewable resource if we carefully manage the ways we use the soil. There are natural cycles of unfortunate events such as drought or insect pests or disease outbreaks that negatively impact ecosystems and also damage the soil. But there are also many ways in which people neglect or abuse this important resource.
One harmful practice is removing vegetation that helps hold the soil together. Sometimes just walking or riding your bike in the same area will kill the grass that normally grows there. In other cases, land is deliberately cleared to make way for another use. "Lost" soils may be blown away or running water. In many areas of the world, the rate of soil erosion is many times greater than the rate at which it is formed. Soils can also become contaminated where too much salt accumulates in the soil or where contaminants sink into the ground.
The initiative taken in 2001 by a number of deputies (Greshevnikova A.N. and others) to introduce State Duma draft Federal Law “On Soil Protection”, where soil as the initial concept was defined asthe surface layer of the earth, which forms the basis of life and is both a component of nature and a strategic natural resource, represents an independent natural history organomineral nature education, which arose on the surface of the earth as a result of long-term interaction of biotic, abiotic and anthropogenic factors, microflora, micro- and mesofauna, having specific genetic and morphological characteristics and properties and having fertility. Unfortunately, the idea of the bill did not receive support from the Government of the Russian Federation, which considered it inappropriate to consider it before the adoption of the Land Code of the Russian Federation and the Federal Law “On the Protection of environment" Expectations that specifically “ground-level” issues will be resolved by future legislation did not materialize. Law “On Environmental Protection” natural environment" dated December 19, 1991 in all its editions (February 21, 1992, June 2, 1993, July 10, 2001) did not use the concept of soil, naming the land, its subsoil, surface and The groundwater, atmospheric air, forests and other vegetation, animal world, microorganisms, genetic fund, natural landscapes(v. 4). New edition This law of January 10, 2002 No. 7-FZ “On Environmental Protection” in relation to soils is also extremely laconic, using this term by listing them on a par with other components of the natural environment. The Land Code, as noted above, operates with the concept of soil only in the context of defining the concept land plot, and that was very unfortunate. Firstly, the Land Code does not indicate the actual relationship between land and soil as its surface, resulting in the impression that the presence of a soil layer is a sign only of a land plot, but not of land as such. Secondly, it remains unclear what the legislator meant by indicating that the soil layer is included in the surface of the earth "including". This mysterious vagueness and meaningfulness of the wording makes us assume the worst: since the soil layer is mentioned “including”, it means that the legislator knows more about the structure of the earth’s surface than the representatives natural sciences. Fortunately, this fear is not based on anything (except the text of the Land Code). As before (and, we dare to hope, in a visible perspective), the soil layer was and remains the surface of the earth (of course, and the land plot as part of the earth) without any “including”. In defining such basic concepts Any approximation and vagueness are unacceptable. But, thirdly, the Land Code creates another one, now really practical problem. Pointing out that "“a plot of land is a part of the surface of the earth, the boundaries of which are described and certified in accordance with the established procedure,” the legislator is clearly not guided by the task of determining qualitative parameters and spatial boundaries of the soil layer, while the characteristics of a land plot as a discrete object civil rights Without this data, in our opinion, it is impossible.
There are many ways to protect and conserve our precious soil resources. There are many ways to help keep the soil in good condition. Adding organic material to the soil in the form of plant or animal waste such as manure or compost increases soil fertility and also improves its ability to retain water and nutrients. Inorganic fertilizer can also temporarily increase soil fertility and may be less expensive or labor intensive, but will not provide the same long-term improvements as organic materials.
the federal law dated January 2, 2000 No. 28-FZ “On the State Land Cadastre” determined in Art. 14 (item 2), which is in the One state register lands contains the following basic information about land plots: cadastral numbers; location(address); square; category of land and permitted use of land plots; description of the boundaries of land plots, their individual parts; property rights and restrictions (encumbrances) registered in accordance with the established procedure; economic characteristics, including the amount of payment for land; quality characteristics, including indicators of the state of land fertility for certain categories of land; the presence of real estate objects firmly connected with land plots. It is easy to see that at least some possibility of taking into account the parameters of the soil layer of a land plot during cadastral registration of land exists only in relation to individual categories lands, and lands specifically for agricultural purposes, since the law connects such an assessment with the tasks of studying fertility indicators. By Order of the State Committee of the Russian Federation on Land Policy dated November 22, 1999 No. 84, documents for maintaining the State Land Cadastre were put into effect, from which it follows that the characteristics of the quality of agricultural land are reduced mainly to a description of characteristics that reduce fertility (salinity, acidity, rockiness, erosion and deflationary danger, excess moisture, etc.). This line can be traced in Art. 12 of the Federal Law of June 18, 2001 “On Land Management”, according to which the assessment of land quality is carried out in order to obtain information about the properties of land as a means of production in agriculture. Other purposes of land use, apparently, are not considered as a reason for discussing the quality of land. However, land quality is primarily (if not exclusively) soil quality. The soil forms the surface any plot of land, but the surface is not as an ideal outer shell, but as a very real, physically tangible layer of soil, this “rust of the Earth,” having certain dimensions both in plane and in depth. This circumstance is very significant: it is difficult to imagine land plot, from which the soil layer was carefully collected and transported to another place. Will it such"groundless" area land- This big question, and not only of a theoretical order .
Agricultural practices such as rotation cropping, alternating the types of crops planted in each row, and planting nutrient-rich cover crops all help keep the soil more fertile as it is used season after season. Planting trees as windbreaks, plowing along field contours, or building terraces on steeper slopes will help keep the soil in place. Mining before or without tilling helps keep the soil in place, disturbing the ground as little as possible when planting.
Figure 14: Steep slopes can be terraced to provide planting levels and reduce runoff and erosion. The type of soil that forms depends mainly on climate, but less on the parent rock material. The texture and composition of the soil, as well as the amount of organic material in the soil, determine soil properties and fertility. Considering sufficient time, the existing rock will produce layers in the soil called a soil profile. Ultimately, the climate of a particular region will produce a soil type unique to that climate. Is the soil in your backyard most likely residual soil or transported soil? List several benefits of adding humus to soil. What are the three soil horizons? Describe the characteristics of each. Name three climate-related soils. Describe the climate and vegetation that occurs in the area where each form occurs. Where would you decide to buy land for a farm if you want fertile soil and don’t want to irrigate your crops? Do you think mature soil will form more quickly from unaltered bedrock or from transported materials? If soil erosion occurs at a faster rate than new soil can be formed, what will ultimately happen to the soil in that region?
- Soil is an important resource.
- Life on Earth could not exist, as it does today, without soil.
- Describe at least two ways in which soil is a living resource.
- Name two factors influencing soil formation.
- In which area of the soil profile does it react the most?
- How could you check?
- Why is soil such an important resource?
- Do you think there are pollutants that are difficult to remove from soil?
Compulsory essential feature of any land plot (regardless of its purpose), in our opinion, should be the spatial and qualitative characteristics of the soil layer, and such characteristics should be included in the description (establishment) of the boundaries of the land plot as an object of law. This is necessary at least for the reasons that the establishment of spatial and qualitative boundaries of the soil layer makes it possible to distinguish between the scope of land legislation and the “sphere of responsibility” of subsoil use legislation. As stated in the preamble of the Law of February 21, 1992 “On Subsoil”, subsoil is part of earth's crust, located below the soil layer, and in its absence - below the earth's surface and the bottom of reservoirs and watercourses, extending to depths accessible to geological study and development. Based on this norm, it can be seen that the soil layer is not only component“earth”, but also a kind of border separating “earth” from the subsoil. Below the soil layer the subsoil begins, above the soil layer the air space extends . If everything seems to be clear with the definition of the lower boundary of the airspace, then in relation to upper limit there is enough subsoil serious problem. The fact is that the law, while correctly characterizing the subsoil as part of the earth’s crust, “skips over” the fact that another integral part The earth's crust is the soil layer lying above the subsoil. Where is the border between them, it's not always clear .
It takes time, between hundreds and thousands of years, and is composed of a variety of materials that are inorganic and organic. Inorganic materials are the nonliving aspects of soil, such as minerals and rocks, while organic materials are the living aspects of soil, such as soil microorganisms. The process of soil formation occurs along with the integration of soil microbial and chemical activities originating from living organisms.
For example, during decomposition dead plants and animal nutrients mix with weathered and broken rocks to form soil. due to agricultural productivity benefits. Soils have various shapes mineral and organic compounds that establish their specific characteristics. Soil is also divided into different soil layers.
Increasingly, practitioners are asking questions that few people seriously worried about in the previous economic system. For example, construction underground structures(communications, underground passages, garages, fuel storage facilities, shopping malls, etc.), which requires digging a pit with excavation and removal of the soil layer, may involve registration of land allotment, allocation of a subsoil plot, or both together. But it is clear that in legal and economic terms these options are by no means equivalent and not interchangeable. It is possible to determine exactly what kind of relationship will arise in this case - land use and/or subsoil use - only taking into account the parameters (in particular, depth) of the soil layer on the corresponding land plot. The issue becomes particularly acute in cases where above-ground and underground spaces are developed by different economic entities. There are also situations where the method of placement (above-ground or underground) of functionally similar objects determines the issue of changing the intended purpose of a land plot; accordingly, the pre-emptive right of the tenant of the land plot, who has properly performed his duties, to conclude a lease agreement for a new term is recognized or not recognized (Article 621 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation) . Now, after the entry into force of the Land Code of the Russian Federation, similar problems will arise in geometric progression. But given the existing regulatory uncertainty regarding the soil layer and its spatial and qualitative characteristics, courts will not always have reliable tools in their hands to resolve emerging conflicts. It seems that the issue of the definiteness of boundaries, the discreteness of a land plot, could be resolved by analogy with the determination of the spatial boundaries of subsoil plots. Yes, Art. 2 of the Law “On Subsoil” determines that the state subsoil fund consists of used areas, which are geometrized blocks of subsoil, and unused parts of subsoil within the territory of the Russian Federation and its continental shelf. In the same way used land plots can be defined as geometrized blocks of the soil layer, which will create the required clarity in establishing the legal boundaries of used (in use and in circulation) land plots. Gazette of the SND and the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, 03/05/1992. No. 10. Art. 457.
NW RF, 01/14/2002. No. 2. Art. 133.
The same mistake, following the Land Code, is repeated by the Federal Law “On Land Management” dated June 18, 2001 No. 78-FZ, in Art. 11 of which it is established that soil, geobotanical and other surveys and surveys are carried out in order to obtain information about the condition of the lands, including soil. It must, however, be taken into account that current legislation recognizes the existence of earth surfaces without soil cover, however, it is unlikely that such “soilless” surfaces can be considered land in sections.
It is known that when discussing the draft of the new Land Code, one of the arguments in the dispute was the possibility of “wasting” the soil layer, its sale and export as an independent product. It should be noted that in purely technically such a possibility exists. Yes and in legal terms the transportability of the soil layer is beyond doubt. So, for example, paragraph 4 of Art. 13 of the Land Code directly stipulates that when carrying out activities related to soil disturbance construction work and mining operations, the fertile soil layer is removed and used to improve unproductive lands. A rather curious situation arises: a significant necessary part of the land plot, which is classic real estate, turns out to be completely movable. This circumstance has not yet been subjected to exhaustive analysis, which, perhaps, can lead to a revision of some theoretical provisions on the relationship between movable and immovable property.
In Article 1, Clause 2 of the Air Code of the Russian Federation, airspace is understood as airspace above the territory of the Russian Federation, including airspace above inland waters and the territorial sea.
The literature rightly notes that ownership of subsoil is sometimes combined with ownership of earth's surface, however, this combination is not mandatory. This means that the current legislation on subsoil “breaks” the right to the subsoil and the right to the surface of the earth. – See, for example: Sheinin L. B. Underground farming: legal regulation// Magazine Russian law. 2001. No. 11. But it is clear that in such conditions it is all the more necessary to reliably distinguish between the subsoil as an object owned by the state, on the one hand, and the soil layer of the land plot located above the subsoil plot, which may belong to other entities.
Resolution of the Federal Arbitration Court of the Moscow District of July 5, 2001 in case No. KG-A40/3340-01.
