Features of soil thermophysical properties of the southern variant of ravine biogeocenoses of the Ukrainian steppe zone

Thermophysical properties are an important characteristic of the general condition of soils, which determine the peculiarities of the distribution of heat flow in them. Today studies of thermophysical properties of soils, including the steppe zone of Ukraine, are practically not performed. This determines the relevance of the work, which is devoted to establishing the characteristics of the thermal properties of various soils. As a result of the study of thermal diffusivity, heat capacity and thermal conductivity of soils of northern and southern exposures, as well as the thalweg of the Voyskovoy Bayrak (located near the village of Voyskovoe Solonyansky district of Dnipropetrovsk region), it was found that the most important soil factors particles of physical clay and organic matter content. It was found that the eluvial horizons of the chernozem of the forest of the northern exposure differ in the reduced values ​​of heat capacity and thermal conductivity in comparison with the illuvial horizons. Eluvial horizons of forest-meadow soil of thalweg are characterized by increased values ​​of thermal diffusivity and thermal conductivity, as well as reduced values ​​of heat capacity compared to illuvial horizons. Eluvial horizons of forest chernozem of southern exposure are characterized by lower values ​​of thermal diffusivity, heat capacity and thermal conductivity compared to illuvial horizons. The most significant boundary between eluvial and illuvial horizons in terms of thermophysical properties is characteristic of the chernozem of forest southern exposure, which is manifested in a sharp increase in the values ​​of thermophysical properties in the first illuvial horizon. Cluster analysis revealed that the most similar in terms of thermal diffusivity are forest chernozems of southern and northern exposures, and in terms of heat capacity and thermal conductivity – forest chernozems of northern exposure and forest-meadow soil of thalweg ravine.