Open AccessLANDSCAPES AND SOILS OF THE MIDDLE AND LOWER VOLGA REGION IN THE PAST AND IN THE PRESENT
Author(s) -
R. Reshetnikova,
N. Kovaleva
Publication year - 2021
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Conference proceedings
DOI - 10.29003/m2601.s-n_history_2021_44/172-177
Subject(s) - volga region , steppe , human settlement , soil cover , holocene , soil water , soil salinity , geography , flooding (psychology) , physical geography , geology , archaeology , soil science , ancient history , history , psychology , psychotherapist
The landscapes of the Volga region during the Holocene underwent changes associated with climate fluctuations, a change in the direction of soil-forming processes, and an intensification of anthropogenic activity. The nature of the soil cover also changed - in the chestnut soils prevailing in the region in the late Holocene, the processes of salinization and alkalinization began to appear gradually and with varying intensity. In the Middle Ages, a favorable climate and fertile soils were one of the factors that led to the flourishing of the cities of the Golden Horde in the Volga region. One of them is the commercial city of Beljamen (now the village of Dubovka). With the beginning of the Little Ice Age, the deterioration of the soil began, and at the same time the Volga Germans came to the territory of the region, whose settlements are now partially abandoned (the village of Galka, the village of Shcherbakovka). The next stage in the transformation of landscapes was the construction of reservoirs on the Volga, which caused flooding of many lands and villages, landslides and degradation of soil and water conditions. At present, dry steppes with chestnut, saline and saline soils prevail in the Volga region (the village of Nizhnyaya Bannovka), which are not always favorable for agriculture, and many settlements are abandoned.