CURRENT SOIL AND ECOLOGICAL STATE ON THE CRIMEAN PENINSULA
Active anthropogenic transformation of the territories of the Crimean peninsula in modern conditions led to the activation of the processes of soil degradation. Particularly water erosion and deflation spreaded widely. In Crimea, erosion processes most actively developed in agricultural landscapes of mountain foothill areas. This is facilitated by geomorphological, soil and geological features of the territory, as well as a high degree of plowing. Arable land exposed by the erosion, constitute 12,6% of the total area of agricultural land. The most widely represented erosion on grounds of the South Coast (in Yalta area - 100%, Alushta - 53,7%, Sudak - 38,1%) and the territory of the administrative regions: the Black Sea (45,1%), Bakhchisaray (45,5% ), Belogorsk (38,7%), Simferopol (30,9), Razdolnenskiy (27,5%), Pervomaisky (22,9), Saki (21,8%). And now there is a tendency of growth of eroded areas and deflated lands. Deflationary processes cover almost half the arable land of the republic (48,7%, including low- and average deflated soil are, respectively, 31,3 and 17,3%). In the flat part of the Crimea, nearly half of the arable land is exposed with not only the water erosion but also the wind erosion too. The average humus content in the soils of Crimea is low and varies between 1,8-2,86%. It should be noted that out of 940,6 thousand hectares surveyed only 0,45% (4,3 thousand ha) have high humus content. The lowest content is a characteristic for dry steppe of the North-Crimean soil (Krasnoperekopsky, Dzhankoy districts). This is due to the peculiarities of the formation conditions of the soil. But active display of the dehumification process also contributes to the high degree of arable areas and is characterized by erosion. Since 1963, a significant part of the Crimean steppe soils irrigated waters of the North-Crimean Сhannel and used in rice-alfalfa agrocenoses. About 50% of the structure of the soil cover rice irrigation systems of Crimea (15 thousand ha) were meadow solonetz. Flooded rice culture dramatically changed the environment, profiles structure, water and salt regimes of meadow solonetz, as a result of intensified unusual for them such as the desalinization processes, desalinisation and others. It was found that during this period the general reserves of salts in the top meter of soil thickness decreased in 3,4-5,8 times and in the layer of 0-30 cm in 1,5-3,2 times. Huge areas of Crimea require reclamation of alkaline soils. We offer the development of measures designed to stabilize and improve the properties of the soil of their ecological status to develop regional program for the protection of soil from erosion and other forms of degradation.