Assessment of soil moisture in agricultural lands of Belarusian Lake District in the context of modern climate change
Abstract
The article presents research results on soil moisture assessment on agricultural lands of Belarusian Lake District (Poozerye) based on the data of the network of hydrometeorological observations for 1989–2022. The dynamics of productive moisture reserves in the 0–20 cm layer is estimated. The duration of soil droughts and the recurrence of years with soil drought by month in the territory of Belarusian Lake District has been estimated. For the first time, information about waterlogging of the soils of the studied territory has been obtained. Excessive soil moisture is most pronounced in early spring and late autumn periods on heavy and medium loams soils – Yezerishte, Sharkovshchina, Vitebsk, Verkhnedvinsk. The lowest frequency of excessive moisture is observed in sites on light sandy loam soils – Lyntupy and Senno). It has been established that in Belarusian Lake District there is a tendency to decrease the duration of excessive moisture. Nevertheless, despite a number of dry years, soil waterlogging dominates and is observed in almost all years. The average number of decades with soil waterlogging is more than twice as high as the number of decades with drought, which highlights the predominance of soil waterlogging during the growing season in the territory of Belarusian Lake District compared to soil droughts.
About the Authors
V. I. MelnikBelarus
Viktar I. Melnik – Ph. D. (Geography), Leading Researcher, Associate Professor
10, F. Skoriny Str., 220076, Minsk
I. V. Buyakov
Belarus
Ivan V. Buyakov – Junior Researcher
10, F. Skoriny Str., 220076, Minsk
V. M. Yatsukhno
Belarus
Valentin M. Yatsukhno – Ph. D. (Agriculture), Associate Professor, Head of the Scientific Research Lab of Landscape Ecology
4, Nezavisimosti Ave, 220030, Minsk
T. G. Shumskaya
Belarus
Tatiana G. Shumskaya – Leading Engineer-Agrometeorologist
110, Nezavisimosti Ave., 220114, Minsk
References
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4. Melnik V. I., Piskunovich N. G., Buyakov I. V., Yatsukhno V. M., Shumskaya T. G. Prostranstvenno-vremennyye izmeneniya pochvennykh zasukh na territorii Belorusskogo Poles'ya v usloviyakh sovremennogo izmeneniya klimata [The spatio-temporal pattern of soil droughts on the territory of the Belarusian Polesia in accordance with current climate change]. Prirodnye resursy = Natural Resources, 2021, no. 1, pp. 15–21. (in Russian)
5. Melnik V. I., Buyakov I. V., Piskunovich N. G., Shumskaya T. G. Otsenka vlagozapasov i povtoryayemosti pochvennykh zasukh na territorii Belorusskogo Poles'ya v period sovremennogo potepleniya klimata [Assessment of moisture reserves and recurrence of soil droughts in the territory of the Belarusian Polesie during the period of modern climate warming]. Prirodnye resursy = Natural Resources, 2020, no. 2, pp. 104–115. (in Russian)
Review
For citations:
Melnik V.I., Buyakov I.V., Yatsukhno V.M., Shumskaya T.G. Assessment of soil moisture in agricultural lands of Belarusian Lake District in the context of modern climate change. Nature Management. 2025;(1):15-26. (In Russ.)
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