SOIL EROSION LABORATORY OF V.V. DOKUCHAEV SOIL SCIENCE INSTITUTE

The Soil Erosion Laboratory of the V.V. Dokuchaev Soil Science Institute was organized in 1932 on the initiative of the reputed soil scientist A.M. Pankov. This laboratory became the first specialized laboratory in the USSR to systematically study soil erosion. For a long time, the laboratory served as the coordinating center for erosion control research in the country. The laboratory’s extensive scientific and organizational activities mobilized the attention of scientists and practitioners to this important problem. In 1936, the First All-Union Conference on Soil Erosion Control was held in Moscow under the leadership of D.G. Vilensky and A.M. Pankov. The laboratory’s rich history is linked to renowned scientists such as A.M. Pankov, Academician S.S. Sobolev, Academician A.N. Kashtanov, I.D. Braude, P.S. Tregubov, A.S. Izvekov, and others. Since the laboratory’s establishment, its main research areas have been focused on recording and mapping eroded soils, assessing the specifics and severity of erosion processes, and zoning areas susceptible to erosion. To study these issues, numerous comprehensive soil erosion studies were organized in the European part of Russia and the Soviet republics. Since the 1960s, along with expeditionary research, long-term stationary soil erosion observations have been conducted, aimed at developing anti-erosion soil conservation measures. Over more than 90 years of laboratory activity, the spatial and geographic patterns of water and wind soil erosion have been studied; soil erosion maps of the USSR and individual regions have been compiled; and soil conservation measures aimed at combating water and wind soil erosion and restoring the fertility of eroded soils have been developed and implemented. The results of these scientific studies have received recognition at the highest government level. In recent years, research has been conducted using a combination of traditional and modern methods for diagnosing and modeling erosion processes, and new approaches to assessing and managing the risks of land degradation from soil erosion are being developed.