THE DEVELOPMENT HISTORY OF KOZMENKO-SURMACH SCIENTIFIC EROSION STUDIES SCHOOL

The review presents the key results of many years of research conducted by the Kozmenko–Surmach scientific school of erosion studies. This school has made a significant contribution to the development of national science on the erosion–hydrological process (EHP) and to the formation of the foundations of anti-erosion reclamation, which have become the basis for modern adaptive–landscape farming systems. A.S. Kozmenko was one of the first researchers in Russia to carry out systematic studies of the EHP and to develop measures for its regulation, proposing an original theory of relief formation. His student, G.P. Surmach, expanded and deepened these ideas, conducted large-scale soil–erosion studies, improved the theory of relief formation, substantiated the theory of the formation of grey forest soils and chernozems in the forest-steppe zone, proposed a classification of soils by the degree of erosion, and developed a method for forecasting snowmelt runoff. The development of the school’s concepts was continued by E.A. Garshinev, V.P. Borets, A.T. Barabanov, V.I. Panov, A.I. Petelko, and other researchers. Based on the theory of relief formation, scientific foundations were established for adaptive–landscape organization of catchments and for the placement of runoff-regulating shelterbelts and other protective barriers; new techniques, technologies, and a system for managing the erosion–hydrological process were developed; and a methodology for high-precision forecasting of surface snowmelt runoff was created. The long-term research in the field of soil erosion control and anti-erosion reclamation has continued to evolve and today serves as a scientific basis for sustainable agro-environmental management. The accumulated experience, theoretical principles, and applied developments are becoming increasingly relevant under growing anthropogenic pressure and climate change.