A Technique for Considering the Soil-Agrochemical Potential in Optimization of the Land-Use Structure in the Volozhinsky District of the Republic of Belarus

Abstract

The paper is concerned with assessment of the state of the soil mantle so as to improve land-management efficiency using the example of the Volozhinsky district of the Republic of Belarus. A technique for comprehensive assessment of soil agrochemical and natural potential is proposed by means of typifying the soil mantle depending on agrochemical parameters, such as pH_KCl, content of humus and mobile phosphorus and potassium compounds, and bonitet (quality class) score, reflecting soil fertility. Using geostatistical methods, the values of agrochemical parameters are interpolated from elementary areas into areals of agricultural-land soil subtypes and classified according to gradations of agrochemical parameters, constituting the agrochemical potential (AP). After intersection of AP and bonitet score, nine groups of soils are distinguished by the soil-agrochemical potential (SAP), of which soils with the moderate potential account for the largest share (58.2% or 61.95 ha). As a result of a spatial assessment of soil-agrochemical potential (SAP), sod–podzolic and sod–podzolic waterlogged soils, evolving on light loams and cohesive sandy loams, have the highest potential. Territories with low SAP gravitate towards the most dissected areas of the terrain with sand and loose sandy loam soils. Typification served to determine the main types of preferred land use in the Volozhinsky district; specifically, more than half of agricultural lands can be involved in intensive agricultural use as arable lands (52.1%) and meadows (12.5%), traditional agricultural use of lands is possible in 29.3% of the territories, and only 6.2% of lands (largely with erosion hazard) require introduction of soil-protecting crop-farming systems.