Analysis of the agricultural land qualitative state for agricultural land use in the Altai Krai

Introduction. Modern agricultural land use should be resistant to external and internal factors, organized on the principles of resource optimization and digitalization of processes, using biologization tools to achieve the goal related to the quality of agricultural products. Achieving this goal is possible by regulating the production process in the agrolandscape, namely, by analyzing the leading agroecological factors (erosion and deflation processes, moisture and heat supply, salinization, flooding, etc.) and conditions. An innovative approach related to the analysis of the existing potential of the territory of agricultural land, factors limiting agricultural production, will determine the direction of land use, predict the potential and reduce the land intensity of agricultural production and raw materials at the level of the municipal district, where a set of measures for land management is being designed, thereby increasing their resilience. The purpose of the study. To assess the qualitative state of agricultural land in an agrarian territory (by municipal districts) in the arid steppe of the Altai Krai to increase its sustainability. Research methods. System analysis was the main scientific method used in the work. It made it possible to compare the interrelationships and mutual influences in the analysis of the structure of lands. Comparative geographic and ecological landscape methods were also used in the study and analysis of the characteristics of the territory using the cartographic method and GIS technologies. Methods of mathematical statistics were used to determine the stability of agricultural land. Research results. The modern assessment of the agrarian territory of the arid steppe (nine municipal districts) carried out in the work showed that erosion processes were not widespread on the agricultural lands of the territory. Judging by the data obtained, large areas of the arid steppe are subject to destruction by wind. More than 80 % of the area of agricultural land is deflationary areas. The area of deflationary and deflated land is 200 thousand hectares with a minimum value in the Suetsky district and a maximum in Rodinsky. The main area of deflationary soils is observed in arable land (76-96 %), followed by pastures and hayfields. Based on the assessment of the qualitative state of agricultural land in the arid steppe in terms of the ratio of the areas of eroded and deflated lands with various degrees of degradation (weak, medium, strong), as well as non-eroded and non-deflated areas, we made an integral assessment of the state, which allows us to judge the stability of a large agar area. In total, five classes or groups of lands were identified: very low, low, medium, high and very high, and a score from 1 to 5 was assigned. It follows from the materials that the anti-erosion resistance is much higher than the anti-deflation one. The erosion resistance of the arable land is the same in seven areas of the arid steppe (the sum of points is 3). Judging by the sum of points, the stability of arable land in the Suetsky and Rubtsovsky districts is somewhat less than in other districts. The area under hayfields is less stable than the area occupied by arable land. The territory of pastures is even less stable than the territory of arable land and hayfields, which is confirmed by some increase in the total number of points. A more noticeable decrease in the stability of the pasture area is observed in the Suetsky and Volchikhinsky districts compared to the rest of the districts. A very high and high degree of resistance of agricultural land to the combined effects of erosion and deflation is typical for the Khabarsky and Rubtsovsky districts, (for which the sum of points is 30 and 33, respectively. scores are 50 and 55, respectively). The calculated gradations of the degree of stability of the territory occupied by agricultural land confirm that the agricultural land of all the studied areas is more resistant to erosion. This is indicated by the narrow range of variation and the minimum values of dispersion and standard deviation. Judging by the value of the coefficient of variation, the variability of the trait is considered low (V=15 %). In relation to deflation and the combined influence of erosion and deflation, the stability indicators of agricultural lands change in a wider range of variation, and the degree of variability of the attribute is considered significant (V=22% and 32 %). Сonclusions. 1. Аn assessment was made of the qualitative state of agricultural land in the arid steppe of the Altai Krai on an area of about 1,8 million hectares. 2. It has been established that erosion-hazardous and deflation-hazardous lands are widespread in arable land; in municipal districts, there is a wide range of areas subject to degradation processes, regardless of the type of land; 3. For the municipal regions of the arid steppe, the points of stability of agricultural lands, the range of variation, the arithmetic mean, the coefficient of variation and other statistical characteristics of the stability of arable land, hayfields and pastures were determined. 4. The obtained results of the research can be used by the authorities (regional and municipal) in the long-term planning and management of land resources, as well as landowners and land users - in the organization and optimization of agricultural land.