Vol 9, No 3 (2019)

The article presents the physical substantiation of the basic laws of ecology of B. Commoner. It is shown that the evolution of dissipative structures on the Earth, which include, amongst other things, living organisms and superorganismal systems, obeys a fundamental principle–Ziegler’s principle of maximum entropy production. However, when a system approaches its stationary state due to the exhaustion of the free energy available to the dissipative structures of the planet, evolutionary changes are replaced by the relatively slow processes of the optimization of the homeostasis of the emergent structures. At this stage, Prigogine’s principle of minimum entropy production becomes the main principle. It is shown that humanity found itself in this situation at the present stage of the Holocene, facing the inevitable need for rational use of the resources available to us. A similar rationalization was already implemented by Nature at the end of the previous stage of evolution (in the absence of man) based on the ability of biota (which developed over billions of years) to regulate and stabilize the biosphere of the planet. Therefore, at the present stage of evolution, B. Commoner’s law of ecology is manifested: nature knows better. It has been demonstrated that humanity is already in the situation of the operation of this law. Over the past two decades, the so-called “green economy” has emerged—a direction in economics in which it is believed that the economy is a dependent component of its natural environment and is a part of it. In particular, it is shown that the use of “green farming” is expanding in the field of agriculture and the associated water sector (especially in the arid and semiarid regions of the planet). It is largely compensating for the growing challenges to the food and water security of the population.

The study of ancient crop farming in the arid lands of central Asia (Tuva Depression, Ubsunur Hollow, and Central Mongolia) revealed unique characteristics of the paleogeography of the studied regions, i.e., the prior occurrence of forest-steppe vegetation on currently desert landscapes. In the opinion of the authors, the main reason for the environmental change is anthropogenic, specifically, the destruction of the forest cover, which causes a decrease in groundwater levels and subsequent desertification. From the perspective of the results obtained for the Tarim Basin landscapes, the research presumes that the anthropogenic factor was determinant in the desertification of its area. The natural features of the basin and its surroundings (high-elevation mountainous terrain, glaciers as a water source, active volcanoes, fertile foothill plains, mineral resources, and climate) and the economic advantages of geographic location at a trade crossroads predetermined the emergence of large focal point for the formation of Asian ethnoses in this area; this led to a major anthropogenic impact on the basin ecosystems, which ultimately resulted in landscape degradation and the emergence of deserts (Taklamakan Desert). The desertification processes were augmented by specific relief features, i.e., the rather significant differences in elevation between the basin margins and floor, its endorheic nature, natural disasters associated with volcanic eruptions and melting of glaciers, and the insignificant amount of precipitation. Russian researchers believe that, in the distant past, there was an occasional eruption of people relocating from large focal points of the development of early civilizations to other territories due to the large population size, human energy, and social problems (Gumbatov, 2018). The “exodus” of the tribes from a scanty hollow of the Tarim Basin towards the Mongol Steppe could have been one of the manifestations of those “eruptions.” This can be further supported by the origin of a sacral image of Odugen in the area of the modern-day volcanism in the Eastern Sayan and Khangai Mountains, which appears to have been preserved since the distant past and to be related to the deification of the active volcanoes in the Kunlun Range skirting the Tarim Basin. Another wave of migration from the desertified Tarim Basin was apparently directed toward the Indus Valley, where, in symbiosis with the indigenous population, it gave rise to the Vedic Period. The severe anthropogenic impact on the environment in the Indus Valley and adjoining areas played a part in the formation of new desert landscapes (Thar Desert). The proposed material can be, to some extent, considered a working hypothesis.

The article presents changes in the morphological and diagnostic parameters of gray-brown soils of dry steppes under the effect of grazing on a reserve and with regulated and free grazing. It has been revealed that, in comparison with the reserve regime, long-term intensive free grazing on gray-brown soils of dry steppes resulted in a 50–55% decrease in the projective vegetation cover, a poorer (loose) soil structure, compaction, and a 9.45% decrease in humus content and a 6.07% decrease in organic carbon content in the top horizon. The thickness of the humus horizon decreased by about 50%. There was a twofold decrease in the nitrogen content, while the drop in available phosphorus and potassium compounds was relatively smaller. The physical and mechanical soil properties also worsened: soil compactness in the 0–10-cm layer dropped by 0.13%, valuable clay particles were washed from the topsoil, the soil structure became more powdery, and the content of valuable water-stable aggregates and their water resistance decreased. The goal of the study is to develop more efficient pasture use for grazing in dry steppes.

The anthropogenic activity in the Bronze Age caused significant transformations of soils and landscapes in the Volga-Ural steppes. The anthropogenic impact was especially strong near ancient settlements. Overgrazing and the vegetation degradation related to it, including subsequent soil erosion, resulted in the development of combinations of soil–plant cover and microrelief not typical for the steppe region. Examples of the development of solonchaks in microdepressions and zonal soils on microelevations have been only revealed in a 1-km-wide zone around numerous Late Bronze settlements in the steppes of Chelyabinsk, Orenburg, and Samara oblasts. It is proposed that the specific anthropogenic complexity of soil and plant cover start to form in the second millennium BC.

The place and potential role of groundwater in the Caspian Sea coastal water pollution is predicted for the first time with the use of synthetic analysis and the generalization of literature data on the Azerbaijan national groundwater, pathways, and mechanisms of its pollution and fundamental concepts and principles developed by landscape geochemistry. The findings show that the groundwater, which may absorb a given amount of organic pollutants from the soil surface (including the sites of oil exploration enterprises), can potentially carry them into the Caspian Sea waters, polluting it; consequently, along with the surface runoff of these pollutants, it can have an adverse impact on the ecology of this unique water body.