AFFORESTATION OF THE UPPER DON SANDS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00809A000600360599-8
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: July 22, 2011
• Sequence Number: 599
• Publication Date: December 1, 1950
• Content Type: REPORT

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COUNTRY
SUBJECT
HOW
PUBLISHED
WHERE
PUBLISHED
DATE
PUBLISHED
LANGUAGE
CLASSIFICATION cGriFrnErrrlAL COM~~pE~T~A~.
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY REPOR
INFORMATION FROM
FOREIGn' COCUMENTS OR RADIO BROADCASTS CD NO.
Economic; Geographic -Soil studies
Monthly periodical
Moscow
Dec 1949
iN l6 DOCVY[NT CONTAINS INIORYATION Afl[OTINO TNL RATIONAL D[I[Nf[
01 TN[ UNIT[D STAi[] NITNIM iN[ YLANIXO Of [SIIONAY[ ACT t0
Y. 6. 0.. 11 ANO 1t. A! AYlNDt O. ITS TRAN]YIl SIOX OR TN[ R[V[LATION
O! ITS DOMT(Nri IN Ap} YANN[R TO AN UNAVTNOpIt[0 I[R]ON 1] Ip0?
NI]IT[D ]T LAN.. R[IpODVOTION Ol TNI] /ORY I] IRONI ]IT[D.
Puchvovedeniye, No 12, 1949.
DATE OF
INFORMATION 1949
DATE DIST. I ~ 1950
NO. OF PAGES ;~
SUPPLEMENT TO
REPORT NO. "^
THIS IS UNEVALUATED INFORMATION
RI?.
AFFORESTATION OF THE UPPER DON SANDS
A. G. Gayel'
The Stalin Plan for the Transformation of Nature in the steppe and'fu.eat
steppe regions of European USSR calls for extensive sand afforestation work.
In Voronezh Oblast alone/ 379000 hectares must be afforested during the period
1949-1965? The forested area in Voronezh.Oblaat can be ins eased as much as
three to four times if up to 50 percent of the sand expanses are covered with
narrow 20- to 30-meter-wide field shelter belts and up to 100-meter-wide con-
necting tree plantings.
As is known the upper Don Banda repreaent? old elluviaT terrace formations.
The terraces have for the most part been worn down by subsequent erosion proc-
esses and can now be distinguished only with difficulty. Above the city of
Liaki the sands form a gigantic crest which rises uF to 100 meters above the
level of the Don River and gradually merges with the clay loam chernozem steppe.
The steppe is broken in places by ravines and frequently resembles the central
part of a flood plain. Under the clay loam lies a layer of quaternary sand up
to 120 meters thick. In she direction of the present-day flood p133n of the Doa,
the clay loans diminish and sands rise to the surface. GroTmd water is usually
found at great depths (40-100 meters) and is only Pound at a higher level in a
few places where impervious clay loam layers are present.
The sands nearest the flood plain have crests 4 to 6 meters high. Farther
away the terrain becomes rolling. Where the sands begin. to merge with the clay
loam steppe, flat sandy loam belts 2 to 8 kilometers wide are distinguishable.
These belts are net off from the flat clay loam steppe by a low terrace 2 ?~0 4
meters high.
Dune sands, so typical of the middle and lower Dons seldom occur in Voronezh
Oblast. They occupy only a small area of several thousand hectares in the south-
ern part of tYie oblast aruund the villages of Bereznyagi~ Zamost'ye~ and Gadyachiy.
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Co~F~QE~~~~~
Three types of sand can be distinguished, each characterized by a special
combination of natural conditions: dun? sands, crested light sandy l.oams, and.
flat moderately heavy and heavy sandy loans.
Dune sands are old aeolian accumulations covered with fescue (Festuca sul.-
cata)-feather grass (Stipa) vegetation growing on friable sandy soils called
gray sands. A distinctive characteristic of these soils is the pale (grayi.ah-
yellowish) color of the horizons. The h?.anic hcrizor, 20 to 25 centimeters thick,
and the horizon tranaitione.l to the mother rock are composed of light yellow old
wind-blown sand and. exhibit a total lack of compact cemented horizons and layers.
Humus content in these horizons does not exceed 0.25 to 0.3 percent, and clay
(particles less than 0.01 millimeter in dismete=) content is not greater than
4 to 5 percent. The maximum field capacity of moisture of these soils is very
low (3 to 4 percent) and the wilting percentage is about 0.6 percent. When
moisture content drops below 1.2 to 1.5 percent' the sand is dry to the touch.
Gray sand soils are thoroughly soaked through ?ach spring, but during tb.e summer
they dry out to a depth of 1.0 to 1.5 meters, Only heavy rains are ab]P to soak
these soils to a depth of 30 to 50 centime.tesb. By November the soils axe usually
again moist to the touch.
Gray sand areas where ground water is found at a level deeper than 1..5 to
2 meters are little suited to tree growing. Plowing up these sands can lead to
blowing and covering up of adjacent fields with sand.. It is possible to plow
in narrow strips 20 to 30 meters wider leaving strips of virgin sail between
these strips, and planting the narrow strips with wind-breaking smoke trees
(Continua Coggygria)~ sorghvm~ rye, etc. But it :i3 wiser ai present to use the
greater part of the sands with ground water at a deep level for controlled graz-
ing purposes and to use for pine (Pinus) plant'ng and for vegetable and berry
growing only the lowland where ground water is found above the 1.25-meter level,
occupied by birch (Betula)-aspen (Populus tremula) clamps en meadow and meadow
bog soils.
The greater part of the gray sand area, however' was subjected to overgraz-
ing by cattle between 1860 and 1890 and was changed into a secondary dune sand
area which is almost bare or covered with sparse paammephytic vegetation and
with the remains of half-covered tree clumps. Such sands do nat cUy out to a
depth greater than 10 to 15 centimeters during the summery tut their field ca-
pacity of moisture is so low (3 percent) that they are unable to store water.
This quality of the sands together with their mobility does not tend toward a
high rate of survival or growth of trees on the tops or sides of the dunes. fin
the other handy the low-lying area between dunes which has ground water at a
level not deeper than. 1.25 to 1.5 meters can be afforested (mostly with pine).
About 40 to 50 percent of the dune sands could be covered with clump-like plaat-
inga.
About 60 percent of the old river terrace erea along the left bank of the
Doa is composed of crested lowland, sloping toward the Don and covered with light
browny light sandy loam soils. A peculiar feature of these soils is that at a
depth of 1 to 1.5 meters they are mottled with zebra-like striped formations
which may have resulted from the degradation of the overlying reddish, co]loidal
iron, illuvisl horizon, which is usually poorly expressed in these light sandy
loam soils. Above the secondary horizon lies the 50- to 80-centimetex-thick
upper horizon composed of humic, coerse~ gravelly, light sandy loam (containing
up to 20 percent coarse sand) which has a grayish-brownish color. Downward, the
color lightens to whitish.
Typical vegetation found on virgin, light brown, co,'arse, gravelly, light
sandy loans is fescue-feather grass with occurrences of Cleiatogenes (Aiplochne)
squarrose.
G~~~~~~~!~~~~
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I~~'~~FI~IwIaTl~l.
CONFIDEi":IAL
H-amus content in theaE Eoils is sc- Brest as j tc 8 percent; ?=iey p?as?ticle
content ie 8 to i2 percent in the ~,ppex horizon, up tc 20 percer.?c. in the lowEr
L?orizan. Maximum fie13 capacity :_ moi_tu:e i_= 3? gr-ea',: as E tc 7 percent in
the tipper horizon9 la to 1? pez?cent in the L_~~er horizon, GozrEeponding wilt-
ing percentages in the upY~r and lower h..iz?ue arE 1 to i.3 percent aiui 3 to 4
percent, re3pectively. During the aummr ;.he3e =ci.is dry cit to s depth of i.5
meters under steppe vegetaticn~ but are thoroagl:iy _o~sd in the >pring and
sometimE= even accumulate small quantities .:f eu::a:e water in la~+-lying places.
But ground water for tY.e mo_t p;=.t li~.~ very deep..
Vo A~ Ihabyanakiy and cth=r? at?~.dert= of D^n ssraK mak.=_ n.^. di=tin-tion bE-
tween these soiia aad gr^up ti_.,m a'i; i.tc ei+.hez @s.ay esn3s .?r ,hernozem-lik:e
sandy lcama. But the exte.a:give c; _u=?ren:~ c? the.E s:iii>_ al~,ug the uppe=?~ mid-
dle, and lo?aer Don and thei_+? peciisr tr>e g:'awing .quyliti-.~_ r=quire. that they
be studied csref~il.iy. T:,ey are litti~ auite9. f::?r stir ici;lta:al pu^Foses. In
earlier time.9 the u::asl practice wee tc axc??= mel.^n= or rye an them f?ar one or
2 years and then to iet the land lie fa.tiow to be.cver~?ow;i ~*ith w_eda. As a
result9 10 to 15 percent of this area hss be-:cme a :hii"ting sand ~ ea with ?m-
stable soils aad many hcliows. b::t t:,e pr==sacs ;f seclian 3epositiens improves
retention cf prRCipitated moistu:s9 an3 *he a~.::d moistare capfcity af'the low-
lying himtic an3 iiluvial horizons permit=. sr:ina: ?forage cf moisture nimoet 1.5
to 2 times greater than in icoae sends: and as?ay =ends.
When carried out on wEli?~pre.r.3r.E3 sail (g_?c~ar.9 plowed 25 certimEte_s deep
on which mE1CIIE Y~,d been g_wc.rn pr=vic:~aly;a~ pins wowing is nos?itl~ everywhere
r.n l,inht hrnvr. _, nrly _na.nn - o~wa?naa Cf .~h.e. _ +?~ __ ..,,,,.~_En^e of ..nd
o.. ...~ .......y e~._._.._.._ ~..L...r gro
water. These =oils are the. cne_ aianar the Do: whi=h aha:13 be afforested firGt.
Along the lower Don9 z~i.nes growinu on several thcaaaad hectares of these soils
are already 40 to 70 years cid.
In 1932r ?~he Reguc!:,sre.kiy E:~rw*?in:Entai P-.int nryr t1-,e aettiement o? Staro?-
Tolurheyevo~ of the Voxonez?h Forestry Exrerimenta'_ Station was set up to work on
these. light sandy lcama. Fi_ld _hatEr belt, arsi indu=_tria~ _rop plantations
have been pleated Cher_3. T!.~ e_oded area can
be u~.=_d for planting Lf pine, aa~9 srid bir?~h9 an3 in the fature: the teat of the
area can oe used Ycr sgricultural c_ars:. Cr.p_ m~:et b' i-?;+te?~te3 by a eyet~ of
Wnelic- belts. Frimsry t=1.ta msy ~__ ~`0 me*,er.a sFs:t9 w'n:"e ae.oniary belts may
be 7,0 to 19000 meter a apwr?t ,
Altc3ether9. up tc 10^?90GJ :.e~_t.=.xaa tf t": ~i.n biver e%uda is Vor~nrzh Oblrsat
can b= sffcre?ted. T;e 'fight :,,?~wn, 11gnt eauy ;,.~ ;.wa ;:ne a^i%a most euited
Yor pin:. piantingo All fir?=try w.:rx _~n ?h.e m-~LSniz~d uy~-~ the.5 ?cil~ occur,
It should be empY,sszzRu that afzc_^etsri:r, -~i t?~e A_~n asn3s ;: .n be caxa?ied
out without dagger of lowering the ~?cun3 .?:stes? level b_.:sua< the ..EVel alsesdy
is vary deep (~f3~80 met~ej and al=,~: be:?5?~~e t2:e m::i.et~::e.;uira~ent of trEea
will not exc?sd th*it t,f t?'ie 3t9Fpe vegeta.ti~:: r::.~. gr:sting :gin tbeeF evils, It, fie
a:1_o to be expected that ground 'ranter _uppiy 'sell. ;= i2pr::.ve3 ty the ~?y~.tem cf
sheit?.~ belle and forEata ,juet ea it ve,;. w'r.e.n tt:e Ks~senrL~,ys St
~~r~I~~~IAr.
~ONfI~-E~T~A~,
50X1-HUM
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