The Degradation of the Mountain Chernozems of the Slope of Djinal Ridge (Central Caucasus) and its Ecologic and Economic Consequences

The temporal dynamics (1980-1989-1997-2002-2007-2012-2015) of the physical and chemical properties of the mountain chernozems, the most widely spread soils of the northern slope of Djinal ridge, were studied. The investigations were conducted on the lands of “Kabardino-Balkaria Research Institute of Agriculture”. We revealed that according to the state of these soils in a year 2015 the soils were affected by two types of degradation processes, which differ according to the development degree and the spatial cover of the territory. The whole territory is characterized by the processes of the strong dehumification, and the processes of medium degree of dehumification are manifested only within local areas. The consequences of the strong dehumification of the investigated soils are manifested in the significant (the coefficient is 0.70) decrease of their fertility level. The damage for the soils affected by the strong dehumification reaches 18% according to the assessment of the lands value. The most of the studied soils were also affected by the agro-exhausting in a weak or medium degree. The fertility level index for weakly diluted soils of the agricultural areas is considered to be equal to 0.90. The damage for the assessment of the land area for these soils contain 5%. The decrease of the fertility for weakly diluted soils is insignificant (the coefficient of the fertility level is 0.95), and the damage for the purposes of the land area assessment may be neglected. We calculated the total damage (30009 rubles per ha) due to the degradation processes which affected the value of the land area. We also calculated the cost of rehabilitation of these soils and their recovery to the level of the initial state