ИСТИНА

Land degradation and desertification are among the major challenges in steppe zone, and leads the risks of food security in affected areas. Soil compaction is one of the basic reasons of degradation of arable land. The processes of soil compaction may have different genesis. Knowledge of soil compaction mechanisms and their early diagnostics permit to accurately forecast velocity and degree of degradation processes as well as to undertake effective preventive measures and land reclamation activities. The manifestation of shallow compacted layer causes changes in soil water regime, structure of root media and distribution of them deep into the soil profile. The multi-level study of different dense soils provided opportunity to realize the peculiarities of the phenomenon of compaction in soils with vertic, solonetzic and mechanical types of soil compaction. The most interesting peculiarities are reflected in porosity, types and structure of pores and micro-aggregates estimated using the microCT analysis.