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Production process models have been used for many years in decision support systems in agriculture. They allow solving the problems of forecasting the yield, operational support, integration with GIS, calculating pedotransfer functions, etc. A high-performance, efficient platform has been developed to create powerful yet lightweight applications for a wide range of tasks. These tasks were solved in the RW.Ring platform, which was developed specifically for the new version of the APEX polyvariant calculation system instead of the outdated kernel of the old system, which contained many non-optimal solutions that impede the effective development of the system. While the new version of the polyvariant calculation system itself is currently under development, the platform itself already contains debugged working modules and can be used for a large number of similar applications.The platform’s performance is confirmed by the successful development of the Schicksal statistical analysis program. In the future, the platform will develop in parallel with the new version of the APEX polyvariant analysis system, as well as other programs based on it. The RW.Ring platform can be recommended as a set of standard libraries designed for building any shells for a large number of models.

The article considers the structural and logical scheme of the methodology for creating electronic soil maps for land management engineering based on analog archival cartographic materials. The proposed scheme includes seven blocks: 1) building frames for 1:50,000 scale topographic map sheets in the geoinformation environment “Map 2011”; 2) scanning analog topographic maps with a scale of 1:50000; 3) binding a bitmap images of topographic maps to the sheet frames and cropping the frame image; 4) converting data from the GIS “Map 2011” to the GIS “MapInfo”; 5) scanning of archive analogue 1:10,000 scale soil maps and their binding to electronic 1:50000 topographic map in GIS “MapInfo”; 6) defining precision of referencing the raster 1:10,000 scale soil map to topographic 1:50,000 scale map; 7) bitmap image vectorization of a 1:10000 scale soil map in the GIS “MapInfo”. The content of methodology’s each block is disclosed. The developed methodology can be used for cartographic support of land management engineering and territorial planning.

The article describes the scientific and methodological foundations of spatial geoecological modeling of the natural and agricultural potential of the region’s landscapes, the theoretical basis of which is the methodology of multiparameter analysis of complex objects, implemented in the form of two methods: summary indicators and randomized summary indicators. The essence of modeling is in mathematical-cartographic spatial analysis in the GIS environment of the favorableness of natural landscapes for environmentally friendly agricultural production. It is based on the principles of consistency, priority of the assessed indicators, continuity, regionality, emergence, scale, visibility of the display of results. During the development of the scientific and methodological foundations, the following methods of geographical research were used: ranking the properties of landscapes by their impact on the natural and agricultural potential, building model-classifications for assessing the natural-agricultural potential, convolution of multi-parameter information in conditions of information deficit. The developed method includes six blocks. The method has been tested in the Leningrad Region. The results of approbation do not contradict the data of other researchers obtained for the studied region. The developed method can be applied in land management and territorial planning.

The article contains information on the breeding of Heracleum Sosnowskyi for cultivation as a forage crop in the post-Soviet period. Information about the ecological danger of the spread of this plant is given. Its juice contains furocoumarins, which, when exposed to human skin under the influence of ultraviolet rays, cause serious burns on the surface of the body. The article presents materials testifying to the increased adaptability of the Heracleum Sosnowskyi to the habitat conditions and its high fertility. The spread of Heracleum Sosnowskyi in urban areas (in parks, playgrounds on undeveloped lands, etc.), as well as in rural settlements of the country, due to the environmental hazard for people, leads to the removal of land from economic circulation. The authors of the article have established the regions and reasons for the spread of Heracleum Sosnowskyi in the European part of Russia. The substantiation of the monitoring of lands for the registration of habitats of this dangerous for the ecosystem is given. The article provides information on assessing the extent of the spread of Heracleum Sosnowskyi in the territory using remote sensing using unmanned aerial vehicles. The article discusses measures to combat Heracleum Sosnowskyi.

A progressive growth of anthropogenic soils and non-soil formations in the soil cover of the taiga forest zone and a general decrease in the ecological potential of soils necessitate the development of policies for the rational use of soil resources. The analysis of approaches to forest vegetation assessment of soils is carried out. The concepts of specific and resource potentials are introduced, and our own methodology for their assessment is developed. The methodology for calculating potentials was tested on the example of the Leningrad region, typical of the North-West of the European part of Russia and the North of the Russian Plain. Natural soil areas were calculated using a digital soil map. The analysis of changes in forest growing potential of soils is carried out from the beginning of intensive development of the territory to the modern period. These calculations can form the basis for assessing the potential contribution of the region to ensuring the reproduction of forest resources.

Data on soil moisture reserves are the basis for decision-making in the agricultural boghara system, because it determines the development of agricultural crops potential, terms of top-dressing and additional fertilizing, and makes it possible to predict yield of agricultural crops. In this article the influence of relief morphometric characteristics on the distribution of precipitation over the territory was studied. The research area is the land of the eastern part of Klepininsky rural settlement of Krasnogvardeysky district, the central part of Crimean Peninsula. The article considers approaches, divided into 2 main categories (according to the type of data used), based on the use of GIS capabilities and remote sensing data, to analyze the soil water content (SWC) using the example of research area and relationship of this parameter to the terrain relief. It was established that the morphometric characteristics of relief affect the amount of soil moisture.

In modern agroecology, one of the most pressing problems is the problem of spatial data mapping. The development of information technology opens up a wide range of approaches for solving this problem. One of these approaches is based on the use of geostatistical methods. This study was carried out with the aim of developing ideas about the applicability of the ordinary kriging method for predicting the spatial distribution of the agro-ecological indicator with identifying the boundaries of in-field heterogeneity according to remote sensing data. For the model computational experiment, aerial photographs of the agricultural field in the red and near infrared ranges were used, which made it possible to obtain sets of uniformly distributed values of the vegetative index NDVI that were randomly generated. The high spatial resolution of the images allowed us to analyze the observational data for the studied agricultural field.

The article discusses data on paleosol, mineralogy, and paleobotany obtained as a result of studying material collected from the Maastricht-Early Paleocene sediments of the Tanyurer Formation of South Chukotka. The burial of organic matter in the sedimentary rock of the Tanyurer Formation is associated with deflationary processes during the period of activation of volcanic activity. On the drained volcanic plateau of soil formation, a sod humus-accumulative process prevailed under the steppe vegetation. Humic substance dispersed in sedimentary rock was represented by a group of humins resistant to microbial decomposition. As a result of exposure to high pressures and temperatures, the colloidal form of humus was transformed into kerogen. Organic compounds (cellulose, lignin) in the plant tissue of buried tree trunks were replaced by silicon compounds. Weathering processes have affected the thin surface layer of dense sedimentary rock. Under the influence of the temperature and humidity gradient, loosening of loose rock and disintegration of clots of colloidal forms of humus occurred.

A functional description of the hydrophysical properties of the soil as a capillary-porous medium is presented. The described functions of water retention capacity and hydraulic conductivity of the soil have common parameters, which are interpreted within the framework of physical and statistical concepts. The practical significance of the proposed functions lies in the fact that the volume of labor-intensive field measurements necessary, for example, for modeling the dynamics of soil moisture, is significantly reduced. To identify the parameters of these functions, it is sufficient to use data only on the water retention capacity of the soil. The parameters identified in this way can be used to predict the ratio of the hydraulic conductivity of the soil to the moisture filtration coefficient. The presented system of the hydrophysical functions of the soil is compared with world analogues using literature data on soils of different texture.

The results of a study of the content of natural radionuclides (NR) (226Ra, 232Th, 40K) and technogenic 137Cs in soil samples formed on the most common types of soil-forming rocks of the North-West: lakeglacial (non-boulder and tape clay), glacial and water-glacial deposits are presented. Soil sections laid in the Pskov, Novgorod and Leningrad regions. The granulometric composition in the upper part of the soil profile is lighter than in the parent rock. This is reflected in the NR content in the profile of these soils: with a decrease in the fractions of physical clay and silt, the content of 226Ra, 232Th and 40K decreases. This is due to the fixation of natural radionuclides by secondary clay minerals. According to the increase in the average specific activity of all NRs, the soils form the following sequence: soils on water-glacial deposits soils on moraines - soils on lake-glacial deposits. A comparison of the average specific activity of natural radionuclides and their ranges in the upper part of the soil (0-5, 5-10 and 10-20 cm) and in the parent rock (90-100 cm) revealed a higher content of radionuclides in parent rocks (lake-glacial and moraine deposits). In the soils on water-glacial deposits, no significant difference was found.

Anthropogenic activities are one of the leading factors of soil differentiation. Significant changes in the soil cover occur as a result of the construction of quarries. The mining industry causes the complete degradation of soils in large areas, the change of the natural soil cover and elevation around the quarries, the destruction of vegetation, disturbs biodiversity of the territory and the death of ecosystems. Soil cover structures of mining quarries have been considered on the example of the Leningrad region such as a natural conditions and environmental peculiarities typical for the whole Russian North-West area. Decoding and diagnostic signs of anthropogenic transformed soils were determined. The type and degree of transformation of the component composition, the contrast and heterogeneity of the soil cover, intercomponent connections, the shape and figure of the internal organization of the of soil cover structures have been identified. The complexity of the anthropogenic transformed soils cover is illustrated by “key site”.

The actuality of the study is caused by the needs of water resources state assessment, which natural supply is insufficient. The article analyzes the quality of surface water and groundwater using processed statistical data and the results of mathematical modeling in the GIS environment. The results showed that the quality of water sources under current anthropogenic load is normal, but subsequent monitoring of the situation is required. There is no significant relationship between the quality of surface water and groundwater.

The problem of soil parameters modeling and input data preparation are considered in the article. The use of Soil and Water Assessment Tool was analyzed. The question of the soil water content and basic soil agronomic characteristics was considered. The SWAT project was created for the period of 2014-2017 years and could be prolonged. A soil map and cartographic information were digitized for the analysis of soil characteristics. An assessment of soils moisture absorption in different key areas was made in the course of the research.

At substantiating land amelioration and land management designs, as well as during periods of operation and reconstruction of water facilities, information support plays an important role in relation to the hydrophysical properties of soil. Effective implementation of this support faces a number of challenges. Such problems include the very high laboriousness of carrying out the corresponding engineering surveys and laboratory studies. In this regard, the methods of indirect estimating the hydrophysical properties, the measurement of which requires considerable labor, are very in demand for land amelioration and land management practices. An equally acute problem is the problem of the functional representation of the coefficients of the Richards equation, which is widely used in engineering-hydrological calculations. The paper suggests: 1) the original method for assessment of the ratio of the values of the hydraulic conductivity function of soil to the moisture filtration coefficient using data from direct measurements of the water-retention capacity of soil carried out according to the standard procedure; 2) the mathematical model describing the hydrophysical properties of soil, and the system of functions with interpreted parameters that physically adequately describe the coefficients of the Richards equation. In carrying out the study, data on soils of different texture were used. A sufficiently low error in the dot approximation (fitting-procedure) of the experimental data confirms the physical adequacy of the proposed system that includes the functions describing the coefficients of the Richards equation.

A description of five mathematical models of the water-retention capacity of soil is given, taking into account the hysteresis phenomena. A computational experiment was carried out with these models using data on sandy soil. The experiment consisted of: (i) tuning of the models (parameter identification) by the method of dot-approximation of experimental data on the main drying and wetting branches of the hysteresis loop using an optimizing algorithm; (ii) the predictive calculation of the scanning branches of the hysteresis loop; (iii) a comparison of the errors in tuning results and the predictive calculation using the Williams-Kloot criteria. The commensurate and sufficiently low errors in the adjustment of the models have been achieved. The differences in the calculation of the scanning hysteresis branches are revealed. The practical significance of the mathematical models presented is to ensure the calculation of precision irrigation rates. The application of such rates in irrigation farming will help to prevent excess moisture from flowing beyond the root layer of the soil under the influence of gravity and, thus, to minimize the losses (unproductive consumption) of irrigation water, fertilizers, meliorants and plant protection products, and also reduce the risk of groundwater contamination with agrochemicals and eutrophication of water bodies.

The purpose of the paper is description of the method of estimating the investment appeal rate of hydropower construction in the federal subjects. The method is based on Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). According to the method every federal subject is estimated by the decision-maker. The authors collected data for this study from Russian Federal State Statistics Service, the Federal Subjects Development Programs and the Power Industry Development Programs of the federal subjects (23 indicators). The federal subjects were estimated according to these indicators. As a result of this project every estimated federal subject has status: attractive, relatively attractive and non-attractive for hydropower development. The results can be applied to calculate the economic hydropower potential. The method was tested for detecting the attractive federal subjects of the Volga Federal District, North Caucasian Federal District, Northwestern Federal District, Siberian Federal District for hydropower development.

This paper is dedicated to the Gulf of Cheboksary. The gulf has an important recreational and decorative function. It has been an integral part of the urban landscape for several decades. There is an eutrophication process, accompanied by the development of blue-green algae and the appearance of an odour in early spring, despite the water quality improvement measures. Measures that will improve the water exchange in the Gulf are proposed in this paper. Problems with the sanitary condition of the water body can occur without taking these measures. Therefore, the theme of this research is quite urgent.

Many floodplains are excluded from urban development because the floods cause considerable damage to people’s lives and properties. This requires the development of new approaches to flood management and mitigation for support sustainable urban development. In present study as the measures for mitigation of flash floods, the regulation of river flow by the system of detention reservoirs for flood diversion with dams, which do not need any operation management, are analyzed concerning of Far East region of Russia. The main objective of this paper is to develop a method for analysis how the dam site selection meets the environmental criterion. The method to justify a selection of self-regulated flood dam parameters, primarily a height of a dam and its location on a water stream, providing minimization of impact on the environment have been developed. The result for Selemdzha river basin in Far East monsoon region of Russian Federation is analyzed. The result shows the robustness of the method.

An original and convenient (from a practical point of view) method to estimate the supply of productive moisture in the soil is offered. The method is based on a physically adequate mathematical model of the soil hydrological properties considering the hysteresis of the water-retention capacity. The computation of the irrigation rates, which is based on such estimates, minimizes the water wastage if the excess of the gravitational water is formed and this water percolates out of the moisturized soil profile under watering conditions. The practical applying of the method is able to optimize the crop irrigation techniques, eliminates any inefficient losses of irrigation water and nutrients (and other agricultural chemicals), promotes the rational usage of the water resources as well as provides developing effective solutions of urgent problems of the land ecological management.

The collapse of hydropower plant could lead to significant financial, social and environmental damages. Accordingly the issue of safety and reliability is one of major problems of designing, maintenance and operation. The proposed solution consists in evaluation of implementation frequency of emergencies scenario, which can be defined by suggested classification of accidental situations’ scenarios based on systems analysis to implement incidents on hydropower plants. Emergency scenarios on hydropower plants were proposed to classify by three criteria: the cause, place and character

All structures are built of, or through, or supported by earth materials including soil. Thus soil surveys in civil-engineering field are an important step in the construction. A lot of things depend on their results, especially the cost of construction, durability. The hydraulic conductivity needs one of the most laborious, and expensive surveys, thereby it is necessary to reduce these disadvantages. Were considered different methods (a laboratory, field and a mathematical model), and conclusions were drawn about economic feasibility of using the least laborious method. This method can be used under the various constructions, when engineering or reclamation surveys take place.