Winter soil temperatures. Freezing and thawing of the soil Easily soluble mineral fertilizers do not lead to the desired success

We briefly became acquainted with the most important soils of our country. But one should not think that the soil cover of the USSR, like all globe, remains unchanged.

Soil properties depend on climate, vegetation and other reasons. But these reasons themselves do not remain constant on earth. Thus, the climate on earth has changed many times, the relief and vegetation have changed, animals and the rocks from which soils are formed have changed.

In the north of the USSR, in the Arctic, where there are now no forests and where only mosses, scanty grasses and shrubs develop, we find deposits of coal in the ground, formed from lush forest vegetation. In Siberia, mammoth corpses have been repeatedly discovered under snow and ice. These, as well as some other signs, show that in our Arctic many thousands of years ago there was a different, warmer climate, different vegetation and different animals than now. Then it got colder here. And currently, Soviet scientists are noticing a new gradual warming in the north.

So, the reasons on which soil formation depends change over time, which means the soils themselves change.

Soil life throughout the year. It should be noted, however, that even with a constant climate, continuous processes take place in the soil, leading to its change.

To explain how this happens, let us describe the life of the soil throughout the year, taking the podzolic zone as an example.

Have you ever been in a forest or field somewhere near Moscow or in the regions of Smolensk, Kalinin, Ivanovo, Yaroslavl and others at the beginning or middle of March? At this time there is still a lot of snow, but at noon the sun begins to warm up like spring. On a quiet day you can ski shirtless and sunbathe. Sit down (after getting dressed, of course) at the edge of the forest or near a ravine covered with snow and observe nature. The snow melts from the surface, becomes saturated with water, compacts, and settles. On a quiet day you can hear its rustling. Scoop up a handful of snow with your hand and peer into it; you will notice small black insects running around: these are scorpion flies - harbingers of the coming spring. There is already life on the surface of the snow, but the soil under it in the fields is still bound by a frozen layer, and all living things sleep in it in winter.

In the forest, especially in the deciduous forest, more snow accumulated over the winter, and it lay on the forest floor of grass and leaves. Under such cover, the soil here is warmer, and therefore it freezes less than in the field, and sometimes does not freeze at all. In this case, life in forest soil does not stop completely even in winter: remove snow and leaves from such soil in the cold, and you will see earthworms squirming in the cold.

At the time described, the collective farmer is in a hurry along the sled route to finish transporting manure, compost, lime, ash and other fertilizers to the fields, and, fearing the loss of nutrients, he puts the manure in large heaps, and mineral fertilizers ceilings protects against erosion and water washing.

The days go by. The road turns black, and in a week or two the first thawed patches will appear on the slopes and hills - the favorite places of the wonderful herald of spring - the lark.

The rooks have already arrived - these birds are as noisy as they are useful for the farmer. The remaining snow was now darkened, wet, compacted, pressed to the ground. There is water in the lowlands. A wagtail is jumping, which, as they say, “breaks the ice with its tail.” On streams and rivers, the ice has turned gray, swollen, and in places it plays yellow and purple tones. Soon the melt water will open it up, ripple it up and carry it away.

There are still frosts at night, but the sun overcomes them every day. The thawed patches are growing; the streams are noisy; the soil thaws from the surface. Life awakens in her. The soil now smells especially like spring. This smell depends on the secretions of special radiant fungi that live in the soil and are called actinomycetes.

Melt water washes the soil, dissolves various nutrients, humus and salts, which we talked about earlier. Some of the water runs down into the lowlands, wets the remaining snow and, freezing here at night, can form a harmful ice crust. Collective farmers walk around the fields, drain excess water from the lowlands, directing it into ditches to protect the precious topsoil from being washed away and washed away.

In the interstice, at the edge of the forest, along the ditches, the willow trunks have turned red, and it is fluffing up its heads. The thicket of forest trunks, especially aspen and birch forests, also glowed with greenish-purple tones. The snow melts in the forest, but there are fewer water flows here than in the fields: the snow melts more slowly in the forest. Trees protect it from the sun. And the soil here is melting. She takes water well and washes herself with it.

By mid-April, and sometimes even earlier, we say goodbye to the snow without regret. It clings to ravines and northern slopes. The “young” spring snow carried by the April north comes to his aid, but still the days of snow are numbered. The first bright, hot rays of the sun will destroy him. It will lie for several more days in deep cracks or under a steep northern canopy, covered with an old, mossy spruce tree, and yet it will melt.

In the depths of the field soil, a frozen layer may remain for another week or a week and a half, but on its surface life is already powerfully manifesting itself. The soil dries out slightly. The winter ones are awakening. Now the willow is blooming and smells exciting. Along the steep slopes the coltsfoot is golden, clover and mantle are cut out, and by the end of the month lungwort and corydalis are turning purple. Occasionally, variegated wren and yellow lemongrass flicker in the air. The first bee appears, followed by the bumblebee.

There is a hubbub of birds in the forest. At the end of April - beginning of May, the cuckoo called for the first time. There, the snowdrop, the fragrant violet (in clearings and in open forests), the wolf's bast, and the windmill, and the first leaves of the grass, hoofweed, mynika, and moss, and reed grass, and dozens of other plants that will develop in May have already begun to grow and they will smell fragrant under its canopy.

The ants began to stir in their heaps, the hedgehog woke up and was carrying last year’s leaves on its needles. Snipe, capercaillie and black grouse are displaying. Rooks are busy at their nests. At dawn one can hear the exciting trills of robins, chaffinches, thrushes, and repels.

Our northern one is inexpressibly beautiful at this time, early spring. It is both on the ground, and in the clear, still cold air, and in the sky, along which, day and night, endless lines of birds stretch screaming to the north, and in the evenings and in the mornings - woodcock.

The harrowing of winter crops is going on quickly. In the mornings (when it’s frosty), timothy and clover are sown with them. Selective plowing begins: plowing the plowed land, where the soil has swollen and compacted; raising fields for spring crops that have not been plowed since autumn; applying manure, compost, ash and other fertilizers before sowing; liming of fields where it is intended. And the better the farmer is prepared in winter, the more well-established his equipment is, the more fertilizers he has, the bolder he goes to depth in the podzolic soil in order to quickly cultivate it, in order to quickly overcome the natural low fertility of the podzolic horizon and create in its place a deep, structural, fertile topsoil layer.

The soil is still cold. Its inhabitants, including bacteria that absorb nitrogen from the air and form ammonia and nitrate, are just awakening. And the weeds are no longer asleep and strive to take over best lands, take them away from the cultivated plant. Here and there wheatgrass, woodlice, cress - the “yellow danger” - and others appear, drying out the soil and taking away nutrients from cultivated plants. Until they take away the power, the task of the collective farmers is to destroy them by all means: sometimes by timely and cultural plowing, sometimes by peeling, sometimes by weeding by hand.

Now, as they say, the day feeds the year.

At the end of April, beginning of May - fertilizing of winter crops, sowing of early spring crops - oats, carrots, beets, peas and others, and after them wheat, potatoes, and other crops of our fields.

The first May thunderstorms were already thundering. The soil was washed by spring rain, warmed up and dried out somewhat. She “breathes” warm spring air. All its inhabitants are gaining strength and are in a hurry to live. Plants dissect the soil with their roots and capture more and more of it, trying to obtain the water, air, and nutrients they need. The roots secrete various acidic products and dissolve the mineral part of the soil with them. Bacteria live, multiply, decompose parts of previously dead plants and animals, turn them into humus, then die and decay. Some of them enrich the soil with nitrogen, while others, if the soil is poorly cultivated, damp and cold, take saltpeter from the plants, decompose it, and the released nitrogen again flies into the air and is thus uselessly lost for the plants.

Rain falls on the soil, washes the soil particles, and forms a soil solution, which partly feeds the plants and partly goes beyond the root zone.

Day after day, warm waves that come to earth with the sun's rays are sent into the soil. Changes in temperature, as well as humidity, accelerate the weathering of mineral soil particles and the formation of humus. The soil lives a full life, and with it - on it and in it - plants live. The fragrant bird cherry blossoms in the forests and speaks of the end of spring.

Already in May, fallows were raised, sowing of buckwheat, sowing and planting of vegetables was completed. In June, except for the fallow ones, all the fields turn green, and above all they stand like a green wall, the winter crops - wheat, rye - come out into the tubes and bloom.

The meadows were decorated in a colorful outfit. Here you can find white grass, fragrant spikelet, bentgrass, pike, timothy and foxtail, bromegrass, hedgehog grass, clovers, white daisies, purple bells, red gum and carnations and many other flowers that make our northern unfading meadows so beautiful.

Now “dawn meets dawn”; the lark sings incessantly; at night the twitcher and the quail call; The nightingale finishes her song. Last days A cuckoo is moaning in the forest. You involuntarily remember the words of the poet: “Cuckoo, cuckoo, cuckoo! The tall rye will ripen, if you choke on the ear, you won’t start crowing...” (Nekrasov). And there is freedom for a man to work, for the day is long. There is weeding, fertilizing, and at times watering of various crops, persistent cultivation of fallow fields is being carried out in order to free the soil from weeds, to structure it, to accumulate more food for winter crops, and to retain moisture for them. Preparations are underway for mowing and harvesting.

July is the greatest flowering of soil life, the beginning of harvesting. The air smells of ripe rye and mown grass. The soil is warmer than ever before. More frequent rains replenish its moisture supply. Bacteria, soil fungi, earthworms, many kinds of insects and their larvae and shrews, if humans were unable to destroy them (mice, moles, etc.), have developed magnificently. All this moves, eats, breathes, reproduces, dies, decomposes some organic remains and creates others. Highest development The roots of almost all plants also reached. In podzolic soil, due to the infertility of the podzolic, whitish horizon, the main mass of them is collected in the arable layer. But individual roots, through wormholes and cracks, go into the soil to a depth of 50, 100, 200 or more centimeters.

Under the influence of all living things, with changes in temperature and humidity, under the influence of humans, the soil also changes every day. Before the nutrients have time to form in it, they are consumed by plants and invisible inhabitants of the soil. But plants, bacteria, and fungi, in turn, as we described above, contribute to the enrichment of the soil with humus and various nutrients.

Especially a lot of them accumulate in fallow fields, where there are no food consumers - plants. For example, there is tens and hundreds of times more nitrate in steam in July than there was in the soil in April. There is a lot of steam and moisture in areas. All this is saved for winter crops, which are sown after two fallows and pre-sowing treatment will be produced in the first half of August.

In August, the days become noticeably shorter and the dawns cooler. The most persistent singer of the fields, the lark, fell silent, and in the forest the bird hubbub stopped even earlier. The feathered guests have hatched the chicks and are now feeding them, gathering together and gradually preparing to fly away.

From dawn to dusk, field work goes on: harvesting grain crops, oats, buckwheat, and early garden crops. The potatoes have already bloomed, the fleshy roots of beets and rutabaga have already sprouted, and the cabbage has curled into heads of cabbage.

In the second half of August, light morning frosts sometimes visit the soil for the first time and seem to urge the owner to hurry up with field work. The soil gradually cools, and the tension of life in it weakens. The roots of harvested plants decay. Earthworms and insects go deeper into the soil, appearing on the surface less often; Soil fungi and bacteria become less mobile and vital. And although there will still be warm days ahead and an “Indian summer” with cobwebs, everything living in the soil is gradually preparing for winter.

Frosts became more frequent in September. The tops of the potato tops have turned black. Often in the morning, cabbage is silvered with frosty frost. Collective farmer catches clear days, to dry harvest potatoes, rutabaga, turnips, and beets in order to finish the second clover mowing of the summer.

And when the harvested fields are empty, when the most frost-resistant crop - cabbage - is cut off, when the winter crops develop like fresh emerald greens, when the autumn plowing lies in dark squares, the life of the soil will gradually freeze in October.

Under the forest canopy, under a warm bedding of leaves, pine needles, moss and grasses, it will last a little longer, but the breath of autumn inevitably bursts in here too.

The feathered guests fell silent long ago and flew away. The “bonfires” of aspen, birch, maple and linden lit up. A dry leaf falls to the ground. The forest is losing its former beauty. The time has come about which the great Pushkin said:

“Sad time, charm of the eyes!
I am pleased with your farewell beauty.
I love the lush decay of nature,
Forests dressed in scarlet and gold.”

In November, the soil will be covered with a frozen crust and will fall asleep under the snow until spring. Now it will only move water in vapor form from the warmer lower layers upward, and ice will accumulate in its surface horizons.

So, day after day, month after month, for years, the soil lives, continuously changing its properties, moving from one stage of development to another. We described the life of podzolic soil throughout the year. But if you trace it not for a year, but for many years, especially in those places where people touch the soil less, such as in a forest, then you can note that the soil, changing its properties over time, becomes different. Medium podzolic soil, subjected to daily washing and leaching, over the years turns into highly podzolic and podzol - the most barren, most washed out soil. And the podzol (it usually lies in flat, drainless places) gradually becomes swampy. The roots of plants on such soil do not go deep into the podzolic, whitish, barren layer. They spread near the surface of the soil, forming a dense turf. Water penetrates down through the compacted turf with difficulty. It accumulates on the surface and prevents air from penetrating into the soil. The soil lives an “abnormal” life: it “suffocates” and becomes swamped. The forest disappears on it, they disappear meadow grass, sedges, reeds, reeds appear, then moss. Instead of forests and meadows, a swamp is formed.

Man intervenes intelligently and powerfully in the life of the soil.

By cultivating and fertilizing the soil, draining swamps, irrigating deserts, etc., in a few years, before our eyes, a person remakes the soil, adapting it to his needs. In the USSR, as we have already noted, the transformation of the soil should go in only one direction - this is the path of continuously increasing the fertility of socialist fields.

If you find an error, please highlight a piece of text and click Ctrl+Enter.

Soil freezing is a widespread phenomenon. Freezing of moisture in the soil, as a rule, occurs at temperatures below 0 o C, since it is not clean water, and a solution of salts of various concentrations. Therefore, even at low temperatures, not all the moisture in the soil freezes. Strongly bound moisture and some part of loosely bound moisture cannot freeze due to the influence of sorption forces on them. The rest of the moisture, up to the moisture corresponding to the maximum hygroscopicity, freezes within -10 ° C.

The depth of soil freezing depends on many reasons. The most important of them is the thickness of the snow cover. The larger it is, the shallower the depth of soil freezing. Everything that affects the thickness of the snow cover (thickness of vegetation cover, microrelief, etc.) affects the depth of soil freezing. It depends on the presence of peat and its thickness, on soil moisture. The greater the thickness of the peat and the higher the soil moisture, the shallower the freezing depth.

Soil freezing usually begins with the onset of stable negative temperatures before snow cover forms. Sometimes snow cover is established before temperatures below 0 o C and soil freezing begins already under a thin snow cover. Subsequently, the thickness of the frozen layer gradually increases, reaching its greatest value at the end of January - in February.

In February or from the beginning of March, when the snow cover is still very thick or even growing, the freezing depth begins to decrease due to thawing of the soil below. Thawing of the soil under the snow occurs due to the heat located in the lower horizons of the soil and transferred due to thermal conductivity to its upper layers. This transfer occurs continuously, but at the beginning and middle of winter it cannot compensate for the loss of heat emitted from under the thin snow cover and released into the very cool atmosphere. At the end of winter, when air temperatures become higher and the snow cover is thicker and, therefore, heat loss decreases, the heat coming from the lower layers of the soil more than compensates for its loss from upper layers, causes the soil below to thaw.

According to N.A. Kachinsky, thawing can occur in two ways.

1. Thawing from below ends before the snow melts. The frozen layer will disappear at the very surface of the soil. This case occurs when there is heavy snow cover and shallow freezing of the soil.

2. The snow cover melts before the soil completely thaws. Thawing of the soil also begins from below, and then proceeds simultaneously from above and below, and the frozen layer eventually disappears at one depth or another.

For areas where the average annual soil temperature is close to 0 o C and below, the third option for soil thawing is typical - only from above, since here in the deep layers of the soil there is no heat reserve that could cause thawing of the soil from below.

Forests have a special influence on the depth of snow cover. In a forest, the snow cover is always thicker than in treeless areas. Therefore, freezing of the soil under the forest is either not observed at all, or it occurs for less time and less deeply, and the soil has time to thaw even before the snow begins to melt. Due to this, as well as the slower melting of snow, the absorption of melt water by the soil in the forest is much more complete than outside it.

Forest litter has a great influence on the depth of soil freezing. In experiments with the removal of forest litter, the depth of soil freezing increased sharply. Significantly affects the depth of freezing and the composition of the forest stand. In dense spruce stands, where a significant amount of snow is retained on the tree crowns, due to the lower thickness of the snow cover and its greater density, the freezing depth is always greater.

Soil freezing has whole line adverse consequences, in particular: decreased soil permeability, and therefore increased surface runoff, decreased heat supply, freezing of plants, delay in microbiological and chemical processes occurring in the soil. At the same time, one can note the positive consequences of this process, in particular, beneficial influence on the formation of structure in the soil, the migration of soil animals to the lower layers of the soil under the influence of freezing, helping to loosen the soil and improve its water permeability.

Add to bookmarks:

Healthy, fertile soil is the key to the successful growth and development of all plants. The yield and quality of vegetable products, the susceptibility of flowers to diseases and pest damage depend on the condition of the soil. It is possible and necessary to lay the foundations for the success of the new gardening season now, in the fall, by thoroughly preparing the soil for winter. Experts from the Austrian Union of Environmental Consulting Companies "Die Umweltberatung" reveal the secrets of farming and also give advice on how to avoid the most common mistakes so that your garden will surprise, delight and delight with its beauty next year.

Do not use fresh manure!

Fresh provides too high a concentration of nutrients in the soil. The common practice in rural areas of applying manure in the fall is likely to lead to rotting processes due to oxygen deficiency, as well as the emergence of substances that damage the roots. And such plants serve as bait for root pests. Path of animal manure on garden beds and flower beds can only be done through composting. At the same time, attention should be paid to ensuring that the proportion of material intended for composting in straw manure does not exceed 50%. Horse and rabbit manure, as well as cattle manure containing straw bedding, are especially suitable.

Consultant Elisabeth Koppensteiner from Die Umweltberatung recommends spreading compost over the surface of the soil in spring. If there is not enough compost, apply it directly to the planting holes. improves the structure of the soil and loosens it - fresh manure is completely unnecessary, and mineral fertilizers have nothing to do here either.

Leaves are suitable for making compost, garden trimmings and even food waste (vegetable and fruit peels)

Fertilizing in the fall is ineffective!

In the fall, plant growth stops and they no longer absorb nutrients. When fertilizer is applied in the fall, nutrients are washed into surface and groundwater. After harvesting, it is best to sow (field lettuce, Persian or Alexandrian clover, lupine, etc.). These plants not only improve the soil structure, but also prevent erosion and siltation of the soil after rains. On the roots of flowering green manure (clover, lupine, beans) nodule bacteria settle, capable of absorbing nitrogen from the air. Thanks to this, green fertilizers additionally enrich the soil with nitrogen. Green manure can be sown in spring (beans, field lettuce, etc.) and summer (phacelia) before planting main crops or as intercrops.

Field of blooming rapeseed. Rapeseed as green manure is sown after harvesting.

Mulching improves soil quality

The soil must be protected from exposure weather conditions(wind, sun, rain). Heavy rains drum on the surface of the earth, leading to compaction, siltation and erosion

soil. The soil becomes hard and cracks, and the activity of soil organisms is limited.

Mulching is covering the surface of the earth with various organic materials(chopped straw, sawdust, fallen leaves, etc.), which rot in the soil, forming humus. Unlike bare soil, soil covered with mulch has many advantages: mulch increases the humus content, reduces moisture evaporation, suppresses the growth of weeds, creates favorable conditions for soil inhabitants, as a result of which the soil becomes looser and does not clog after rains. Thanks to mulching, the air and water permeability of the soil improves.

In winter, the soil should also be covered with mulch or green manure plants. At the end of winter, the remaining, not yet rotted leaves can be removed and compost added. As mulch, it is preferable to use material from own garden! Mulch (http://www.?h=%D0%BC%D1%83%D0%BB%D1%8C%D1%87%D0%B0) from fresh bark, when decomposed, consumes nitrogen from the soil and also slightly acidifies her. In addition, it happens that bark purchased in plastic bags for mulching may contain a large number of fungicides.

Digging the soil

According to Austrian experts, autumn digging of the soil leads to disruption of the soil structure. Soil organisms that prefer oxygen-poor, dark habitats move to the surface, and vice versa. It is enough to loosen the soil superficially with a digging fork in the spring. The exception is getting heavy, clay soil. Mulch, compost or green manure plants stimulate soil biological activity. Soil organisms, through their activities, recreate the stable, granular structure of fertile soil - without human intervention.

Easily soluble mineral fertilizers do not lead to the desired success

Plants absorb dissolved nutrients in too large quantities. Excessive plant growth provokes increased susceptibility to pathogens and pests. The endurance and quality of the plant (taste, storage ability) decreases.

Compost or commercially available organic fertilizers(for example, horn shavings), on the contrary, decompose slowly under the influence of soil organisms, and therefore release nutrients less quickly. And the plants, in turn, are evenly provided with nutrient salts.

Translation: Lesya V.
especially for the Internet portal
garden center "Your Garden"

On cold ground (more precisely, on a very freezing one) You don’t have to worry about winter damping off of plants. Strong freezing creates a spring supply of moisture (it is drawn up from the lower horizons of the soil), promotes desalinization of the upper layer and slightly loosens the soil. Many insect pests and pathogens are simply not able to survive the winter.

True, other (“useful”) microflora and fauna “thaw” a little too late...

Very warm, frost-free soil allows you to freely grow interesting herbaceous and shrubby plants southern origin (up to subtropical!) In thawed soil, earthworms remain active in winter, soil microflora does not die off in the winter, and the roots of many plants are able to grow all year round.

It is on warm soil that all “snowdrops” bloom directly from under the melting snow!

Moderately warm soil combines both options in varying proportions - depending on the topography, the presence of vegetation and snow accumulation.

Moreover, strong fluctuations in temperature and freezing depth can be observed from year to year.

Wind.

The rule is simple - where the wind speed is higher, from there it blows away leaves and snow, and where the wind speed drops, leaves and snow accumulate there.

Wind speed is higher: on prominent landforms (hills, hillocks), in front of obstacles (think of a snow hole around tree trunks or bare ground in winter on the windward side of a house), in open places, between high obstacles (for example, drafts between two buildings).

Do you want less snow on your roof?

Place the skate gable roof ALONG the prevailing winter winds!!!

Wind speed decreases: in negative forms of relief (in depressions, ravines), on the leeward side of obstacles, in forests, dense bushes, among tall grass.

Openwork obstacles located across the wind (permeable fences, narrow forest belts, deciduous hedges) sometimes create a blowing zone around them, but on the leeward side the wind speed drops - and snow (and leaves) accumulate there in a wide strip.

And note - if on open space If there is a lonely tree, then the wind speed drops in the dense crown, but increases near the crown and trunk (around obstacles). And - if the crown of a tree starts directly from the ground, then snow and leaves will accumulate under the crown. If the crown is raised (“trunk”), leaves and snow will be blown out from under the tree!!!

Now it’s clear why trees open place lower the crown all the way to the ground? They don't just catch the light. There is plenty of light around. You can grow upwards... The low-hanging crown “collects” snow and leaves - food for soil life and protection from excessive freezing. The tree itself creates a favorable environment for itself!!!

In addition to transporting snow and leaves, wind affects the rate of water evaporation. Where the wind speed is higher, the microclimate is drier (and cooler - evaporation cools!), where the wind is weaker, the microclimate is more humid (and warm!).

The combination of the above conditions creates great variability in wind speed even in a small garden.

This is a general rough outline. There are also a lot of subtleties... and a whole science - aerodynamics. Fortunately, we don’t need to study all the aerodynamics - it’s enough to OBSERVE.

It is also advisable to remember that the wind in winter and the wind in summer are often “two big differences”, and also that the trees in the garden... grow - and accordingly - gradually change the wind regime... Usually - in better side. Unlike light mode J

Relief.

As already mentioned, the relief directly affects the wind speed, the deposition of snow and organic litter (and through them, the winter soil temperature), and the rate of water evaporation.

In addition, the topography determines how much sunlight and heat reaches the soil surface (and leaves). The maximum heating is on southern slopes, the minimum is on northern slopes. A steeper slope has a stronger effect on summer (!) soil temperature and light exposure. Please note - even a slight tilt of the surface significantly affects the flow of sunlight and heat!

What if the southern slope becomes bare of snow in winter? The sun sometimes shines even in winter - the snow just gradually evaporates!

This is where the “seasonal paradox” arises...

On such a (bare) slope, the soil temperature (on a cold winter night!) will be very close to the air temperature... And if in your area there are frosts of 30 (or 40) degrees, then the “warm” (in summer) southern slope in winter turns out to be the most cold place in the Garden! And accordingly, a “cold” northern slope in summer with good snow accumulation may not freeze at all in winter!

By the way, with some combinations of large and small slopes with buildings, trees and shrubs (such conditions are easy to simulate artificially), the snow on the southern slope will lie for a long time (and warm the soil in winter), and some areas of the northern slope, which does not freeze in winter, will warm up very well in summer!

Topography also affects the moisture content of the soil surface. Water, as it should be, flows from the hills to the lowlands... True, this influence is felt only under one condition - when the water actually FLOWS. If the soil is permeable, not frozen, and not oversaturated with moisture, then water will drain only during heavy rainfall. If the soil is healthy, precipitation almost DOES NOT flow over the surface. They are absorbed. Even on steep slopes!

But the water drains from paths, stones and roofs, creating zones of increased moisture. Do you want NOT to water? moisture-loving plant– put him there!

And one more thing - the relief affects the severity of frosts in spring and autumn. And on the harmfulness of these frosts. The fact is that heavy cold air flows into large depressions in the relief, and sudden thawing of frozen leaves and flowers under the rays of the rising sun (especially on open eastern and southern slopes) can be much more dangerous than “just freezing.” Moreover, a pronounced “draining” of cold air occurs only from large relief elements, and small depressions in the relief (especially in combination with large boulders), on the contrary, perfectly retain heat at night.

The soil

Water permeability.

If the soil normally absorbs and passes excess water through itself (see test above), then everything is fine with air circulation for plants and soil living creatures. It is the air that is contained in large cavities in the soil, through which excess water flows. In hot weather, the air brings life-giving moisture to the soil through the mechanism of condensation.

The air allows soil fungi and bacteria to breathe, which help provide plants with moisture and minerals. The presence of large pores and cavities ensures rapid absorption (and storage!) of moisture during rainstorms and snowmelt.

Moreover, the concept “ loose soil" and "permeable soil" are NOT the same thing at all!

Soil that is regularly loosened loses its natural pore structure, and, over time, it allows moisture and air to pass through worse and worse! And most importantly, the cultivated soil does not “breathe”! But more on that below.

Healthy fertile soil is not loose, it is dense, but “holey”!

How does the soil live?

Clay is the basis of the fertility of most soils. Clay, along with water, air and sunlight- the basis of life on our planet. The secret is in its amazing properties.

Clay is the smallest particles of minerals of complex chemical composition. Due to the microscopic particle sizes, clay has large area surfaces. That is, the ability of clay to surface interactions (ion exchange) with environment much higher than the original rocks included in large particles (sand, stones).

Did you know that almost any soil (that contains clay) contains related form a huge amount of ions needed by plants? The same phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, sulfur, iron, and so on... clay literally CONSISTS of these substances!

If you have already submitted the soil for agrochemical analysis (it’s hard to believe...) and received the results, pay attention to the “content of nutrients - in mobile (soluble) form - in bound form.” The values ​​differ by ORDERS of orders!

That is, the soil contains almost all the substances necessary for plants in huge quantities!

What if the soil is sandy?

Sandy soil also contains clay. And in the majority sandy soils This clay is quite enough! And it (clay) is slowly formed from sand particles. Slowly but surely.

Here in sour peat soil clay is in short supply... But a lot of organic matter has accumulated in peat. And, for many plants, a peat bog is just right!

Those substances that are in the soil in a mobile (soluble) form are easily accessible to plants. These are what the plants absorb through their roots. Easy and free. And it is these soluble forms that are quickly washed away with rain and watering. It’s also easy and free. What happens to the connected? With those that are part of clay particles? Their roots just can’t take...

Roots can’t, but soil fungi can! Most (!!!) plants are “friends” with soil fungi. This is called “mycorrhiza” (literally “fungus root”). Such a partnership is beneficial to both parties - the plants “feed” mycorrhiza with their organic substances, and the mushrooms, having strong enzymes, “extract” the NECESSARIES for the plants chemical elements. Moreover, they extract exactly as much as is needed. And exactly what you need!!!

In addition, fungi are able to obtain water for plants from very thin capillaries. Mycelium literally sucks moisture out of the soil! Plants, for their part, “feed” mycorrhizal fungi with root secretions and supply them with dead organic matter (fallen leaves, dead stems and roots). What a partnership!!!

In addition to clay particles and large elements (sand and larger), the soil contains complex organic matter. Fresh and semi-decomposed remains and waste of plants, fungi, bacteria and animals. That is (roughly speaking) - “organic matter” (fresh organic matter) and “humus” (organic matter transformed to a stable state). Humus, like clay, contains plant nutrients in bound form. It consists entirely of needed by plants substances. In addition to what is found in clay, humus also contains nitrogen and carbon. It is the presence of humus that makes clay very fertile.

But humus is not only a “storehouse of ions”. Combining with clay (in the presence of calcium and with the participation of soil animals - earthworms, millipedes and other “earth-dwellers”), humus is able to form quite strong lumps that are not washed away by water.

It is these lumps (soil aggregates) that form the amazing structure of fertile soil - it consists of aggregates (containing full complex plant nutrition elements in accessible and bound form) and from a system of large and small pores (“voids”).

Large pores provide air circulation, condense moisture and absorb precipitation, while small pores (including pores inside lumps) contain a supply of moisture and ensure the influx of moisture from deep layers of soil due to capillary forces.

In such soil (as in a living organism), processes occur SIMULTANEOUSLY that require completely different conditions. Some processes occur in an environment rich in oxygen (large pores), others - in an environment where there is a lot of water and carbon dioxide dissolved in it (inside soil aggregates), and others - at the boundary of media.

And in each environment (on each soil particle, in each pore) there is its own specific complex of microorganisms.

Soil microbes and fungi perform many functions - decompose organic matter, neutralize harmful gases, convert air nitrogen into a form accessible to plants, dissolve minerals and humus, secrete various enzymes and vitamins... All this cuisine is studied by several scientific disciplines and a huge army of scientists. The main thing for us is that with their vital activity they support the life of the soil and plants!

Thus, in healthy (natural) soil, optimal conditions for the life of plants and their “maintenance personnel” (fungi, animals and microbes).

There is enough water, oxygen, organic and minerals, carbon dioxide (it is necessary for photosynthesis and for the dissolution of bound nutrients).

And that is not all! Healthy, porous soil is capable of absorbing moisture from the air! Even if it hasn't rained for a month!

How does this happen?

Plants and their remains (forest litter, steppe felt, mulch in the garden), absorbing Sun rays, reduce soil temperature (relative to outside air). Due to daily temperature fluctuations, the soil constantly “breathes”, “inhaling” and “exhaling” atmospheric air. The soil colder than air, which means that the moisture contained in the air CONDENSES in the soil. The warmer the air, the larger the pore system, and the cooler the soil, the more intense this amazing process occurs! That is, healthy soil is able to provide plants with moisture even in drought.

Have you seen pine trees growing green on bare rocks?

They live thanks to the condensation of atmospheric moisture in rock cracks. And thanks to the activity of mycorrhiza-forming fungi, which collect this moisture and absorb nutrients, these pines not only live - they grow and reproduce. And gradually they form the soil.

Amazing property soil – ability to self-heal in favorable conditions. One might even say - to reproduction. Like all living things.

And this is happening literally under our feet!

For example, as a result of some processes (natural or caused by human activity), the soil has completely lost its natural pore structure and, at the same time, vegetation and natural fertility. For example, they plowed it long and hard. To be “more loose.” And then they gave it up because it wasn’t getting looser. Or a herd of bison ran by - and after a rainfall the slope was stripped of soil and perennial vegetation. What's happening?

The soil ITSELF begins to form new pores - cracks (!!!). Forms as best he can - there are no assistants! And these pores begin to work - to create living soil. They absorb precipitation, accumulate scanty organic waste, they condense air moisture at some depth... Then, gradually, bacteria and fungi multiply... And plants settle. Moreover, such plants are capable of living in such “terrible” conditions - in an unstable environment with strong fluctuations in humidity and the content of soluble salts, almost without friends and partners.

They can do without complex mycorrhiza - therefore they suffer in drought and are not protected from diseases.

They devote all their energy to producing seeds, which is why they only live for a few months.

They use suddenly freed resources (light, moisture, nutrients) not so much for their own long and happy life, but to create conditions that allow them to return rich and diverse life to the disturbed territory.

The name of these amazing plants is “weeds”.

They, like soldiers in battle, cover the bare earth with their chests, creating conditions for the life of future generations. Next - but different!

By forming a primary community on bare ground, they lay the foundation for biodiversity. And in the form of a huge number of seeds they “go into storage.” Just in case, what if something happens again...

Again some bison with shovels...

Now the ground is no longer bare, but covered with their remains. Now there are pores not only from cracking, but also from their roots. Now there is food for bacteria and fungi. Animals and the wind brought seeds of other plants here, and these seeds can now germinate...

It is weeds that revive dying soil. And for this they should be respected!

What happens next?

When the circulation of substances has started, the microflora has revived and the pore system has improved a little, the time comes for more demanding and more durable plants.

These new plants are no longer “front line fighters,” they are “engineering troops.” They establish communications, build bridges and roads, neutralize mines... In short, they are gradually preparing the war-torn territory for peaceful life.

People call these plants “weeds”... Nettle, wormwood, burdock, sow thistle, horsetail...

Remember about the three possible soil conditions - “bare soil, weeds and forbs”?

So, the first state is a state of war.

The second is the beginning of recovery.

And only the third is peace.

It is not for nothing that in the middle of the last century such phrases as “battle for the harvest” or “weed control” were born in the Soviet Union.

In fact - to the point!

Only now, when the “turned virgin soil” has become simply a disfigured saline steppe, when arable lands do not produce crops without constant fertilizing, watering and loosening, it became clear to some farmers (and landowners) that the war was lost. Unfortunately, so far only some.

What is better - to capture trophies once, or to establish mutually beneficial trade?

Plow, poison, fight – or establish a long-term sustainable partnership?

The first one seems simpler. Moreover, “Everyone does it.” But the consequences... You come into conflict with Nature. Who will ultimately win?

The second is psychologically more difficult. But when you understand that the enemy is not an enemy at all, and the fight was a waste of time and effort, SUCH prospects immediately open up!

SNOW IS THE BEST PROTECTOR AGAINST FROST
The first thing that an amateur gardener or owner of a plot of land should take care of is the snow cover at the dacha throughout the winter. Observations and experience of working on the site have established that fallen snow is the best natural protector from frost for plants. Usually in the first half of winter the layer of loose snow reaches 30-35 cm, and in the second half it increases to 60 cm and reliably protects plant roots in the soil from strong and deep freezing at frosts of -30...45 oC. In our northwestern region, the freezing temperature of soil under snow usually does not fall below -6...8 °C. Here, snow blizzards are a common phenomenon in winter, and I have observed that quite deep craters are formed around trees and large bushes, not filled with snow, reaching to the very surface of the earth. Alas, not every gardener is concerned about this.
Now about another very common piece of advice - trample the snow near the tree trunk. Ten years ago, a controversy began in the press on this issue, which has not subsided to this day. Let me make a few general points. Nobody argues that a snow “blanket” is the best covering material for the root system of a tree, the trunk and its large branches. Already a 20-centimeter layer of loose (that is, loose!) snow can protect plants even in frosty conditions.
-20 °C, I tested it in practice. It was also verified that at outside air temperatures in
-45 oC, the soil temperature under a snow blanket 150 cm thick did not drop below -6... 8 oC. Undoubtedly, snow is a natural insulating layer between the outer atmospheric air and soil. But here it is necessary to note one condition - in order to complete this task, the snow must be loose. Something like what happens in the forest. There, snow falls and falls, accumulating a loose layer that remains loose until spring.
What is happening in our areas? In winter, we walk around the site a lot without any special need. Due to small size land area our plantings are thickened (whether we like it or not) and, of course, the roots of fruit trees and shrubs penetrate under the paths. Proponents of trampling snow cite as an argument the position that, they say, rodents (in in this case It is more difficult for mice to get through the compacted layer of snow to the tasty bark of fruit trees.
It seems to me that the situation is exactly the opposite - in a dense layer of snow it is much more convenient for mice to dig tunnels than in a loose layer of snow, which deprives them of support. The following example proves this. Vegetable growers who preserve vegetables in the winter have noticed that if potatoes and root vegetables are placed in storage in a decent layer of loose sand, then mice do not penetrate there. Probably because their movement in a loose layer is difficult. So I stopped trampling snow in my garden. But here each gardener decides for himself.
I. Krivega
Newspaper "GARDENER" No. 2, 2012.