GRAY FOREST SOILS ON THE COVERING SEDIMENTS OF MOLDOVA AND THE CENTRAL RUSSIAN UPLAND: THE BALANCE OF MINERALS

Abstract

It is established that irrespective of the origin of the soil-forming rocks (cover loams of different genesis), the gray forest soils of Moldova and the Central Russian upland are similar in mineralogical composition and volumes of losses of primary minerals as a result of weathering and soil formation processes. According to the total losses with clay minerals, the younger age of the soil on the Central Russian upland is ahead of the Moldovan analogue. A corresponding explanation has been proposed for this phenomenon. The identity of the mineralogical composition of the loess-like cover loam of Moldova and the cover loam on the moraine of the Russian plain testifies to the genetic proximity of these formations. It has been established that the methodology for calculating the balance of minerals used in Moldova has found application in the study of soils on the Russian plain.