Історія / Історія науки і техніки

Mudruk O.S. 

State Scientific Agricultural Library Ukrainian Academy Agrarian Sciences

Kyiv, Ukraine

Natural zones. The development of Dokuchaev's scientific ideas.

Two circumstances helped Dokuchaev to argue the idea of soils zone: his view on the soils as an separate natural substance and dependence the soils on “the factors of soil formation” as another natural elements. The soil scientist had put these thoughts into conclusion that soils were as a mirror, bright and fully right reflection, as the result of general, too tight interaction between water, air, earth..., from the one hand, and vegetable and animal organisms and country's age, from the other. They are old and acting soil forming processes. All these elements: water, earth, fire (light and warmth), air and vegetable and animal worlds carried out bright, direct features of the law of world zone thanks to the astronomic situation, form and earth's revolution. It's clear, that permanent and known regular changes could be observed especially directly from north to south in the nature of frigid, temperate,equatorial regions concerning latitude and longitude. All the most important soil formation elements are situated on the earth surface as zones that are more or less stretched paralleled to the latitude as appeared from the above. That's why soils must be situated on the earth's surface zonally in the severest dependence from climate, vegetation etc.

The development of science, increasing the factual materials are made carry some additions and corrections in the theory of soils zone, law of correlations between soils, their peculiarities and other natural conditions. Some specifications only underline the frontal right and regularity of soil dividing on the earth surface., for example, change biological climate zone on dividing some local soil territories, introducing clarity concerning the seas and lands or the influence of sea currents. N.M. Sibirzev was sure that soil zones were only general scheme. Maybe the newest thoughts about climate in view of movement air ocean and energy quantity that was getting from the Sun could made us do some corrections into the theory of soil zones.

The formation of studying about natural zones by V.V. Dokuchaev became the most important stage in the development of many scientific disciplines about nature and its elements. “Law” of soil zones was their organic element. This stage combined and generalized a lot of different geographic facts, discredited many false ideas and built progressive theoretical basis for the future development of many natural-historical sciences.

The law of soils zones was put into basis of all soil-geographical and general-geographical Dokuchaev's conceptions as the theoretical basis of the development of geographical soil science because soil geography always explained by this law from Dokuchaevs' to present time.

The fullest statement of zone Dokuchaev's conception was only in his last works, especially in “Studying About Natural Zones”.

Three documents were the most important.

1. Manuscript map of soil zones of northern hemisphere. It was conducted in 1899 on scale 1:50 000 000. It presented the geographical situation of the following world zones: arctic, forest, black earth steppe, aerological soils.

2. Soil map of European Russia on scale 1:2 520 000 was published in 1900. It was compiled by N.M. Sibirzchev, G.I. Tanfiviev, A.R. Ferchmin and V.V. Dokuchaev's beginning and plan.

3. The scheme of soil classification of northern hemisphere. It was the addition to the Dokuchaev's essay.

It should be observed that studying about soils natural zones was formulated by V.V. Dokuchaev. It was put into the basis of modern geographical soil science and geobotany. These scientific branches assimilated and developed genius V.V. Dokuchaev's ideas in the fullest way until recently.

Many cardinal questions of studying about world zones and correlations lines in world geographical spreading of soils, vegetation and climate (K.D. Glinka, A.I. Prosolov), dynamics of hydrothermal regime of different zones (G.N. Vusotzkiy), ratio between world belts and zones (L.I. Prosolov), the problem of zone ventilation processes (B.B. Poliniv, A.E. Fersman), the questions of province aspect in the zones (A.I. Prasolov, S.S. Neustruev), regularity in the mosaic structure of soil-vegetate cover of geographical zones (B.A. Keller, S.S. Nestruev, B.B. Polinov etc.), the question of evolution of soil-vegetate zones at time (S.I. Korzhinskiy, V.R. Williams, V.N. Sukachev etc.) were proclaimed in their bounds but with constant exit into the sphere of general theory. The similar statement and especially important role explained by many reasons . It belonged to the soil science and geobotany in the development of general Dokuchaev's geographical ideas.

Last time appeared one important scientific direction that has brought new aspects into general studying about natural zones. There were the A.A. Grigorev's works about the physical maintenance of the forming processes of external features of the nature of different geographical zones of the Earth. This direction was called dynamical and genetic too because their description and systematization has been put the task of studying the processes that could formed the phenomena and their scientific explanation after discovering these geographical ones. The basis of this theory was the unique physical-geographical, natural process of interactions of all their parts. It consisted of many components: the peculiarities of physical-geographical surrounding some territorial units..., the character of their internal development and the peculiarity of external appearance of earth surface, because it has not been changed by the human activity.