%0 Dataset
%T Soil of Alta-Sayan Region
%J Arid Land Ecology and Resources Science Data Center
%I Arid Land Ecology and Resources Science Data Center(data.dcxjegi.cn)
%U https://data.dcxjegi.cn/portal/metadata/ffffbb3e-cbdf-445a-b5f5-14f912a25a26
%W NCDC
%R 10.12389/ariddc.02133
%A Documentation Information Center
%K Tundra soil;Grassland soil;Alpine meadow soil;Soil
%X The present work by the late B. F. Petrov (1911-1951) describes the soil cover of the vast mountainous country of southern Siberia, the Altai-Sayan region, and examines its relationship with the geographical environment. The region extends from the eastern margin of the Kazakh uplands to the Baikal Rift Zone.The Altai Mountains and the Sayan Range form a continuous mountain barrier with a complex structure. They separate the low-lying, moisture-rich territories of Western and Central Siberia from the high and arid plateaus of Central Asia. Stretching for 1,500 kilometers and reaching a width of 500 kilometers, this barrier intensifies and accentuates the natural contrasts between neighboring regions and creates sharp transitions between soils of different types and provinces. Owing to the unique combination of soil-forming factors in the Altai-Sayan region, new and previously unknown soil types, subtypes, and varieties have emerged. At the same time, the close spatial proximity of soils of different genetic origins makes the laws governing their geographical distribution and developmental history particularly evident. Not only are zonal differences clearly expressed here, but provincial distinctions are also manifested. Direct transitions between previously unrecognized soil types have been established, such as those between tundra soils and steppe soils, and between alpine meadow soils and soils of lower altitudinal belts. These findings have broadened understanding of soil geography and soil genesis.In most of the territory described, including the Eastern and Western Sayan Mountains, the Tannu-Ola Range, and Eastern Altai, virtually no soil data had previously existed. The author was the first soil scientist to conduct investigations in these little-studied regions. Other parts of the Altai-Sayan region, including the Kuznetsk Alatau, Western Altai, and portions of Central Altai, had been traversed at various times by a small number of soil scientists during reco