Borovichskiy Uyezd of Novgorod Governorate in Studies of First Russian Soil Scientists and Materials of General Land Surveying

Abstract

The results of comparative analysis research of the first Russian soil scientists, held in Borovichskiy uyezd of Novgorod governorate in the late 19th century, with the materials of General land surveying of the late 18th century are presented. The relevance of the work is determined by insufficient knowledge of the topic and by the parameters of fertility of the land changing during the centuries. The author reveals the peculiarities of soil research in this region since the late 19th century, focuses on typical features of their description given according to the scientific achievements of that time. Special attention is paid to the comparison of the results of field researches of soil scientists in the area of certain villages with an electronic database compiled by the author, that characterizes the soil in the materials of the general land surveying. It is proved that the ranking of soil types by soil scientists in the late 19th century coincides with information about soil in the materials ofgeneral land surveying of the late 18th century. The wide use of soil descriptions in the subsequent rural studies is highlighted. Scientific novelty of the work consists in the fact that it for the first time systematized, summarized and mapped field survey results of the first Russian soil scientists and general land surveying by the example of Borovichskiy uyezd of Novgorod governorate.