A study of natural and anthropogenic changes of soils within the Tom river valley based on GIS, remote sensing and field observations

This article is devoted to the study of natural and anthropogenic changes in soils within the valley of the Tom River. The study is based on field observations, remote sensing data and GIS analysis. A geodatabase and a digital elevation model of the investigated area were created. Changes in floodplain soils as a result of erosion-accumulative activity of the river are considered. The process of boggy soils formation on terraces has been studied. Anthropogenic changes in soils in the vicinity of Tomsk are revealed. The key factors of the anthropogenic modification of soils in the study area are the increased from the middle of the XX century industrial and agricultural activity such as sand and gravel extraction from the riverbed, draining, melioration and arable lands. Also important factors of the anthropogenic modification of soils are transport construction and expansion of the urban and rural areas. Now almost all soils within the Tom River valley in the vicinity of Tomsk are exposed to anthropogenic modifications to various degree. The vector of the changes is directed towards considerable desiccation due to the lowering of the groundwater level, which occurred due to the overlapping of various anthropogenic factors.