The dependence of biological activity of soils in the steppe region from the slope of the exposure

For the territory of the steppe Urals, the regional condition for differentiation of soil properties in space is the landscape asymmetry, which is associated with the latitudinal stretch of most rivers in the region. The essence of this phenomenon is that the short and steep slopes facing mainly to the South, and long and flat oriented to the North. This geomorphological feature of the inter-basin spaces of the region determined the differences in solar radiation on the surface of all three elements of the watershed landscape (the slope of the Northern exposure, the southern and leveled peak), and with it the difference in the mesoclimate of each of them. This circumstance caused differences in the composition and structure of natural phyto - and microbocenoses, in biomass reserves, in the level of enzymatic activity, in the duration and nature of the passage of the period of biological activity of soils. Enzymatic and microbiological activity of soils is of paramount importance, as the variety of soil enzymes largely determines the complex processes occurring in the soil and regulating soil fertility. Enzymatic activity of soils is the most important genetic characteristic, enzyme activity is closely related to the amount of humus in the soil and its qualitative composition. The enzymatic activity of Chernozem soils of the steppe Urals was determined, enzymes of the classes of oxidreductases and hydrolases were studied, as well as the total number of microorganisms at the beginning and end of the growing season. The studied soils of multidirectional slopes exhibit medium enzymatic activity. The conjugate changes in the activity of enzymes between themselves and with the content of humus in the soil are revealed.