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What Dokuchaev investigated. Dokuchaev Vasily - biography, facts from life, photos, background information

Dokuchaev Vasily Vasilievich (1846-1903) - an outstanding Russian natural scientist of the second half of the 19th century. He received worldwide recognition as the founder of a new branch of natural science - genetic soil science.

For the first time in the history of science, he found that soils are special natural-historical bodies formed on the surface of the Earth as a result of centuries of exposure of rocks to climate elements (solar heat and atmospheric moisture), plant and animal organisms. VV Dokuchaev formulated the main laws of the genesis and geography of soils, developed methods of their study and the basic principles of scientifically grounded use in agricultural, forestry and other branches of human activity.

VV Dokuchaev was born on March 1, 1846 in the village of Milyukovo, Sychevsky district, Smolensk province, into the family of a village priest. After graduating from the Vyazemsk Theological School, and then the Smolensk Theological Academy, Dokuchaev in 1867 entered the natural sciences department of the Physics and Mathematics Faculty of St. Petersburg University. After graduating from the university, he took the position of conservator (curator) of the geological office of the university, and worked in this position until 1879.

The first years of scientific work of VV Dokuchaev (1871-77) were devoted to the study of river valleys and the latest geological deposits of the North-West of the European part of Russia. The results of these studies were presented by V.V. Dokuchaev in his dissertation "Methods of Formation of River Valleys in European Russia" (1878), which he successfully defended at St. Petersburg University and was approved in the degree of "Master of Mineralogy and Geognosy". This work of Dokuchaev acquired widely known in scientific circles. It was one of the first major works in the field of new special disciplines still emerging in those years - geomorphology and Quaternary geology.

In 1879 V.V.Dokuchaev was appointed to the post of assistant professor, and in 1880 - assistant professor of St. Petersburg University, giving lectures on geology.

From 1877 to 1881, VV Dokuchaev, on behalf of the Free Economic Society, conducted extensive expeditionary studies of the chernozem soils of Russia. The main result of these studies was the fundamental work of VV Dokuchaev "Russian Chernozem", which he defended at St. Petersburg University in December 1883. For this outstanding work, the University Council awarded VV Dokuchaev a doctorate in mineralogy and geology, the Academy of Sciences awarded him one of the highest awards - the full Makariev Prize, and the Free Economic Society expressed special gratitude to him. In 1884 Dokuchaev was elected to the post of extraordinary, and in 1886. tenured professor at the St. Petersburg University in the Department of Mineralogy and Geology. Dokuchaev gave lectures on mineralogy and crystallography until 1897, i.e. before retirement.

The publication of "Russian Chernozem" was a major event in the history of not only domestic, but also world soil science. It marked the emergence of a new natural history discipline - genetic soil science, which is now often called "Dokuchaevsky".

In Russian Chernozem, VV Dokuchaev for the first time, on the basis of extensive complex geographical materials, substantiated the modern view of chernozem and all other soils as special completely independent natural-historical natural bodies that formed on the surface of the earth's land under the centuries-old influence of sunlight, atmospheric moisture, vegetation and wildlife. In "Russian Chernozem" VV Dokuchaev proved that soils have a special organo-mineral composition, a special type of structure and properties that require special research methods. Dokuchaev developed a profile-genetic method for studying soils, which consists in the fact that replacing each other from top to bottom, soil horizons formed over time under the influence of soil-forming processes and reflect the genesis of soils, that is, the history of their formation and development. It was from this genetic point of view that V.V. Dokuchaev explained the diversity of soils and the natural character of their spatial and geographical distribution on Earth.

In addition to the outstanding scientific and educational value, the teachings of VV Dokuchaev, set out in his "Russian Chernozem" and subsequent works, was a scientific justification for the correct practical measures for the use of soil resources.

Even before defending his doctoral dissertation and the publication of "Russian Chernozem", VV Dokuchaev completed a major work on the creation of a "Soil map of Russia", on a scale of 2520000, started by VI Chaslavsky on behalf of the Department

agriculture. The result of this work was the monograph by VV Dokuchaev "Cartography of Russian soils" (1879). It formulates a new scientific definition of soil, analyzes the meaning of soil maps, reviews the content of all previous soil maps, pays special attention to the characteristics of chernozems and podzols, substantiates proposals on the need to develop a natural-scientific classification of soils and organize a special soil institution with a museum and laboratory. VV Dokuchaev's book "Cartography of Russian soils", which he modestly called "Explanatory text to the soil map of European Russia", was the first special scientific work devoted to the cartography of Russian soils.

In 1882, at the suggestion of the Nizhny Novgorod land administration, V.V. Dokuchaev organized and for four years carried out with his students a comprehensive study of the soils and natural conditions of the Nizhny Novgorod province with the aim of scientifically grounded assessment of its lands. The results of this work, presented in a 14-volume report, have played an extremely important role in the history of soil science. Dokuchaev attracted soil scientists, botanists, geologists, chemists, agronomists, statisticians and other specialists to work on the Nizhny Novgorod expedition. This determined the complex versatile nature of the expedition's work. For the first time, a natural-scientific classification of soils was developed, a profile-genetic method of field research and taxonomic determination of soils was developed, the foundations of a comparative-geographical method for studying and mapping the soil cover were created, principles and methods of natural assessment of soils (appraisal) by their properties were developed.

The same "land-appraisal" expedition led by V.V. Dokuchaev was

and was carried out in the Poltava province (1888-1894), and later in other 26 provinces of European Russia. During the work of the Nizhny Novgorod and Poltava expeditions, the famous Dokuchaev scientific school was formed, from which a number of famous scientists not only in the field of soil science, but also in many related branches of natural science emerged. Dokuchaev's immediate disciples and followers were soil scientists: N.M. Sibirtsev, K.D. Glinka, S.A. Zakharov, geologists and mineralogists V.I. Vernadsky, F.Yu. Levinson-Lessing, P.A. Zemyatchensky, botanists -geographers G.I.Tanfilyev, A.N. Krasnov, foresters G.F. Morozov and G.N. Vysotsky and others.

In connection with the severe drought that swept the whole of southern Russia, V.V. Dokuchaev joined in the work to help the starving peasants, on the scientific justification of urgent measures to combat the drought. In the newspaper "Government Gazette" in 1892, he published a series of articles substantiating the need to introduce a system of state measures to prevent droughts and overcome the damage they had already caused. These articles formed the basis of VV Dokuchaev's remarkable book "Our steppes before and now", published in 1892 in favor of those affected by crop failure. In the same year, VV Dokuchaev succeeded in organizing a "Special Expedition to test and record various methods and techniques of forestry and water management in the steppes of Russia" at the forestry department.

On three land plots in the Voronezh, Kharkov and Yekaterinoslav provinces, forest planting began, ponds were created, water sources were cleaned, the headwaters of ravines were fixed, land use was streamlined, stationary observations were made of the dynamics of natural conditions and the state of crops of agricultural plants.

The most famous is the experimental site in the former Kamennaya Steppe near Voronezh, where, according to Dokuchaev's plan, a set of measures to combat drought was most fully implemented. "Kamennaya Steppe" has become the standard of rational land use and sustainable productive agriculture in the arid climate of Russia's chernozem regions. Now the Research Institute of Agriculture of the Central Black Earth Belt named after V.V. Dokuchaev works here. In fact, the work of this special forest expedition by Dokuchaev laid the foundations of a new scientific and practical discipline - agroforestry.

For many years, beginning in 1875, V.V. Dokuchaev sought to organize an expedition to study the soils and natural conditions of the environs of St. Petersburg and, above all, the Neva River and its valley. At the cost of enormous efforts, Dokuchaev managed to achieve in 1900 the allocation of 150 thousand rubles by the St. Petersburg City Council. to organize the work of the "Nevskaya Commission". The entire color of the metropolitan science of that time was involved in the leadership of the commission. Dokuchaev was appointed chairman of the commission. He developed such a comprehensive research program, which could serve as an example of organizing large-scale integrated environmental studies of natural conditions in the largest cities of Russia in our time.

Unfortunately, the material resources to support the work of the "Nevskaya Commission" were allocated for only one year and, therefore, the activities of the commission stopped.

Throughout his creative scientific and pedagogical work, V.V. Dokuchaev posed questions to various government departments and scientific societies about the need to organize special research centers (institutes, departments, laboratories, museums) for the systematic study of soil resources in Russia, the introduction of teaching soil science at universities and agricultural institutes.

In 1888, VV Dokuchaev organized a Soil Commission at the Free Economic Society and for a number of years was its chairman. In addition to soil scientists, the commission included such prominent scientists from different fields of knowledge as D.I. Mendeleev, A.N. Engelgardt, A.N.Beketov, V.I. Vernadsky, F.Yu. Levinson-Lessing, P.A. Zemyatchensky, A.V. Sovetov, G.I. Tanfiliev. In subsequent years, the Soil Commission played a very important role in the organization of soil science in Russia. With her assistance since 1899. the journal "Pochvovedenie" began to be published, which gained world fame and continues to be published in our time. The first editor of the journal was one of the closest students of V.V. Dokuchaev, a soil scientist and hydrologist P.V. Ototsky.

In 1892-95. V.V. Dokuchaev temporarily, without leaving his professorship at St. Petersburg University, served as director of the Novoaleksandriya Institute of Agriculture and Forestry in Pulawy (now in Poland), over the years, he reorganized the structure and educational process at the Institute, organized the first department of genetic soil science, which was headed by his student - professor N.M. Sibirtsev.

In 1895. VV Dokuchaev made a detailed report and a corresponding program on the opening of the departments of soil science and the study of microorganisms (bacteriology) at the imperial Russian universities. The proposal did not receive support, although D.I. Mendeleev and other prominent Russian scientists spoke in favor of it.

In general, VV Dokuchaev attached great importance to the training of specialists and the popularization of knowledge in the field of soil science and related natural-agricultural sciences. To this end, he organized special public cycles of lectures, made numerous reports in St. Petersburg, Moscow, Poltava, Tbilisi, presented materials of soil research at Russian and international exhibitions, everywhere marked by the highest and honorable awards and prizes. On the initiative of V.V. Dokuchaev, the zemstvos organized the first local natural history museums in Russia in Nizhny Novgorod and Poltava. A year after the death of V.V. Dokuchaev in 1904, the Central Museum of Soil Science was opened in St. Petersburg, named after him.

In connection with a sharp deterioration in health due to overwork, V.V. Dokuchaev was forced in 1897 to stop his professorship at St. Petersburg University, to retire. After a short-term treatment, he again joined in active research and scientific-organizational activities. From 1897 to 1900, Dokuchaev undertook expeditionary research and lecturing in the Crimea and Moldova, the Caucasus and Central Asia. It was during these years that V.V. Dokuchaev most fully formulated and presented his famous doctrine of zones of nature, of the laws of horizontal (latitudinal) and vertical (high-altitude) soil zoning. He carefully prepares extensive materials on the study of Russian soils for the World Exhibition in Paris in 1900. These materials included the first in the history of science schematic map of soil zones in the northern hemisphere of the Earth, an overview soil map of European Russia, compiled in accordance with the natural scientific classification of soils, and also a soil map and materials on the soils of the Caucasus, reflecting in them the laws of vertical soil zoning. All these materials and their authors, headed by Dokuchaev, have earned the highest marks from the World Exhibition.

On the basis of the established laws of zoning, V.V. Dokuchaev created principles of zonal agronomy that were completely new for that time. Having singled out five agricultural zones on the territory of Russia, Dokuchaev gave a detailed description of the most rational specialization of agriculture in each of them, as well as the most important ameliorative and agronomic measures to maintain and improve soil fertility.

"Any agricultural economy should be strictly zonal" - argued Dokuchaev, speaking in 1898 at public courses on agriculture in St. Petersburg.

In 1897, VV Dokuchaev began to write a large work under the title "On the relationship between the so-called living and dead nature." Unfortunately, he did not have time to write it, but in the first chapter of the future book, Dokuchaev expresses his cherished thoughts about the meaning and ways of development of soil science as a natural history science and, at the same time, about the need to create even broader scientific disciplines covering the entire unified and indissoluble nature. ...

Now, a hundred years after this work of Dokuchaev, we have the right to assert that it laid the foundations of such important modern sciences as ecology, biocenology, landscape science and the doctrine of the biosphere.

The second half of the twentieth century was marked by the fact that the violation by man of the existing natural ties has reached global proportions and threatens the stability of the biosphere, and therefore the future of mankind. What kind of visionary does Dokuchaev appear to us today, when, more than a hundred years ago, talking about the difficult paths of mankind, he called man the imaginary master of the Earth and warned against an unreasonable and reckless violation of the strong ties that developed in the process of the Earth's development, between living and dead nature.

The great influence that V.V. Dokuchaev had on the formation and development of many scientific disciplines and the work of many scientists is undoubtedly due to his broad philosophical outlook, his deep conviction that studying the influence of various factors on any complex phenomenon that develops under the influence of various factors ... Analyzing in 1898 the state of natural science in the 19th century, V.V. Dokuchaev paid tribute to its successes, at the same time noted an important and significant defect. In his opinion, this defect lay in the fact that individual bodies, phenomena and forces were studied, but not their correlations, not the genetic, eternal and always natural connection that exists between forces, bodies and phenomena, between dead and living nature, between plant , animal and mineral kingdoms, on the one hand, man, his way of life, and even the spiritual world, on the other. Meanwhile, it is these correlations, these regular interactions that constitute the essence of knowledge and nature, the core of true natural philosophy, - the best and highest charm of natural science.

In 1901 - 1903 Dokuchaev was in the hospital almost continuously in a state of severe depression. On November 8, 1903, he died in St. Petersburg from a lung disease and was buried in the Smolensk cemetery.

The name of Dokuchaev was assigned to the Soil Institute of the USSR Academy of Sciences in 1927 in Moscow (in 1962 the institute was transferred to the All-Union Agricultural Academy), the Scientific Research Institute of Agriculture of the Central Black Earth Belt in the Kamennaya Steppe, Kharkov State Agrarian University, the All-Russian Scientific Society of Soil Scientists ...

Since 1946, in honor of the centenary of the birth of Dokuchaev, the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, and then the Russian Academy of Sciences, awards domestic and foreign scientists the gold medal named after V.I. VV Dokuchaev for outstanding discoveries and scientific work in the field of soil science.

On the first anniversary of the death of V.V. Dokuchaev, his most famous student and follower Academician V.I. Vernadsky said:

"In the history of natural science in Russia during the nineteenth century, there are few people who could be placed alongside him (Dokuchaev) in terms of the influence they had on the course of scientific work, in terms of the depth and originality of their generalizing thought ...".

S.V. Zonn (1991) Vasily Vasilievich Dokuchaev

What did Dokuchaev discover in geography? What contribution of Dokuchaev to science you will learn from this article.

Is a Russian natural scientist and founder of scientific soil science, as well as comprehensive research of nature. He played a huge role in the development of physical geography.

Dokuchaev: contribution to ecology and geography

Dokuchaev's contribution to geography in the professional environment of geographers is simply enormous. He began his scientific career in the field of geology, actively studying modern and Quaternary geological phenomena. Also, the scientist was interested in soils, devoting them to the study of as many as 20 years. Dokuchaev's work entitled "Russian Chernozem" examines the soil in all relationships. He owns the development of the concept of the soil-forming process, the participants of which are not only elements of the environment, but also time itself.

Dokuchaev's contribution to science is that he made a soil map of the world. Having identified 6 main types of soils, the scientist "decomposed" them in regular rows along parallels on it, based on the factors of soil formation. He pointed out the specific position of soils in nature, which is determined by mineral and organic compounds in it. An integral part of the soil is living matter, which is represented by living organisms: the root system of plants, microorganisms, soil-dwelling animals.

Thus, Vasily Vasilievich was the first to establish the following: the soil is a natural independent body that differs from other bodies of nature. Thanks to the scientist, the law of soil zoning was discovered. It states that different types of soils are located zonally and completely depend on climatic conditions, flora and fauna. The scientist also formulated the law of soil change depending on height - the law of vertical soil zoning.

Then - at the Smolensk Theological Seminary. The seminary, which provided free secondary education mainly to the children of priests, was a place where harsh morals and traditions that were cruel for students (described, for example, in the "Sketches of the Bursa" by N. G. Pomyalovsky), supported both by teachers and by the students themselves, prevailed. According to the informal division of students, Dokuchaev was "Bashka" - the first in teaching and the last in behavior.

Dokuchaev's scientific activity in the period up to 1878 was mainly devoted to the study of the latest Quaternary formations (sediments) and soils of European Russia. From 1877 to 1877 he made a number of expeditions in northern and central Russia and southern Finland, in order to study the geological structure, method and time of the formation of river valleys and the geological activity of rivers. In 1878, he defended his master's thesis "Methods of the origin of river valleys in European Russia", in which he outlined the original theory of the formation of river valleys by the gradual development of linear erosion processes.

Already at this time, soils fell into the field of scientific interests of Dokuchaev. In 1874 he made a report on the podzols of the Smolensk province at a meeting of the St. Petersburg Society of Naturalists. In 1875, Dokuchaev was invited by V.I.Chaslavsky to compile a soil map of European Russia. In Chaslavsky died and an explanatory note to the map was already drawn up by Dokuchaev. In the same year, he came up with the idea of \u200b\u200bcreating a soil museum with a laboratory attached to him.

Creation of genetic soil science

Dissemination of Dokuchaev's ideas

Dokuchaev educated many students who later became outstanding researchers, created a strong soil school. Very quickly, his ideas began to spread beyond the borders of Russia. This, among other things, was facilitated by the participation of Dokuchaev and his students in the World Exhibitions (Paris), (Chicago), (Paris), at which collections of soils with rich accompanying material were exhibited. At the exhibition in Chicago, an English translation of the book "Our Steppes Before and Now" was sold, the soil exposition attracted the attention of M. Whitney, at the Paris exhibition in 1900, the Russian Department of Soil Science for the achievements of the Dokuchaev school (in particular, soil maps and collections) received Grand prix.

In 1886, E. Brueckner, in an article on black soil, analyzed Dokuchaev's concept and called it “a new word in science”. E. Ramann adopted Dokuchaev's views at the turn of the century, but he did not completely depart from agrogeological views. The most active spread of genetic soil science began after the agrogeological conferences (Budapest) and (Stockholm), the agro-pedological conference in Prague in 1922 and, in particular, the international congresses of soil scientists in Washington () and Moscow (). In Russia, some weakening of the positions of the Dokuchaev school was outlined in the 1910s (works by B. B. Polynov), but after intense discussions among soil scientists, Dokuchaev's views prevailed.

Memory

Headstone at the grave of V.V.Dokuchaev. Lutheran Smolenskoe Cemetery, St. Petersburg.

Institutions

  • Soil Institute VASKHNIL.
  • Research Institute of Agriculture of the Central Black Earth Belt (Kamennaya Steppe, Voronezh Region).
  • Kharkov State Agrarian University.

Museum

  • Central Museum of Soil Science named after V.V.Dokuchaev

City

  • The city of Dokuchaevsk in the Donetsk region.
  • The village of Dokuchaevo in the Kirovograd region.

Streets

  • Dokuchaev street in Sochi.
  • Dokuchaev street in Izmail

Awards

  • In March, in connection with the 100th anniversary of his birth, a gold medal and a prize were established. VV Dokuchaev, awarded by the Presidium of the USSR Academy of Sciences for outstanding scientific work in the field of soil science.

Printed works

  • Dokuchaev V.V. Darwin's theory before the court of St. Scriptures as the most ancient historical botanical and zoological monument. - [SPb.]: Printing house of the spiritual magazine "Wanderer", 1869.
  • Dokuchaev V.V. Ravines and their meaning, 1876.
  • Dokuchaev V.V. Results about Russian chernozem, 1877.
  • Dokuchaev V.V. Preliminary report on the study of the southwestern part of the chernozem belt of Russia, 1878.
  • Dokuchaev V.V. Preliminary report on the study of the southeastern part of the chernozem belt of Russia, 1879.
  • Dokuchaev V.V. Cartography of Russian soils. Explanatory text to the soil map of European Russia. - SPb .: Printing house of Kirshbaum, 1879.
  • Dokuchaev V.V. On the question of Siberian black soil, 1882.
  • Dokuchaev V.V. Schematic soil map of the chernozem belt of European Russia. - SPb .: Printing house of the partnership "Society. Benefit ", 1882.
  • Dokuchaev V.V. Materials on the assessment of the lands of the Nizhny Novgorod province (issues I-XIV, 1882-86. Dokuchaev owns 1 issue and some chapters XIII, XIV and the edition of the entire work)
  • Dokuchaev V.V. Russian chernozem. Report to the Imperial Free Economic Society. - SPb .: Imperial Free Economic Society, 1883.
  • Dokuchaev V.V. About the origin of Russian black soil, 1884.
  • Dokuchaev V.V. About the so-called Yuryevsky chernozem, 1884-85 (2 articles).
  • Dokuchaev V.V. On the question of Russian chernozem, 1885.
  • Dokuchaev V.V. On the benefits of studying the local nomenclature of Russian soils, 1886.
  • Dokuchaev V.V. Explanations for the soil map of the Nizhny Novgorod province, 1887.
  • Dokuchaev V.V. On the normal assessment of soils in European Russia, 1887.
  • Dokuchaev V.V. Research methods of the question: were there forests in southern steppe Russia? 1888.
  • Dokuchaev V.V. Materials for the assessment of the lands of the Poltava province "(issues 1-13, 1889-1892).
  • Dokuchaev V.V. On the question of the relationship between the age and height of the area, on the one hand, the nature and distribution of chernozems, forest lands and salt licks, on the other. 1891.
  • Dokuchaev V.V. Our steppes before and now. - SPb .: Printing house E. Evdokimov, 1892.
  • Dokuchaev V.V. On the origin of Russian loess, 1892.
  • Dokuchaev V.V. To the doctrine of natural zones. Horizontal and vertical soil zones. - SPb .: Type. St. Petersburg city government, 1899.
  • Dokuchaev V.V. On zoning in the mineral kingdom (preliminary report) // Notes of the Imperial St. Petersburg Mineralogical Society. 1899. Ch. 37, no. 1.S. 145-158.
  • Dokuchaev V.V. The doctrine of the zones of nature. - M .: Geografgiz, 1948.
  • Dokuchaev V.V. Compositions. M .; L .: Publishing house of the USSR Academy of Sciences. - T. 1: Works in the field of geology. - 1940 .; T. 2: Articles and reports on the study of black soil. Cartography of Russian soils. 1876-1885. - 1950 .; T. 3: Russian chernozem. - 1949 .; T. 4: Nizhny Novgorod works. 1882-1887. Part 1. - 1950 .; T. 5: Nizhny Novgorod works. 1882-1887. Part 2. - 1950 .; T. 6: Transformation of the nature of the steppes: work on soil research and land assessment, the doctrine of zoning and soil classification. 1888-1900. - 1951 .; Vol. 7: Organization of soil institutions and agricultural issues in Russia: articles and reports, popular lectures. - 1953 .; T. 8. Works and performances. - 1961.

Sources

  • Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron: In 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). St. Petersburg: 1890-1907.
  • Russian Biographical Dictionary: In 25 volumes / under the supervision of A. A. Polovtsov. 1896-1918.
  • Krupenikov I.A., Krupenikov L.A. Vasily Vasilievich Dokuchaev. - M .: Selkhozgiz, 1950.
  • Dokuchaev V.V. Compositions. - M .; L .: Publishing house of the USSR Academy of Sciences. - T. 9: Life and work of V. V. Dokuchaev. Bibliography of works. - 1961.
  • Kiryanov G.F. Vasily Vasilievich Dokuchaev, 1846-1903. - M .: Nauka, 1966.

Speaking about the soil and fertile lands, I remembered the words of my school teacher that supposedly in Ukraine the black soil is so "fat" - even spread it on bread, its sample was exhibited in Paris as a standard. And just recently I learned that Ukraine exported black soil to Saudi Arabia. Indeed, it is interesting.

Accumulation of soil knowledge

Man has been using soil for thousands of years. But the science of soil science itself appeared a little over a century ago. The representatives of ancient civilizations knew a lot about the soil. Ancient Roman authors have many valuable observations on this topic. During the period of enlightenment, agronomists collected a lot of material about the upper layer of the earth. All this was scattered information. Despite the fact that both Lomonosov and Darwin turned to this subject of study, no separate science was created. This was done by Vasily Vasilyevich Dokuchaev.


Vasily Dokuchaev's path to science

Vasily was to become a priest like his father. The young man entered the St. Petersburg Theological Academy. There, at public lectures, he fell forever in love with natural science. As a result, he leaves the academy and goes to university. After graduation, he starts working at his alma mater. For a couple of years, I used to ride horses about 10 thousand miles. This is how the world's first soil science work began - about black soil.


The birth of soil science

Zoning of the soil became another discovery of Dokuchaev. The scientist foresaw the threat of soil degradation, because it takes about 1000 years to create 3 centimeters of fertile soil, and it can be destroyed in a dozen. In the dry year of 1891, he published the work "Our steppes before and now", which is still relevant today. Dokuchaev's soil collection received a gold medal at the Paris exhibition. The life of a scientist was very stressful:

  • exhibitions and conferences;
  • expeditions;
  • disputes with opponents;
  • overcoming bureaucracy.

Professor's health began to fail: memory problems progressed, vision deteriorated. The great Russian scientist died in 1903. Vasily Vasilievich made a huge contribution to the classification and methodology of soil study. This person raised a number of issues that remain relevant today.

Notable students:

V. I. Vernadsky, G. N. Vysotsky, K. D. Glinka, A. N. Krasnov, P. V. Ototsky, N. M. Sibirtsev, P. A. Solomin, G. I. Tanfilyev

Known as:

The founder of modern genetic soil science

Vasily Vasilyevich Dokuchaev (March 1 - November 8) - renowned geologist and soil scientist, founder of the Russian school of soil science and soil geography.

Dokuchaev's scientific activity in the period up to 1878 was mainly devoted to the study of the latest Quaternary formations (sediments) and soils of European Russia. From 1877 to 1877 he made a number of expeditions in northern and central Russia and southern Finland, in order to study the geological structure, method and time of the formation of river valleys and the geological activity of rivers. In 1878, he defended his master's thesis "Methods of the origin of river valleys in European Russia", in which he outlined the original theory of the formation of river valleys by the gradual development of linear erosion processes.

Already at this time, soils fell into the field of scientific interests of Dokuchaev. In 1874 he made a report on the podzols of the Smolensk province at a meeting of the St. Petersburg Society of Naturalists. In 1875, Dokuchaev was invited by V.I.Chaslavsky to compile a soil map of European Russia. In Chaslavsky died and an explanatory note to the map was already drawn up by Dokuchaev. In the same year, he came up with the idea of \u200b\u200bcreating a soil museum with a laboratory attached to him.

Creation of genetic soil science

Dissemination of Dokuchaev's ideas

Dokuchaev brought up many students who later became famous researchers, created a school of soil scientists. His ideas began to spread beyond the borders of Russia. This, among other things, was facilitated by the participation of Dokuchaev and his students in the World Exhibitions (Paris), (Chicago), (Paris), at which collections of soils with accompanying material were exhibited. An English translation of the book "Our Steppes Before and Now" was sold at the exhibition in Chicago, the soil exposition attracted the attention of M. Whitney, at the Paris exhibition in 1900, the Russian Department of Soil Science for the achievements of the Dokuchaev school (in particular, soil maps and collections) received the Grand Prix.

Memory

Headstone at the grave of V.V.Dokuchaev. Lutheran Smolenskoe Cemetery, St. Petersburg.

Monument to Dokuchaev in Pushkin near the State Agrarian University

Institutions

  • Soil Institute named after V. V. Dokuchaeva
  • Scientific Research Institute of Agriculture named after V.V.Dokuchaev (Kamennaya Steppe, Voronezh Region).
  • Kharkiv National Agrarian University.

Museum

  • Central Museum of Soil Science named after V.V.Dokuchaev

Settlements

  • The city of Dokuchaevsk in the Donetsk region.
    • Monument to Dokuchaev

Streets

Awards

  • In March 1946, in connection with the 100th anniversary of his birth, a gold medal and a prize named after V.V.Dokuchaev were established, awarded by the Presidium of the USSR Academy of Sciences for outstanding scientific work in the field of soil science.

Philately

  • In 1949, postage stamps of the USSR were issued, dedicated to Dokuchaev.

Printed works

  • Dokuchaev V.V. Darwin's theory before the court of St. Scriptures as the most ancient historical botanical and zoological monument. - [SPb.]: Printing house of the spiritual magazine "Wanderer", 1869.
  • Dokuchaev V.V. Ravines and their meaning, 1876.
  • Dokuchaev V.V. Results about Russian chernozem, 1877.
  • Dokuchaev V.V. Preliminary report on the study of the southwestern part of the chernozem belt of Russia, 1878.
  • Dokuchaev V.V. Preliminary report on the study of the southeastern part of the chernozem belt of Russia, 1879.
  • Dokuchaev V.V. Cartography of Russian soils. Explanatory text to the soil map of European Russia. - SPb .: Printing house of Kirshbaum, 1879.
  • Dokuchaev V.V. On the question of Siberian black soil, 1882.
  • Dokuchaev V.V. Schematic soil map of the chernozem belt of European Russia. - SPb .: Printing house of the partnership "Society. Benefit ", 1882.
  • Dokuchaev V.V. Materials on the assessment of the lands of the Nizhny Novgorod province (issues I-XIV, 1882-86. Dokuchaev owns 1 issue and some chapters XIII, XIV and the edition of the entire work)
  • Dokuchaev V.V. Russian chernozem. Report to the Imperial Free Economic Society. - SPb .: Imperial Free Economic Society, 1883.
  • Dokuchaev V.V. About the origin of Russian black soil, 1884.
  • Dokuchaev V.V. About the so-called Yuryevsky chernozem, 1884-85 (2 articles).
  • Dokuchaev V.V. On the question of Russian chernozem, 1885.
  • Dokuchaev V.V. On the benefits of studying the local nomenclature of Russian soils, 1886.
  • Dokuchaev V.V. Explanations for the soil map of the Nizhny Novgorod province, 1887.
  • Dokuchaev V.V. On the normal assessment of soils in European Russia, 1887.
  • Dokuchaev V.V. Research methods of the question: were there forests in southern steppe Russia? 1888.
  • Dokuchaev V.V. Materials for the assessment of the lands of the Poltava province "(issues 1-13, 1889-1892).
  • Dokuchaev V.V. On the question of the relationship between the age and height of the area, on the one hand, the nature and distribution of chernozems, forest lands and salt licks, on the other. 1891.
  • Dokuchaev V.V. Our steppes before and now. - SPb .: Printing house E. Evdokimov, 1892.
  • Dokuchaev V.V. On the origin of Russian loess, 1892.
  • Dokuchaev V.V. To the doctrine of natural zones. Horizontal and vertical soil zones. - SPb .: Type. St. Petersburg city government, 1899.
  • Dokuchaev V.V. On zoning in the mineral kingdom (preliminary report) // Notes of the Imperial St. Petersburg Mineralogical Society. 1899. Ch. 37, no. 1.S. 145-158.
  • Dokuchaev V.V. The doctrine of the zones of nature. - M .: Geografgiz, 1948.
  • Dokuchaev V.V. Compositions. M .; L .: Publishing house of the USSR Academy of Sciences. - T. 1: Works in the field of geology. - 1940 .; T. 2: Articles and reports on the study of black soil. Cartography of Russian soils. 1876-1885. - 1950 .; T. 3: Russian chernozem. - 1949 .; T. 4: Nizhny Novgorod works. 1882-1887. Part 1. - 1950 .; T. 5: Nizhny Novgorod works. 1882-1887. Part 2. - 1950 .; T. 6: Transformation of the nature of the steppes: work on soil research and land assessment, the doctrine of zoning and soil classification. 1888-1900. - 1951 .; Vol. 7: Organization of soil institutions and agricultural issues in Russia: articles and reports, popular lectures. - 1953 .; T. 8. Works and performances. - 1961.

Literature

  • // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron: In 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - SPb. , 1890-1907.
  • Russian Biographical Dictionary: In 25 volumes / under the supervision of A. A. Polovtsov. 1896-1918.
  • Krupenikov I.A., Krupenikov L.A. Vasily Vasilievich Dokuchaev. - M .: Selkhozgiz, 1950.
  • Dokuchaev V.V. Compositions. - M .; L .: Publishing house of the USSR Academy of Sciences. - T. 9: Life and work of V. V. Dokuchaev. Bibliography of works. - 1961.
  • Kiryanov G.F. Vasily Vasilievich Dokuchaev, 1846-1903. - M .: Nauka, 1966.
  • Galina Kostina. Color boring globes / Expert Magazine. No. 30-31 (764), August 1-14, 2011. S. 20-23.

Links

Dokuchaev, Vasily Vasilievich at Wikimedia Commons