Suffosion-subsidence processes and their influence on the development of thawed soil erosion and microrelief of arable land in the southeast of Tomsk region

This article presents the results of a long-term study of the combined effects of suffusion processes on the development of soil erosion in agricultural landscapes. The primary objective of this study is to analyze the role of suffusion-subsidence processes in the development of soil erosion from snowmelt runoff and the transformation of the microrelief of arable land in the southeast of the Tomsk region. The materials used are the results of route surveys of arable land in the southern regions of the region over a period of thirty years, as well as semi-permanent observations at key sites “10 km” (2003–2014) and “Luchanovo” (1988–2026). Cartographic and granulometric methods, as well as the interpretation of satellite images and geographic information systems (GIS), were used in the analysis. As a result, three types of influence of suffusion processes on meltwater erosion were identified: soil loss from depression slopes to their bottoms, meltwater overflow from one depression to another located hypsometrically lower, transporting lithomas, and water breaking through the sides of basins into adjacent cropland. Modern manifestations of external suffusion were recorded, including soil subsidence on the slopes of agricultural landscapes and the reactivation of buried gullies. The obtained data on the scale of solid material movement will help refine existing methods for calculating soil loss and develop anti-erosion measures to protect cropland in the southeastern Tomsk region. The identified role of depressions as geochemical barriers opens up new opportunities for studying nutrient migration in agricultural landscapes.

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