Historical Land Use Changes and Soil Degradation on the Russian Plain

Abstract

The European portion of the USSR covers more than 500 million hectares, an area approximately half of the total European continent. A major part of European USSR comprises the Russian Plain which stretches from the Urals in the east to the Baltic in the west and the Black Sea, the Caucasus and the Caspian Sea in the South but excludes the northern regions falling within the Arctic Circle (Figure 16.1). This area has always been the economic and social center of the USSR and this is reflected by the development trends of industry, agriculture and transportation networks, as well as in population trends:

• i) approximately 75 per cent of the gross national product originates from this region;

• ii) about 70 per cent of the national population lives on the Russian Plain;

• ii) the population density is approximately 32 people km^-2, almost three times the national average.