The Aeration Zone and Its Significance for the Moisture Regime
of Steppe Landscapes

S. V. Zonn and N. B. Ivanova

Institute of Geography, Russian Academy of Sciences, Staromonetnyi per. 29, Moscow, 109017 Russia

Received June 6, 1997

Abstract—Water distribution and reserves in soils and subsoil substrates in the forest-steppe, steppe, and semi-
desert zones of European Russia are considered within the depth interval of 3.5 to 23 m. It was found that soil
water can periodically percolate to a depth of 23 m and lower. Water supplies in the thickness investigated are
close to those at the minimum water capacity. In the last 100 years, the water table has risen 1.5–3 m in the areas
with forest shelter belts, which resulted in the development of “oasis-like” hydrological regimes. Studies of the
moisture regime in the aeration zone are of importance for purposes of its protection from human-induced damage.

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