Modern technologies make it possible to obtain a lot of diverse information about the soil properties using satellite images, but field studies are also required to create or refine digital soil maps. To create a digital soil map scaled 1:25 000 in 2016, a classical field study was conducted with the laying of soil sections in places with the same coordinates as in the mapping of 1982. It allowed to carry out retrospective monitoring of transformation of morphogenetic and agrochemical properties of soils of the southern forest-steppe of the Republic of Bashkortostan (Russia) for the 34-year period of farm use. Thus, the correction and digitization of the soil map allowed to establish that arable land occupies 69.792 ha (67.9%) in the structure of agricultural land (102 811 ha). The monitoring showed deterioration of the main characteristics of arable soil fertility: the diminishing of humus-accumulative horizons, significant decrease of humus content (p ≤ 0.05), a small but reliable acidification of the medium reaction and reducing labile phosphorus. Losses of organic matter occurred mainly in the most fertile soils; their proportion decreased from 55.9% of the total area of agricultural land to 12.4%.

The scarcity of annual rainfall, which sometimes spreads over successive years, causes persistent droughts. In order to study the drought severity on the Algerian steppe, we analysed precipitation data (1985–2015) from the weather stations of Ain Sefra, El Bayadh, Tiaret and Djelfa, using drought meteorological indices: the mean deviation, the standardised precipitation index, the rainfall index and the frequency analysis of the rainfall series. Thus, we adopted the diachronic study by satellite remote sensing for the years 2002 (the driest year) and 2009 (the wettest year), which allowed us to better understand the evolution of the steppe rangelands surface and to better interpret their spatial-temporal changes. Drought, as determined by the mean deviation index, occurred during two periods (in sequence and corresponds to 55% the sequences of deficit years), one over 12 years (from 1994/1993 to 2006/2005) and the other over 5 years (1985–1990) and with isolated years. The results of the diachronic study of the vegetation change demonstrate the obvious divergence of the vegetation cover between 2002 and 2009. Drought has impacts on vegetation composition, growth, productivity, structure and functioning of ecosystems, which limits regeneration of vegetation cover.

Formation of modern landscapes of Zaporizhzhya region occurred in the Holocene period. During the Holocene wet phase changing climate fairly arid, warm - rather cold, but the average climatic indicators were close to modern. These conditions contributed to the formation of steppe zonal type of landscape. However, due to prolonged exposure to diverse steppe landscapes economic impacts associated with mismanagement of their natural potential and increasing human pressure on the natural environment has been transformed natural landscapes and change their properties. The result of this action was that the area landscapes drastically reduced. Zaporizhzhya region was the most economically mastered in all regions of Ukraine. To further study the issues to optimize environmental management of the region, the article reproduced a modern structure of landscapes area. The area characterized Zaporizhzhya region lowland class and type steppe landscapes. Three subtypes of landscapes: the north, middle and dry steppe. Each subtype is divided into land. Within North steppe subtype isolated Dniester-Dnieper and the Left-Bank Dnepr-Azov province. Medium steppe subtype is represented by the Black Sea margin, and dry steppe - Black sea-Azov. The most popular items on the optimization of environmental management are landscaped areas and areas of morphological units within them. That level reflects the nature of the landscape area inside the area landscape differentiation. Within the Zaporizhzhya region allocated 7 landscaped areas: highland Azov, highland-Dnieper south slope, Kinsko-Yalinska low-lying, low-lying Azov, the Dnieper-Molochansk low-lying, Western Azov-slope highland and lowland Prisivasko-Priazov.

Water and wind erosion are the most powerful factors in the decrease of soil fertility and a threat to food security. The study was conducted on the steppe zone in Ukraine (total area of 167.4 thous. km2), including agricultural land (131.6 thous. km2). At the first stage, the modeling of spatial differentiation of water and wind erosion manifestations was carried out to calculate losses of soil (Mg·ha–1) and to determine their degradation. At the second stage, soil-climatic bonitet of zonal soils (points) is carried out to determine their natural fertility (Mg·ha–1). At the third stage, the spatial adjustment of the natural soil fertility to the negative effect of erosion was carried out. This made it possible to calculate crop losses and total financial losses due to water and wind erosion. The integrated spatial modeling showed that about 68.7% of arable land was constantly affected by the combined erosion, in particular the area of low eroded arable land (16.8%), and medium and highly eroded land (22.1%). Due to erodibility of soil, about 23.3% of agricultural land transferred from the category of high and medium quality to medium, low and very low quality, which is caused by the loss of soil fertility of up to 70%, crop losses of up to 1.93 Mg·ha–1 ha–1 and eduction of agricultural income up to 390 USD·ha–1. In the steppe region under the research, gross crop losses from erosion were up to 15.11 thous. Mg·ha–1 (3.05 mln USD). In order to protect soils, improve fertility and increase crop yields in the steppe zone in Ukraine, the following measures were suggested: adaptive and landscape erosion control design with elements of conservation farming in accordance with the spatial differentiation of soil quality and extent of water erosion deflation danger.