Soil reclamation is a necessary element of farming and land use almost
everywhere in the Russian Federation. Since soils are the direct obje
cts of reclamation, soil science provides the fundamental theoretical
conceptual basis for devising meliorative measures. Their ecological s
uitability and cost effectiveness are now closely related to the adapt
ation of the reclamation measures to the soil cover within each concre
te landscape in all natural zones and to the protection of all its ele
ments from degradation. The solution of these problems presupposes a h
armonious combination of crops and land use, interaction between the g
overnment and the users of the land, and intensive development of gene
ral and regional meliorative soil science and the fundamental basis fo
r soil reclamation in Russia.