This paper examines the hierarchical organization of principles in soil science, emphasizing their continuity with classical positions from various scientific fields and their role in integrating theory and practice. The study highlights differences in the genesis of principles, ranging from theoretical generalizations to experimentally validated propositions. Special attention is given to ideas of V.I. Vernadsky and V.V. Dokuchaev, who laid the foundations for the systemic and evolutionary-historical approaches to soil study. It is demonstrated that the scientific worldview serves as the pinnacle of this hierarchy, defining a system of generalizations, including the principles of systemicity, historicism, and the primacy of scientific approaches formulated by Academician G.V. Dobrovolsky. These principles ensure unity between theoretical and applied directions, rooted in the classical supra-conceptual ideas by V.V. Dokuchaev, whose works underpin the genetic approach to soil study. Within the hierarchy, following the scientific worldview come methodological principles neutral to specific disciplinary sections, followed by concepts, laws, and principles. For instance, N.M. Sibirtsev’s genetic principle, formulated in the 19th century, continues to define approaches to soil genesis. The paper underscores the importance of continuity, showing that Dokuchaev’s principles of systemicity and historicism remain fundamental for developing new scientific leads. The hierarchical organization of principles and their intra- and interdisciplinary continuity serve as key instruments for the progress in soil science, enabling integration of diverse knowledge into a unified scientific field. The necessity for further systematization of principles, particularly in biogeochemical cycles and interdisciplinary research, and terminology harmonization to strengthen the link between theory and practice is also emphasized.

In this paper, we discuss questions of the common origin of the disciplines of soil science and landscape geochemistry. Their closeness lies in their common objects of study — soils and landscapes — and a common methodological approach based on systemic analysis, the evolutionary-historical principle, and the priority of the scientific approach in solving practical problems, as laid down by V.V. Dokuchaev. The prominent naturalists A.E. Fersman and V.I. Vernadsky emphasized the genetic connection and mutual enrichment of these sciences through theoretical concepts and experimental data. When considering common problems of these two disciplines, particular importance is given to the biological cycle as a fundamental law governing the functioning of ecosystems. In the classification of soils and soil-geochemical catenae, their position within the system of geographic landscapes is especially significant. Currently, priority issues include anthropogenic impacts and environmental monitoring, which involve studies of element migration over the biosphere, as well as efforts towards mathematical modeling.

The article tells about the life and scientific achievements of this scientist. The major stages of S.S. Neustruev’s work are given: a theorist of soil science from Dokuchaev’s school, a famous geologist and one of the most talented physical geographers. His unique capacities for synthesis, a special ceaseless role of soil-geographical, cadastral and geological researches conducted by him are shown. S.S. Neustruev’s scientific views about the joint development of geomorphology and soil, their interconnections have developed approaches to develop regional Russian and global soil classifications and to study ecological and biosphere soil functions. New facts of his life and scientific activity are presented. He was a Russian soil scientist, geographer, naturalist, graduate from Moscow University, researcher of Central Asia, the South-East of the Russian Plain, and the Volga region. Being professor of the Geographical Institute in Petrograd (1918), he headed the first department of soil geography in Russia. He was the first to introduce the term “serozem” and establish the serozem type of soil formation in deserts and semi-deserts, and developed a classification of soils for a number of regions of Central Asia. He was Head of the Commission on Soil Genesis of the First All-Union Congress of Soil Scientists; Participant of the 1st International Congress of Soil Scientists in the USA (1927); Corresponding member of the Agricultural Academy (Czech Republic).

The article shows that each period of the evolutionary process of the biosphere formation on Earth corresponds to one form of soil formation, namely: underwater (“hydrozemic”), swampy (“atmozemic”), and terrestrial (“lithozemic”). The ancient swamp soil formation is considered, in addition to biomass deposition, to take part in the formation of the oxygen-containing composition of the planet’s gaseous envelope and the release of organisms from the aquatic environment to land. It has been determined that the process of paludification and swamp soils in the past and at present did and do perform the same biospheric functions and should include the entire genetic profile up to the basal rock in the concept of “peat soil”. On the example of the central part of Western Siberia, the process of paludification in the Holocene period is considered. This process is defined as a single, irreversible, progressive process of conjugated changes in their biotic and abiotic components. This ensures autonomy in the development and preservation of mires as a special type of the biogeocenotic cover of Earth. It is shown that the differences in the mire complexes of different botanico–geographical zones and subzones reveal the chronological boundaries of the transformation of swamp biogeocenoses of eutrophic types into mesotrophic and oligotrophic ones. It has been determined that the process of paludification in the taiga zone of the West Siberian Plain is of aggressive nature and the expected warming is a temporary warm period in the interval of cyclical climate.

The preservation and in situ museumification of archaeological objects of stratigraphic sections of cultural layer soils, whose value depends on the integrity and intactness, is a complex and underdeveloped problem. This is due to some specific properties of these soils, such as the heterogeneity of soil composition both vertically and horizontally; the diversity of inclusions, the uneven compressibility of the strata, the ability to self-compact from their weight, changes in hydrogeological conditions, soil soaking and the decomposition of organic inclusions. As a result, these soils are the most unfavorable in artificial stabilization. In the study, a wide range of soils of the cultural layer from various places with stabilization plans were examined. Our analysis of the deposits made it possible to separate these soils by geochemical features which have the highest impact on the intensity of the chemical solution’s interaction processes with the mineral component of the soil.
This chemical solution is in a family of silicate compositions with surfactants of the amide class. These organic liquid glass hardeners activate the skeletal part of the soil and provide the complete mobilization of the main cementing substance (silica gel). Pilot tests of various modifications of organo-silicate solutions were carried out at the sites of Chersonesos (Sevastopol), Tanais (Rostov region), Moscow, etc. The soils ranged from sandy to loamy with various inclusions (building stone, ceramics, bones, fish scales, shells, ash, soot, plant roots, etc.). Soil stabilization was carried out by injecting chemical solutions of various densities with the use of vertical and horizontal injections. An important finding of the work was that forming a new soil mass with improved properties was determined by the composition, properties of the soil and injection solutions, the distance from the injector and the depth of the stabilized area.
For the first time in Russia, at the center of Moscow, it was possible to preserve the soil mass in situ of the cultural layer of the 16–17^th centuries and exhibit it for 32 years to visitors in the underground archaeological museum.

This study establishes the authorship of the geological term “eluvium” and traces its evolution in geological and soil sciences. It confirms the priority of H. Trautschold (1817–1902) as the original author of this term, supported by analysis of his works from the 1870s. The term was first introduced by him in 1872. The article demonstrates that the modern interpretation of the term “eluvium” shows a high degree of correlation with H. Trautschold’s classical definition. The development of the concept of eluvium and ideas about eluvial processes is traced through the works of prominent Russian soil scientists – N.M. Sibirtsev, V.V. Dokuchaev, V.I. Vernadsky, B.B. Polynov, V.R. Williams, and N.P. Remezov. V.V. Dokuchaev systematized the concept of eluvium into a coherent framework: definition of eluvium → eluvial processes → stages and phases of eluvial rock transformations. He emphasized that “although these products are sometimes altered beyond recognition of the parent rock which they originated from, a genetic connection between them always persists.” Particular significance lies in the incorporation of the biogeochemical aspect into the concept of eluvium through the works of N.P. Remezov, who established biological accumulation of elements exceeding their removal during eluvial processes. This allowed eluvium formation to be viewed not as a purely abiotic process but as a phenomenon involving living organisms. The article reveals the historical continuity of scientific ideas in the hypothesis of the origin of the Russian Plain: H. Trautschold → V.V. Dokuchaev → B.B. Polynov → V.A. Kovda. H. Trautschold was the first to propose that the Russian Plain formed from deposits lying on top, which were influenced for millennia by atmospheric precipitation, initiating the concept of eluvial origin of plains. This idea was later reflected in the works of V.V. Dokuchaev and B.B. Polynov, and subsequently in V.A. Kovda’s hypothesis regarding the fluvioglacial origin of the Russian Plain. Our analysis confirms that the term “eluvium” is a fundamental concept uniting geology, geomorphology, geochemistry, and soil science, and its evolution reflects the advancement of understanding regarding the genesis of surface deposits and soils.

Based on V.I. Vernadsky’s teaching of the biosphere and modern scientific data, an attempt was made to analyze the mechanisms of the dynamics of modern global processes using the example of climate changes. Possible causes of the warming, both natural and anthropogenic, observed in the last century are considered. It is shown that it is the increase in temperature that causes the increase in the concentrations of carbon dioxide and methane in the atmosphere, and not vice versa, as follows from the greenhouse effect hypothesis. This seems to be the main cause for the low effectiveness of any international efforts to stabilize the climate. The course of natural processes, as well as the evolution of the biosphere as a whole, has an unstable, cyclical nature, running according to its own laws. Particular attention is paid to V.I. Vernadsky’s doctrine of the biosphere, his views on the role of reason and scientific research in solving problems inevitably arisen in the course of evolution on Earth, caused by the rapidly developing, from a historical standpoint, humanity. Scientific research is a reliable defender of both the interests of mankind and the biosphere as a whole. This was V.I. Vernadsky’s basis of his positive outlook on the future of our civilization and the biosphere.

The constantly extending list of humankind-produced environmentally toxic compounds currently includes pharmacological preparations. Among them, of potential relevance are neurotransmitters including such biogenic amines as norepinephrine, dopamine, serotonin, and histamine, as well as acetylcholine. These neurotransmitters were tested in the present work using such model organisms as the green microalgae Chlorella vulgaris Beijer, Scenedesmus quadricauda (Turp.) Breb. К-1149, and Haematococcus lacustris (= pluvialis) strains IPPAS H-239 and BM-1, as well as the cyanobacterium Limnospira platensis IPPAS B-256. It was established that all tested neurotransmitters significantly stimulate the growth of the cultures of microalgae at sufficiently low (micromolar) concentrations. In light of the results of this work, uncontrollable microalgal growth seems to be possible under the influence of trace amounts of neurotransmitters in natural and artificial water bodies, which might cause their eutrophication. All tested substances influenced the photosynthetic pigment content at micromolar (or submicromolar) concentrations, acetylcholine being a quasi-universal promoter of their biosynthesis that presumably stimulates the photosynthetic activity of the microalgae. The effects of the other tested substances varied depending on the microalgal species involved but predominantly resulted in promoting photosynthetic pigment biosynthesis. A biotechnological project aimed at stimulating the microalgal biomass yield by supplementing microalgal cultures with neurotransmitters seems to hold promise for producing drugs, food additives, or biofuel.

The thermal evolution of the permafrost in the sedimentary section of the Tyumen superdeep SG-6 well has been numerically reconstructed using the ICE2020 software package, which is part of the GALO flat basin modeling system. The thermal evolution of the sedimentary strata in the last 3.5 My is considered as the final stage of the basin modeling, whose formation began with continental rifting in the Late Permian. Abrupt climate changes in the late Pliocene–Holocene led to a decrease in the rock temperature by 15–20°C in the upper 1–1.5 km of the SG-6 sedimentary section. The maximum thickness of the permafrost in the study area was about 711 m, reached 2.6 Mya. The maximum thickness of the permafrost for the last ice age (23–18 thous and years ago) was 412 m, reached about 14.5 thousand years ago. According to our modeling, the modern base of the permafrost is at the depth of 311 m and is degrading with the rate about 13 m/1000 y. The results of our calculations with a database of climatic data limited to the last 50 and 100 thousand years differ markedly from the modeling results with the complete database for the last 3.5 My.