Retrospective analysis of changes in land uses on vertic soils of closed mesodepressions on the Azov plain

A retrospective analysis of changes in land uses within the bottoms of closed mesodepressions in Azov district of Rostov oblast for the period from 1968 to 2014 was performed. A cartographic analysis of changes in the degree of waterlogging of these depressions and the related changes in the character of land use was based on remote sensing data. This study was performed within the framework of a general problem-oriented system of the retrospective monitoring of the soil and land cover. It was found that the waterlogged area in the mesodepressions in the particular years does not depend on the anthropogenic loads and is subjected to cyclic variations. Temporal intervals for the wetting–drying cycles were determined. The maximum drying of the bottoms of mesodepressions was observed in 1975, 1990, and 2011.