Analysis of the optimal location of the geographical network of long-term experiments with fertilizers application

The foundations of the Geographic Network of Experiments with Fertilizers of Russia (GNEF), established in the 1930-1940s, have not changed fundamentally so far, which ensured the continuity of scientific research. But since then, quite a lot of new scientific data has been accumulated, there are new technologies, databases, on the basis of which GNEF can and should be modernized. The article deals only with one of the issues of the necessary modernization of GNEF - the spatial location of experimental fields and their representativeness. The Unified State Register of Soil Resources of Russia (USRSRR) was used as a basis for analysis of the optimal placement of experimental fields of GNEF. It was considered, that ideally experimental fields should characterize each soil, entered in USRSRR and used as arable land. According to the data obtained, the existing GNEF network is representative for 42 % of Russian arable land. It was shown that for full representation it should be extended by more than 90 points. Only in this case the results of the network experiments can be extrapolated to almost all arable soils in Russia. The placement of new GNEF points should be based on the information from USRSRR, as an official document adopted by the Ministry of Agriculture of Russia.