Resource information
Belarus represents of the moisty countries of Europe: total area of hydromorphic and boggy soils composed almost 80% (8 mln hectares) in the beginning of XIX century. Amelioration and land reclamation promoting dewatering of potentially fertile lands appeared the most important problems of agricultural science and had been evaluated since the middle of XIX. In Gory-Goretsky agronomic Institute (modern Belarusian State Academy of Agriculture) drainage appears a separate school subject since 1853. Annual conferences concerned to land reclamation had been established this year. Centralized land reclimation had been started in 1970. Up to the beginning of XX century more than 4000 drainage canals had been constructed. About 600 thousand hectares of natural grasslands had been reclaimed and turned into the pastures. During Soviet period the problem of amelioration, land reclamation and drainage had been studied in Belarusian State Academy of Agriculture on melorative faculty. Further development of ameliorative science took place in Belarusian scientific and research bog institute (1936-1941). In 1966 there was created a Belarusian Scientific and Research Institute of Melioration and Water Science. Present-day researches are carried out in the Institute for Land Reclamation.
