Quantitative assessment of the potential soil loss on arable lands in the European part of Russia (4 million km²) was performed at the regional level of generalization corresponding to the scale of 1 : 500 000. Mathematical modeling based on the use of the equation for calculating potential soil loss from erosion developed in the research Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Channel Processes of Moscow State University was applied for this purpose in combination with geoinformation technologies. The calculations were performed for a raster model of representation of spatial data, including slope gradients, slope lengths, soil properties, rainstorm precipitation, layer of snowmelt runoff, intra-annual distribution of rainfall, and land use types. New data were obtained on the erosional soil loss during the periods of snowmelt runoff and rainstorm runoff and on the total annual loss. An electronic map of erosional soil loss on the arable lands of the European part of Russia was developed. The average soil losses reach 11 t/ha per year under black fallow and 3 t/ha per year under crops with their soil-protective capacity. About a half of the territory is located under conditions of the potential soil loss of less than 0.5 t/ha per year, whereas soil loss of 10 to 15 t/ha per year predominates on the rest of the territory. The rates of soil erosion on arable lands in the European part of Russia decrease from the taiga-forest to the steppe landscape zones. The belt of maximum erosion intensity extends in the sublatitudinal direction within the subzone of mixed and broadleaved forests with a very high percent of plowed land. In addition, potential soil loss from water erosion was determined for 50 subjects of the Russian Federation in the studied area for black fallow and agrocenoses.

For the first time, an electronic vector map of small river basins and their interfluves with a regional level of spatial detail (1 : 1 000 000) has been created using GIS technology for the territory of mainland Russia with a total area of almost 17 million km². The GMTED2010 global model is used as a digital elevation model. The total number of basin geosystems is 388 627 and their area averages 47.8 km². The selected basin geosystems are used as operational–territorial units, in relation to which the geodatabase was created, characterizing the natural resource potential and geoecology of Russia. The open access River Basins of European Russia geoportal was created for a large part of the country, where all information thus obtained is posted. The article provides examples of solutions based on the previously formed GIS and the basin approach. A digital mosaic of small river basins makes it possible to “collect” territories of different scales (from local to transregional) and different taxonomies (from catchments of large rivers to federal districts of Russia) for geographical analysis. Such examples are given with the creation of specialized GIS for the great rivers of Siberia: the Ob and Lena, and a number of federal districts: the Volga and Siberian districts. Based on the map thus created of basins and GIS, a number of major geographical and geoecological problems are solved: the evaluation of current intensity of soil erosion, density of gully erosion, modeling of river runoff and anthropogenic impact on basin geosystems.

The SEA/Balance (soil erosion–accumulation balance) model and the WATEM/SEDEM model both mapping the erosion–accumulation budget of sediment within river basins were tested for 11 river basins of the eastern Russian Plain. The dynamics of river sediment yield were evaluated within one of the river basins. The analysis is based on observations of suspended sediment yield in test river basins with an area ranging from 100 to 1500 km². The maps of the average annual erosion–accumulative budget of sediment were constructed using two methods, making it possible to quantitatively assess the amount of sediment yield from the catchment area for the river basins under study. The WATEM/SEDEM model and the author’s SEA/Balance model were used for sediment yield estimation. The results of calculation using the WATEM/SEDEM model have an average bias of +11% compared to observed suspended sediment yield. The corresponding value in the case of the SEA/Balance model application is −29%. SEA/Balance model assessment sediment yield dynamics for the Sterlya river basin show an 11 percent reduction. It is possible to conclude that the proposed method of SEA/Balance can be applied to river basins of the agricultural zone of the east Russian Plain.

This paper studies the possibility of using the WaTEM/SEDEM model to assess sediment yield from the catchment area within the Lena River catchment. The study was carried out based on a comparison of predicted data and measured data of the suspended sediment yield at the gauging stations of the state monitoring network of Russia. The study was performed within two areas, with plain and mountainous relief. The first site is located within the catchment area of the river Chara with an area of 4150 km². The second site rests on the catchment area of the Lena River between the Tabaginskiy and Kangalassky capes near Yakutsk city. The catchment area of this site is 15,740 km². The values of sediment yield from the “Yakutsk” catchment area are in much better agreement with the values of the measured sediment yield values than in the “Chara” catchment area. The predicted sediment yield from the study area remained almost unchanged from the period 1986–2019 and amounted to 3.5 t/km², while the suspended sediment yield in the Lena at the Tabaga gauging station slightly increased from 7 to 9.45 t/km² per year.