Snowmelt-induced soil erosion on gentle slopes in the southern Cis-Ural region

It has been revealed that, in the years when the freezing depth of leached chernozems on slopes in the southern Cis-Ural region is in the range of 30–38 cm, no surface runoff is observed in the spring regardless of the snow cover, soil wetting, or vegetation; the critical freezing depth under forest is half that on the open surfaces. When the freezing depth is deeper, the critical volume of the spring runoff is mainly determined by the meteorological conditions, the water permeability of the soil, and its protection by plants.