INTRODUCTION

The present issue о the series Optimum Water Management. Scientific
Research includes, mainly, works by the specialists of the SOOIzl of the
“Soyuzgiprovodkhoz” Institute, and also those by the workers of the
Institute of Water Problems, USSR Academy of Sciences (G. Voropaev,
V. Mestechkin, V. Pryazhinskaya, T. Gelbukh, T. Kutenkova), the VNIPI of
Economics (S. Lerner), TsIG and GE of the Ministry of Geology of the
RSFSR (N. Kosheleva, 1. Pashkovsky) and MIIZ (A. Abramov).

The publication opens with ап article by G. Voropayev and
V. Mestechkin who examine and provide a critical analysis of techniques
used at home and abroad to assess total water use by agricultural crops. The
techniques are based on meteorological and biological data, and the authors
propose a version of the bioclimatic method, presenting its principles and
some results,

V. Pryazhinskaya and S. Lerner analyze mathematical models of optimal
water resources distribution according to branches of agricultural economy
in the North Caucasian region, 10 determine optimal overall costs.

T. Gelbukh and T. Kutenkova provide an example of Irtysh basin rivers
catchment zoning with allowance for the distribution of atmospheric
precipitation, evaporation and run off. The zoning is based оп an objective
mathématical method.

E. Minkin and G. Krasilshchikov examine a technique to determine
infiltrational intake and evaporation of ground water by paired piezometers.
Foundations of a theoretical algorithm are provided and a development of
a system to monitor infiltrational supply is indicated as possible on the basis
of this method.

Of interest is a new article by М. Kosheleva and I. Pashkovsky. It is
devoted to a digital model of moisture transfer in the aeration zone,
combined with a probabilistic climate model. This facilitates a choice of
optimal irrigation conditions and of distances between the drains.

In their article, S. Golubev, A. Soifer and A. Shmakov consider solving
reclamation and hydrogeological forecast problems.

- G. Khlybov analyzes the impact of the accuracy of determination of
initial geofiltrational parameters on the forecasting of ground-water level.

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