ИСТИНА

This paper presents a case study dealing with geochemistry of two small erosional systems - a gully and an aged balka - located in the southern taiga zone of European Russia (the Protva river basin).The erosional forms have been considered as integrated systems comprising slopes, bottoms, detrital fans as well as surrounding areas as sources of solid matter. We used chemical composition of topsoil (total concentrations of Ti, Zr, Mn, Co, Zn, Cu, Pb, Cr, V, Ni, Sn, Sr, Ba and concentrations of the acid-extractable Fe, Mn, Co, Zn, Cu, Pb, Cr, Ni) to explore the role of granulometry, pH and transport processes in geochemical differentiation of the systems.