Rod is called the "creator of modern soil science." He made a huge contribution to the development of this area and became the founder of the direction of soil hydrology. Despite the fundamental nature of his work, they always differ in breadth and depth of thought, a systematic approach and analysis of each factor.
Recently (in 2016), the scientific community celebrated the 120th anniversary of the birth of one of the creators of soil science, Aleksei Andreevich Rode. It was he who developed the works of V.G. Vysotsky and A.A. Izmail and created a new direction - soil hydrology.
Biography
Alexey Andreevich Rode was born into a noble family in 1896. The title was obtained by the family under Alexander II - his great-grandfather, Lieutenant General Andrei Karlovich Rode, distinguished himself.
Alexey’s training began at a home school in a suburb of St. Petersburg. He then comprehended the program at the Commercial School, which he graduated with honors. In 1913, Rode entered the Petrograd Polytechnic. But he managed to master only the first-year program - the First World War prevented. In wartime, Alexei worked in hospitals, sanitary units and other organizations that provided assistance to the wounded.
In 1918, the Rode family moved to Rzhev. Alexey Andreevich continues to work, but is interrupted by casual earnings. He was listed in the Insurance Society, worked in a book warehouse, a forwarding agent in a publishing house. A year later he returned to Petrograd and got a job as an electrician.
Soon, Rode entered the Petrograd Agricultural Institute, which determined his future fate. It is here that the famous Vavilov, Yachevsky, Glinka and others teach.
During his studies, Aleksey Andreevich participated in a scientific and field expedition and trained in the soil laboratory of the Petrograd Forest Institute.
Alexei Andreevich received the degree of candidate of geological sciences in 1935, and without defending a dissertation. And already in 1937 he defended his doctorate on the topic "Podzolation process."
Scientific activity
Rohde never studied the properties of soils individually. For him, soil is an integral biosystem in which he isolated solid, liquid, gaseous, and living phases.
A two-volume monograph by Rode "Fundamentals of the doctrine of soil moisture" (1965) became a harmonious exposition of the laws of moisture distribution in soil, types of water regime. This work has been translated into six languages.
In the 40-50s, Rode and other scientists were attacked and attacked by the "people's" academician Lysenko. Some scientists have paid with their lives for their scientific beliefs that differed from the Lysenko doctrine. For Rode, this resulted in excommunication from the laboratory at the institute and the deprivation of the right to teach. But Alexey Andreevich did not back down from his convictions.
Romania, 1964. International Congress of Soil Scientists.
Under the guidance of Rode, the Dzhanybek hospital was created in the Northern Caspian region - a unique man-made natural object that allows for large-scale scientific research. In 1997, this hospital was awarded the status of a Nature Monument of federal significance.
A. A. Rode's scientific articles and books are of interest not only to soil scientists. They are often read by climatologists and ecologists, hydrologists and geographers.
In 1952, the scientist founded and headed the only soil hydrology laboratory at that time. In 1955, he finally saw the light of his textbook, “Soil Science, ” which was ready for publication as early as 1948.
In 1957, Rode was one of the first to receive the Dokuchaev Gold Medal, which marked his merits as a soil scientist. He also held the title of Honored Scientist of the RSFSR and an Honorary Doctor of the Humboldt University of Berlin.
Rhode with Professor N.V. Orlovsky.
The significance and relevance of Rode's works is so great that in 2008-2009 his works were reprinted in the form of a four-volume. It included a full list of his scientific and editorial works, and there are 280 of them.
Organizational and pedagogical work
Rode was actively engaged in these areas along with his scientific research. He was the scientific secretary, the head of the laboratory. During World War II, he headed the Soil Institute named after Dokuchaev. He took an active part in the study of soils in Moscow and Kursk, Voronezh and Volgograd and other regions of the country.
He was often invited with lectures and consultations. He always agreed and spoke at conferences, lectures. He was a "scientific Mecca" for many pilgrims who flocked to him from different parts of the country.
