ABSTRACT
The study of the conditionally undisturbed – reference landscapes (State Nature Reserve Prisursky) in the territory of the Sura-Sviyaga interfluve in the Volga Upland, and the landscapes, slightly disturbed hypsometrically below the cities Shumerlya and Vurnary are carried out. The conducted analytical research allows to conclude the following: 1) the accumulation of heavy metals and iron by the slightly disturbed landscapes in soils, waters and vegetation is registered; 2) the increased concentration of iron is connected with the fact that iron is a tipomorphic element for this territory; 3) heavy metals, such as copper, lead, zinc are offered as the markers of the initial degradation of the ecological structure of the landscapes.
