Sergei Vladimirovich Zonn

摘要

On June 22, 2002, the longest day of the year, so memorable to the whole Russia, on the 97th year of his life, the eldest soil scientist of Russia Professor Sergei Vladimirovich Zonn passed away. He lived a long, difficult, but happy life. His workwas a major contribution to our science. He investigated very different problems of soil science. He taught a pleiad of specialists. His followers always were with him. He had well-deserved authority in Russia and abroad. He was happy in his family life,having had both children and grandchildren. Perhaps some day in the future at least a part of the voluminous correspondence of Sergei Zonn with his colleagues will be published. His address book is immense. His contacts live and work all over the world.A teacher of many soil scientists in different countries, the tutor of an army of candidates and doctors of science, Professor Zonn was a thorough and versatile researcher, an active scientist, and a tireless organizer of science. The progress in our forest soil science and broad knowledge of advances in tropical soil science are connected with his name. Deep knowledge and personal experience in the study of soils on all the continents (except for Antarctica, where modem soils occupy only a small portion of the continent) made it possible for him to formulate many original hypotheses on the geography, taxonomy, genesis, and particular mechanisms of soil formation.