Siberia is a region exceptionally rich in natural resources, and its importance to the national economy continues to grow. This is reflected in the Basic Guidelines for the Economic and Social Development of the USSR for 1981–1985 and for the Period up to 1990, adopted by the Twenty-Sixth Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union: “In Siberia, accelerated development is envisaged for the fuel industry, electric power industry, non-ferrous metallurgy, chemical and petrochemical industries, forestry, pulp and paper production, wood-processing and microbiological industries, and the building materials industry. The food-supply base is to be substantially strengthened through the development of agriculture and agricultural processing industries.” The tasks of rational utilization and conservation of the region’s natural resources, as well as the study of complex geographical problems and their consideration in economic planning, are becoming increasingly urgent. In terms of reserves of many types of mineral raw materials, Siberia occupies a leading position within the country. This is particularly true of fuel and energy resources, including oil, natural gas, and coal. Siberian deposits of these resources will form the basis of the nation’s energy supply by the end of the twentieth century and the beginning of the twenty-first century. Reserves of many other mineral resources are also enormous, including iron ores, non-ferrous metal ores, and construction materials. Objective prerequisites exist for establishing a powerful phosphate raw-material base in Siberia capable of meeting the fertilizer requirements of agricultural production in the eastern regions of the country. The solution of almost every problem related to national economic development is connected, to one degree or another, with water supply. As industrial and agricultural production expands, the rational use of water resources becomes a matter of primary importance in Siberia, especially in view of the plans currently being intensively developed to divert part of the flow of Siberian rivers southward. Groundwater plays an important role in supplying water to both the population and economic enterprises, particularly in the steppe and forest-steppe regions of southern Siberia. Determining groundwater reserves available for regional exploitation and developing scientific recommendations for their rational use have therefore become urgent tasks. The study of soil resources and land-reclamation issues is equally important. The southern plains of Western Siberia produce the bulk of Siberia’s agricultural grain output and therefore attract the attention of both scientists and practitioners, since large-scale land-reclamation projects are planned there for the coming decades. Considerable interest is also focused on identifying new, undeveloped land reserves in Western Siberia and in the central and northern regions of both Western and Eastern Siberia. The development of all natural resources in Siberia should proceed at an accelerated pace, but it must be carried out in accordance with nature-conservation requirements. The rational and integrated utilization of natural resources will generate the necessary economic benefits while preserving the natural environment and its resources for future generations. The articles included in this volume will be of interest to a wide readership. Geologists and hydrogeologists, soil scientists and geographers, hydraulic engineers and land-reclamation specialists, as well as experts in other sectors of the national economy, will find in this book materials that can be applied in both their scientific research and practical activities.