Express assessment of environmental impact of agriculture technologies on the soils of Cherkasy Oblast

Abstract

Agriculture is the closest branch to natural ecosystems by the type of substance-energy relations. That is why the search for forms of its management (specialization) which would correspond to natural opportunities of a certain territory is the main task. Its solution will promote balanced environmental use in the agricultural sphere. Cherkasy Oblast belongs to the region in which a considerable part of agricultural production of Ukraine is produced. Therefore, an important problem is the definition of areas in which the impact of agriculture is an environmental hazard. Our research is aimed at it. The harmful effect on the soil of certain combinations of branches within each farm was determined. Based on information on the cultivation of crops by enterprises of Cherkasy Oblast, a method was developed for assessing the degree of environmental impact of both individual crops and their combinations. Zoning of territories by specialization (agricultural areas) and environmental impact is carried out. Application of this methodology has made it possible to establish that the current state of agricultural land use in the region does not meet requirements of rational nature management. Excessive load on soils in the process of agriculture led to the intensification of erosion processes which was facilitated by the unjustified increase in cultivated crops, in soil-exhausting sunflower and rape. For many decades, the extensive use of lands (especially arable lands) was not offset by equivalent measures for the reproduction of soil fertility and its rational use. According to the results, ways of reducing the harmful environmental impact of agricultural enterprises of Cherkasy Oblast are proposed