Natural-historical and ecological analysis of land resources and land use in Lugansk region

Abstract

The recent but intensive economic development of the region has led to the formation of a modern land use structure, caused both by natural and historical factors. The destructive anthropogenic impact on the geomorphosphere has led to the degradation of soils and the degradation of the land fund. A retrospective analysis of the problem can reveal the causes and consequences of the land use system established in the region and suggest some adjustments to land management and land use policies. The influence of human economic activity (in particular, agriculture and the coal industry) on the nature of land use in the Lugansk region is considered (separately for the right bank and the left bank part thereof). The significance of the extent of ravines in the territory and the surface washout in the process of degradation of soils and lands is emphasized, which is especially expressed on the Donetsk ridge (right bank of the River Seversky Donets). The role of the semi-mountainous terrain of the Donetsk ridge as a natural factor in the spread of erosion processes is noted. A brief historical review of attempts to combat the development of ravines in Lugansk region, which have been conducted since the second half of the nineteenth century, is presented, but the vast majority of these efforts were not effective. One of the negative factors that influenced the structure of land use is the removal of an increasingly large area from use as grazing land, which increases the intensity of erosion processes. The destructive influence of mine production on the structure of land use in the studied region is highlighted. We note the ecological consequences of physical alienation of lands as a result of their occupation by waste heaps and other anthropogenic forms of relief, formed by the mining industry. It is emphasized that not only the mines themselves, but also concentration of factories, communication structures, etc. play a role in reducing the area occupied by agricultural land, and therefore cause a negative change in the structure of land use in the right-bank part of the territory of Lugansk region. It is noted that extensive and excessive intensive land use in agriculture and the coal mining industry in Lugansk region have led to the degradation of large areas of land and impoverishment of the land fund. It is stressed that the current structure of land use requires radical changes which should be based on new conceptual principles and a systematic approach to the problems of nature management.