Some aspects of returning radioactively contaminated lands in Polissіa region of Ukraine to agricultural use

Abstract

The article highlights the natural-climatic and socio-economic retrospective prerequisites for the return of radioactively contaminated lands in Polissіa, Ukraine to agricultural use. The necessity of using modern methods and means of radioecological research to assess the radioecological state of land for the development of strategic management documents is demonstrated. The research carried out at the Institute of Agroecology and Environmental Management of the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine during the period of 2020–2023 utilized interdisciplinary scientific methods including analysis and synthesis, retrospective and comparative analysis, analytical-synthetic (study of scientific and statistical data, legislative and founding documents, etc.), and mathematical-statistical methods. The analysis of the socio-economic situation was carried out based on official statistical data from the main statistical departments in Volyn, Zhytomyr, Kyiv, Rivne, and Chernihiv regions. The estimated levels of radionuclide contamination of the territory were obtained based on official data from the State Enterprise «The Institute of Soil Protection of Ukraine». Radioecological-landscape mapping was carried out using the open-source software QGIS. The aim of the research was to substantiate the scientific basis for the rehabilitation and sustainable use of radioactively contaminated territories in Ukrainian Polissia region in the context of green economy to minimize the domestic food crisis. It has been demonstrated that the soil characteristics and vegetation cover of Ukrainian Polissia region contribute to the contamination of agricultural and forest products with radionuclides, which is a specific problem for the region. The most radiologically hazardous ecosystems for the release of radionuclides into the products are over-moistened meadows and pastures, forested areas, as well as agroecosystems on organogenic soils. Global climate change and the consequences of Russian military aggression are significant modifying factors for all previously existing environmental and socio-economic challenges. This necessitates the implementation of comprehensive measures for the rehabilitation of the region, preceded by monitoring studies and the development of appropriate strategic planning documents. Based on the results of a retrospective analysis and calculations, it has been established that, provided recommended agricultural measures are implemented, the restoration of effective agricultural production is possible throughout the territory of Ukrainian Polissia. It has been demonstrated that the comprehensive rehabilitation of Ukrainian Polissia depends primarily on the eco-economic efficiency of agricultural production, which requires a clear differentiation of agricultural activities in accordance with a range of ecological, economic, and social factors, as well as the improvement of agricultural production scenarios. A method for complex radioecological-landscape mapping of radioactively contaminated lands of Ukrainian Polissia has been developed. This method involves a landscape approach that integrates data from a series of thematic maps