THE SOIL AND VEGETATIVE COMPONENT OF THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT IN THE PROBLEM OF THE KUIALNYK LIMAN DESICCATION

Abstract

Purpose. The aim of the article assessment of the agroecological status and hydrological role of soils as well as the soils and vegetation cover (SVC) of the left bank of the Kuialnyk liman (Kl) and the Kuialnyk-Khadzhybei inter-liman lands.Data & Methods. In the article used sources which contained characteristics of the natural and economic conditions of the Kl basin, as well as its SVC and hydrology, starting from the second half of the XIX century. Also used materials of the 2015 field research on contemporary soil formation processes, as well as on the chemical composition and properties of the soils of the focus area. The methodological solidity of the latter research is ensured by the field expeditions and laboratory analysis.Results. The article confirms that the natural and ecological environment of the Kl basin was affected and continues to be affected by the strong anthropogenic influence which resides in the high degree of the territory under cultivation (up to 75%), cattle pasturing on the slopes of liman and nearby rivers, deforestation, and frequent forest fires in the summer and autumn months. Under the conditions of anthropogenic pressure, global warming, and erosion, the last decades have witnessed intensification of the processes of dehumification, structural destruction, and compaction of soils, which lose their moisture capacity and water permeability; this results in the declining role of the SVC in the formation of the hydrological regime of the territory. To improve the environmental and ecological conditions of soils, lands, and the SVC of the Kl basin, as well as to increase their role in the formation of the hydrological regime of the territory, it is required to decrease the degree of the cultivated watershed lands with particular attention given to the near-watershed slopes, increase the density of the vegetation, shrub, and wood cover, and – finally – perform periodical thinning of the black soils under cultivation. In the structure of crop rotation it is appropriate to increase the area under the broadcast seeded crops and sorghum, as well as to increase the share of the perennial herbs to 25-35%.