GIS-based analysis of agrochemical soil conditions and military impact on agricultural lands: a case study of Kherson Oblast
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1
State Institution «Institute of Soils Protection of Ukraine», 3 Senkivskyi Ave., 03190 Kyiv, Ukraine
2
National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine, 15 Heroiv Oborony, 03041 Kyiv, Ukraine
These authors had equal contribution to this work
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ABSTRACT
The aim of the study is to determine the impact of military operations on the level of heavy metal contamination in agricultural lands. Specifically, the study intended to establish spatial distribution patterns of their content, compare the obtained indicators with regulatory values, identify areas exceeding maximum allowable concentrations, and assess the possibility of the safe use of such lands for crop production.
The object of research is the soil of agricultural lands affected by military operations in the Beryslav and Kherson districts of the Kherson Oblast. In total, 347 soil samples collected from 24 fields with a total area of 1,496.71 hectares were analyzed. The studied fields were subjected to intensive military actions: they were mined, underwent rocket, artillery, and mortar shelling; craters, traces of fires, destroyed equipment, and remains of weapons and ammunition were documented on them. The study was conducted two years after the resumption of active economic land use, which allowed for an assessment of the current state of soil contamination under cultivation conditions and partial restoration of agroecosystems.
According to the research results, the most dangerous contamination hotspots were identified: field No. 23 (nickel), fields No. 22, 9, and 7 (manganese), and field No. 10 (lead), where exceedances of regulatory values were recorded. It was found that anthropogenic contamination caused by the consequences of military operations is of a local (mosaic) nature. The results obtained justify the need for detailed contamination mapping and the implementation of differentiated approaches to soil quality management to ensure their environmentally safe use in agricultural production.