The ecotoxicological hazard assessment of pesticide use on crops was performed. The study was conducted in 2021-2023 at the experimental field of the Skvyra Research Farm of the Institute of Agroecology and Environmental Management of National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine, located in the Forest-Steppe zone of Ukraine. The influence of herbicides, insecticides, and fungicides on the formation of environmental hazards in crop agrocenoses was studied: experiment (1) – peas, winter wheat, buckwheat; experiment (2) – winter wheat, buckwheat, oats. The ecological risk was assessed taking into account the ecotoxic properties of the chemical active ingredients of pesticides. It was found that the main parameters characterizing the occurrence of environmental risks are: (i) the pesticide load, i.e. the amount of toxicant applied per unit of sown area; (ii) the ecotoxicity of the pesticide (LD50), which is established by hygienic standards; (iii) the persistence of the pesticide in the soil, namely, its half-life (DT50), etc. The calculations proved that the pesticides used had a low environmental risk of impact on agrocenoses. This is evidenced by the ecotoxicity index (E). The total pesticide load (ΣE) on the agrocenosis of each crop during the three years of the study (2021–2023) was calculated. It was found that in experiment (1) – ΣExperiment 1 = 0.23 conventional units (c.u.); in experiment (2) – ΣEexperiment 2 = 0.04 c.u. The results obtained indicate an insignificant environmental risk of pesticide use for experimental plots of crops of the studied farm. However, prolonged use of pesticides certainly leads to the concentration of their persistent residues in the soil. This can lead to contamination of crop products and environmental. The cereals (buckwheat and oats) grown on the farm are intended for dietary consumption. To confirm the reliability of the hypothesis of the safety of the obtained grain and cereal products, it is advisable to further study their quality in terms of pesticide residues. It is shown that this methodology can be used to assess the risk of pesticide contamination of an agroecosystem. The ecotoxicity criterion (E) can be considered as a management tool for reducing environmental risks in agroecosystems.
Coal mining in Donbas is a global problem as it causes the destabilization of ecological landscapes. Spoil tips, covering almost 52% of the territory, alter the topography of the land, affect the ecosystem, and decrease soil fertility. The soils become degraded and are unsuitable for agricultural use. The occupation of the Donetsk region by the Russian Federation has suspended the observation and research of man-made influence on this territory, which is a major concern for the scientific community. To reduce the negative impact of spoil tips, it is necessary to slow down the process of pyrite oxidation and the formation of toxic substances, as well as the migration of heavy metals due to erosion. Biological reclamation with grass and woody plants can help in achieving this goal. Another urgent issue is the constant supervision and assessment of the suitability of the bedrock of coal mines for agricultural use. The study investigated the total and mobile content of heavy metals in the rock samples from the “South Donbaska-1” mine, ordinary chernozem (background soil), and vegetation growing on the spoil tip. The results showed that the content of Co, Cr, Cu, and Fe in the rock of the spoil tip is higher than in the background soils. The content of heavy metals gradually decreases as the distance from the spoil tip increases. The content of Pb in ordinary chernozem and rock is practically the same, indicating its active migration. An analysis of the biomass of plant samples growing on the spoil tip showed that the content of Co, Cu, and Zn was within the limits of the threshold limiting values. However, the content of other studied elements exceeded the permissible norms. The research results provide information on the ecological state of the spoil tip and can be used for recreational as well as reclamation works in these areas.
The article is devoted to the development of methodical approaches to the management of environmental risks due to pesticide contamination of agrocenoses. An assessment of ecological risks due to the use of pesticides was carried out at the scientific research field of the Skvirskaya research station of organic production of the IAP of the National Academy of Sciences during the growing seasons of 2019–2021. The methods of assessing the ecological risks of potential pesticide contamination of agrocenoses based on the indicators of the agroecotoxicological index (AETI) and the ecotoxic impact of harmful substances (E) were used on the natural environment. It was shown that the level of environmental risk due to the use of pesticides in the research field of the station according to the weighted average indices (AETI) is characterized as low – risk, and the environmental risk due to the pesticides using is minimal. According to indicators of ecotoxicity (E), the pesticides that were used are characterized as having a low potential ecotoxic risk of impact on agrocenoses of cultivated plants. However, the total pesticide ecotoxicological load (ΣЕ = 0.425 compared to the standard EDDT = 1) indicates the possibility of disruption of ecological connectivities in the agroecosystem. One of the elements of environmental risk management can be the assessment of the pesticide load on agroecosystems and considering of the territory ability to self-clean. In order to minimize the environmental risks of pesticide contamination of agrocenoses, measures should be taken to regulate the use of chemical plant protection agents. This can be done by banning or limiting the use of pesticides that have a high level of ecotoxicity and are persistent in the soil. This will contribute to increasing the ecological safety of agro-ecosystems and the natural environment.
Forests perform essential ecological functions - water protection, sanitation, health, recreation, and aesthetics. The research aimed to substantiate the ecological and economic importance of forest resources in the Kyiv region and analyse their rational use and protection. The article shows that the Kyiv region belongs to the regions with an average level of forest cover – 592.8 thousand hectares or 22.2%. The level of forest cover is uneven in the area of the Kyiv Forest zone. It is 44%, and in the area of the Forest-Steppe, it is much lower and decreases from north to south. The use of forest resources in the Kyiv region in 2019 amounted to harvesting liquid wood of 999.5 thousand m2, and deforestation was carried out on 75.5 thousand hectares. The region’s volume of forestry works and services amounted to 8,9 million dollars, and the wood stock makes 90805,9 thousand m2. Emphasis is placed on the importance of protecting the Red Book species of plants and fungi that grow in the forests of the Kyiv region. Examples of harmful economic activity in the areas belonging to the nature reserve fund and large-scale fires in April 2020, which covered more than 3.5 thousand hectares of forests in the region and caused damage to forest fauna and flora. The studied region’s positive environmental and economic factors have been admitted by planting trees on an area of 2151 hectares and sowing seeds of forest species on an area of 67 hectares in 2020.
The relevance and scientific and methodological approaches to the use of the bioindication method for assessing environmental risks in agrocenoses contaminated with toxic substances (in particular, heavy metals) were substantiated in the article. The study is based on the use of bee honey and heavy metal transfer coefficients in the sequential chain "soil – honey plant – bee honey". This ensures control over the content of toxicants in the soil and inflorescences of honey plants. Toxicant transfer coefficients can be used in the soil-plant-beekeeping products chain as indicators for developing environmental risk management tools. Bioindication is important for contaminated agricultural landscapes that are used as raw materials and forage lands for beekeeping and other environmental objects. The use of the bioindication method makes it possible to assess the environmental risks of toxic substance pollution of agroecosystems and natural biocenoses and to outline the boundaries of toxicant pollution of a certain area for the safe placement of apiaries and obtaining high-quality bee honey.
Open pit coal mining is a global problem, because mines occupy large areas that completely change the relief, dramatically affect ecosystems, as a result of which they lose most of their functions, and a significant part of the fertile soil degrades and becomes unsuitable for agricultural activities. In the presented work, the initial stage of soil formation was studied, the parameters of the granulometric composition of uneven-aged rocks of Donbas mine dumps, their nutritional regime, and the species composition of soil algae were studied. Samples were taken from three different-aged rock dumps of the mines: "South-Donbaska - 3" (rock storage for 40 years); "South-Donbaska - 1" (storage of rock for 52 years), "Trudovska No5 - bis (storage of rock for more than 100 years). The agrochemical parameters of the rock were determined in the samples: pHwater, humus, nitrate nitrogen, mobile phosphorus, exchangeable potassium, particle size distribution. The determination of granulometric fractions of 0–20 cm layer of rock dumps of the mines shows, along with the age, a potential increase of the dump of fine fractions and a decrease in the fraction of stones from 83% in the dump of the South-Donbaska mine, and by 30 to 64.7% in the dump of the Trudovska No. 5-bis. The proportion of the clay fraction is not high in all dumps and it does not exceed 1%, but its appearance indicates the initial stage of a soil structure formation. Soil formation begins with the colonization of mineral rocks with soil algae. The species composition of soil algae, the quantitative accounting were determined by microscopy of a freshly selected soil sample and by cultural methods. Algae species were determined by determinants. In the rock dump, the structure of algal groups becomes more similar to, their structure in the background soils of the territory. The dominance of the representatives of Chlorophyta and Cyanophyta in the rock indicates the steppe process of soil formation. The data obtained contribute to the expansion of the ecological and biological understanding of the initial stages of the formation of soil cenoses.
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