Sumy National Agrarian University received the results of cooperation with Syngenta within the framework of a joint project to study the consequences of military actions on the soils of Ukraine, which lasted from June to October 2024.
The goal of the project was to increase the level of awareness of small and medium-sized farmers about the methods of recultivation of soils damaged during military actions.
Soil sampling was carried out on agricultural lands damaged by military actions in Mykolaiv, Kherson, Sumy, Chernihiv, Kyiv regions. Then, SNAU and the University of Bern analysed the obtained materials, and the cooperation of Ukrainian, Swiss and British scientists tested the best world practices in the recultivation of damaged soils.
During the study, scientists concluded that it is necessary to conduct periodic re-analyses and set up a monitoring system for further work on the reclamation of Ukrainian soils. Even though soil samples were taken from territories that were not significantly affected by hostilities for this project, a comparison of the results of processing the collected data yielded results: both mechanical means and special biochemical preparations and fertilizers are needed to restore the condition of the lands.
In areas that did not suffer significant damage, such as, for example, burning equipment or spilling fuel and lubricants, but only contained a certain amount of small-sized debris, the content of certain chemical elements increased:
– in gray forest soils of the Chernihiv region due to debris from the Iskander cruise missile shot down in the air, barium and manganese indicators increased;
– and in craters from the rupture of the Grad MLRS on the chernozems of the Kherson and Mykolaiv regions, a slight increase in a number of background level elements was recorded.
It is important to note that the threshold of the norm of the content of chemical elements in the composition of the soils of the studied areas was not exceeded. However, this, unfortunately, applies only to areas with minor damage. Zones of active hostilities will have other results, which in today’s conditions cannot be studied due to the threat to life.
The issue of restoring the main agricultural resource for Ukraine has been relevant for several years, so the participation of Sumy NAU, as an interested party, in this project is extremely important both for scientists working here and for future specialists in various fields studying at the university.
You can learn more about the results of the study by reading the material prepared by project participant Elina ZAKHARCHENKO, which is available at the link:
