Soil Degradation and Contamination Due to Armed Conflict in Ukraine

Maksym Solokha, Olena Demyanyuk, Lyudmyla Symochko, Svitlana Mazur, Nadiya Vynokurova, Kateryna Sementsova and Ruslan Mariychuk ()
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Maksym Solokha: National Scientific Center, Institute for Soil Science and Agrochemistry Research named after O.N. Sokolovsky, The National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine, 61024 Kharkiv, Ukraine
Olena Demyanyuk: Institute of Agroecology and Environmental Management, The National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine, 03143 Kyiv, Ukraine
Lyudmyla Symochko: Institute of Agroecology and Environmental Management, The National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine, 03143 Kyiv, Ukraine
Svitlana Mazur: Institute of Agroecology and Environmental Management, The National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine, 03143 Kyiv, Ukraine
Nadiya Vynokurova: National Scientific Center, Institute for Soil Science and Agrochemistry Research named after O.N. Sokolovsky, The National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine, 61024 Kharkiv, Ukraine
Kateryna Sementsova: National Scientific Center, Institute for Soil Science and Agrochemistry Research named after O.N. Sokolovsky, The National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine, 61024 Kharkiv, Ukraine
Ruslan Mariychuk: Department of Ecology, Faculty of Humanities and Natural Sciences, University of Presov, 08001 Presov, Slovakia

Land, 2024, vol. 13, issue 10, 1-23

Abstract: The impact of the active hostilities associated with Russia’s large-scale armed invasion of the territory of Ukraine on soil degradation as a result of military actions has resulted in soil damage due to heavy military armored vehicles. Debris from destroyed military equipment, ammunition, and fuel remnants lead to multi-factor damage to the soil system, causing local and global pollution and losses of soil resources. In all the studied cases, mechanical, chemical, and physical soil degradation were observed. This was manifested in changes in granulometric fractions at explosion sites, burning areas, and locations with heavy-metal contamination. Equipment incineration has resulted in an increase in the sand fraction (2.0–0.05 mm) by 1.2–1.8 times and a decrease in the clay fraction (<0.002 mm) by 1.1–1.2 times. The soil contamination levels with regard to heavy metals significantly surpass health standards, with the highest pollution levels observed for Pb, Zn, and Cd. Across all affected areas, changes occurred in the microbiome structure (a 20.5-fold increase in the proportion of mycelial organisms), microbiological process activity was suppressed (a 1.2-fold decrease), microbial biomass (a 2.1-fold decrease) was reduced, and high soil toxicity (99.8%) was observed. Explosions and the pyrolysis of armored vehicles have a significant impact on soil mesobiota and plants. The results indicate the existence of complex interactions between various factors in the soil environment post-explosion, significantly affecting soil health.

Keywords: environmental degradation; soil; microbiome; armed conflict; heavy metals (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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