ENVIRONMENTALLY SAFE SUSTAINABLE LAND USE IN THE BASIN OF THE VELYKYI KUYALNYK RIVER AND THE KUYALNYK ESTUARY

Abstract

The article examines the current state of chernozem soils within the basin of the Velykyi Kuyalnyk River and the Kuyalnyk Liman and highlights the problem of environmentally safe sustainable land use within these basins. The expediency of applying the basin approach as a methodological basis for assessing soil conditions in order to ensure sustainable land use under conditions of increasing climatic aridization and intensified anthropogenic pressure is substantiated. The main soil degradation processes within the studied territory and their relationship with anthropogenic impact and climate change are analyzed. The morphogenesis of local chernozem soils is assessed and spatial differentiation of soils according to humus content, carbonate occurrence, and the degree of degradation processes is identified. It has been established that the intensification of xeromorphic features and degradation processes in the studied soils is largely associated with violations of the principles of sustainable land and natural resource management. It was found that agrogenic influence forms a general tendency toward decreasing ecological stability of soils and landscapes within the basins of the Northwestern Black Sea limans and the rivers flowing into them. Based on the obtained results, directions of environmentally balanced soil protection and restoration measures aimed at stabilizing agricultural landscapes, preserving soil potential, and ensuring long-term sustainable soil fertility are substantiated. It is proved that the integration of basin management approaches, systematic monitoring of soil condition indicators, and adaptive land-use models is a key prerequisite for the sustainable development of natural territorial liman–estuary complexes of the Northwestern Black Sea region