Spatial-Temporal Changes in the Growing of Grain and Leguminous Plants in Kherson Region

Purpose. Research of space-time changes in the specialization of grain and leguminous crops of the plant complex of Kherson region. Methods. System analysis, statistical, mathematical and cartographic. Results. Using a statistical method, we collected and analyzed data on sown areas of cereals and legumes in 2015 - 2019 in the Kherson region. Based on statistical data, we calculated the coefficients of territorial localization and identified areas of specialization of grain production. Using GIS-technologies we have developed maps of specialization of districts of Kherson region.As a result of research, we have revealed the basic laws of development of agriculture of the Kherson region, in particular production of grain crops. We also conducted a spatial-temporal analysis of the development of agricultural production of cereals and legumes using the analysis of land resources. On the basis of modern research methods, we have typified the territory of the Kherson region, identified areas of specialization in the cultivation of cereals and legumes in terms of administrative districts of the region. This made it possible to identify factors influencing the specialization of the region. It is determined that among all crop industries of Kherson region, grain production has developed the most. Conclusions. The dynamics of development showed that such trends as: reduction of the total area of crops; change of areas of specialization on cultivation; increasing grain yields and increasing grain production, had a positive impact on the development of grain production. The directions of intensification of grain production for its optimization are offered: introduction of the newest technologies of cultivation; investment activity; improvement of biological aspects of production, selection activities and reproduction of soil fertility.

Ecological Assessment of the State of Drinking Water Within the United Territorial Communities of the Enlarged Zhytomyr District

Purpose. Assess the quality of drinking water of sources of decentralized water supply of rural settlements of Berezivka united territorial community of the enlarged Zhytomyr district. Methods. Field, laboratory-analytical, statistical. Results. As a result of research it is established that the greatest contribution to the pollution of drinking water is made by nitrates, the excess content of which was recorded on average in 50.7% of the selected samples, and in 57% of the studied settlements water belongs to quality class 4, "Limited" given undesirable quality. A critical situation was recorded in Bolyarka, Bondartsi, Dubovets and Cheremoshne villages, in which well water had increased content of nitrates in all selected samples. On average, 34% of the selected water samples do not meet the standard for the pH value in the direction of its reduction. In terms of pH, quality classes vary from "excellent", very clean to "good", clean water with a bias to the class of "satisfactory", slightly contaminated acceptable quality). The total iron content exceeded the standard by 6.6% of the selected samples. Conclusion. It is proved that the formation of the general class of water quality is significantly influenced by a group of general sanitary indicators, which is primarily due to the high content of nitrates in the studied sources of decentralized water supply. The calculation of the integrated ecological index of development of rural settlements according to the indicators of drinking water quality showed that such rural settlements as: Zamozhne and Sadky need priority attention; 11 settlements need improvement; only village of Vasylivka needs support at the same level.

Integrated Assessment of the Southern Bug River Basin Water Quality and Calculation of their Self-Cleaning Capacity

Purpose. To carry out the surface water quality assessment of the Southern Bug river basin and to investigate the ability of surface water to self-purify. Methods. Statistical calculations, system analysis. Results. The long-term dynamic of the integrated quality index values of the Southern Bug during 2000-2016 was heterogeneous, but the general trend indicated a slight increase due to the sanitary-ecological index and pollution index. The highest level of water pollution was observed in Khmelnytsky city and Alexandrovka settlement. To assess the self-purification capacity of surface waters, the hydrological zoning of the basin was taken. According to it three regions were identified by the types of intra-annual runoff distribution: Verkhnyobuzky, Serednyobuzky and Nizhnobuzsky. The obtained results of EC coefficient calculations for mineral nitrogen compounds show the inability of rivers to self-purify for Verkhnyobuzky and Serednyobuzky regions. Instead, the ability to self-purify is preserved for phosphorus compounds.Using the nonparametric Mann - Kendall test allowed to estimate the long - term trend of nutrients for the Nizhnobuzsky hydrological region. Trends N-NO3-, N NH4+and Р-РО43- are characterized by positive values of the statistical parameter, which means the increasing of these elements’ concentrations. Conclusions. Rivers of the Southern Bug basin are classified as "good, clean enough". The main ecological and hydrochemical problems of the river are pollution by nutrients and indicators of toxic action. The results of the self-purification criterion calculations indicate their inability (in the upper and middle parts of the basin) to self-purification. Using of the nonparametric Mann-Kendall test for determining changes in nutrient compounds shows an upward trend, that means increasing of their concentrations.

Nature Reserve Fund of Skoliv Beskids: Landscape Differentiation, Structure and Perspectives

Purpose. Carry out a landscape analysis of nature reserves and objects of Skoliv Beskids, as well as establish the features of the current state of nature reserves of the study area based on the calculation of a number of indicators. Methods. Field landscape research, cartographic, analysis. Results. Having conducted a detailed analysis of the nature reserve fund of the Skoliv Beskids, the total area of which is 1,149.5 km2, we have found that as of today 21 NPF objects have been registered, they together occupy 33.6% (386.5 km2) of the studied physical and geographical area. We also calculated a number of key indicators that characterize the state of nature reserves of the study area, in particular: the percentage of nature reserves (Szag = 33.6%); index of strict nature reserves (SS.z - 4.5%); density index of NPF objects (Н = 1,8 rpm / 100 km²); insularization coefficient (It = 0.002; IN = 0.3; I = 0.2). A map was drawn up showing the distribution of nature reserves and objects in the mountain landscapes of the Skoliv Beskids, which allowed to establish the nature reserve of each of these landscapes. A number of recommendations for optimizing the structure and functioning of existing nature protection facilities in Skole Beskydy are offered, as well as unique and interesting, from the point of view of environmental protection, areas that should be included in the NFP of the district in the future. Conclusions. To improve the ecological situation in the Skole Beskids, it is important to develop a network of nature protection facilities. The existing network of nature protection facilities cannot fully ensure the preservation of the landscape and biological diversity of the Skole Beskids. We propose to increase the number of PZF facilities by creating new ones and including Polonyn PTC in the Skolivski Beskydy National Park.

The Nature Reserve Fund of Khmelnytskyi Region in the Context of the Emerald Network Developemnt

Purpose. To investigate the state of the Nature Reserve Fund (NRF) in Khmelnytskyi region in the context of the Emerald Network development. Methods. We have used the data of the Register of the Nature Reserve Fund of Khmelnytskyi region, the literature, the cartographic materials and the state documentations as the materials for our investigation. Based on the criteria created by Yu. M. Gryshchenko the state of the NRF of Khmelnytskyi region has been assessed. Results. 536 objects of the Nature Reserve Fund of Khmelnytskyi region on 328,663.98 ha have been created (January 1, 2021): 42 national objects and 494 local objects. The Nature Reserve Fund of this region includes all categories of protected areas except for the nature and biosphere reserves. About 80% of the area of the NRF is occupied by the Podilsky Tovtry National Nature Park. The NRF is characterized by high percentages of the nature reserves, high density of NRF objects and high landscape representativeness and low insularization index. Despite the expansion of the NRF over 2000–2020, the percentage of the nature reserves is 44% less than set out in the Regional Development Strategy (January 1, 2020). Eight NRF objects of this region are included in the Emerald Network of Europe. All emerald objects are characterized by high representativeness indices and the uniqueness of the flora and fauna. The objects of the Emerald Network are provided the preserving of the unique ecosystems of Podillya. These are the value of Khmelnytskyi region and Europe. The public environmental initiative “Emerald – Natura 2000 in Ukraine” has included two NRF objects to the “shadow list” in the Khmelnytskyi region: the Dnister and Ushytsia Reserves. Despite the positive dynamics of the formation of the NRF of this region, there are a lot of the problems and gaps. There are such problems as a difficult approval procedure for the creation of new protected areas; the insufficient funding of the NRF at the local and state levels. Also the system of the monitoring of the existing Nature Reserved Objects and the information about the current state of the biodiversity in this territory are absent. The non-compliance with the regime of the protected areas, the insufficient environmental awareness and the ignorance of the citizens about the need to preserve the environment are great problems. Conclusions. The NRF of Khmelnytskyi region is characterized by high qualitative and quantitative characteristics (a large number of the Nature Reserved Objects, high percentages of the nature reserves, high density of the NRF objects, high landscape representativeness and low insularization index). Eight NRF objects of this region are included in the Emerald Network of Europe. However, despite the expansion of the NRF of Khmelnytskyi region and its quality indices, a number of the problems of the nature protection have remained. These problems have to be solved in the local and national levels.

The Recreational Capacity of the Zones of the Ukrainian National Natural Parks

Purpose. To determine the recreational capacity of the territories of several National Natural Parks (NNPs) of Ukraine, as well as the recreational capacity of the tourist trails of these parks. Methods. The methodological basis of the study is based on a critical analysis of the current approaches to the assessment of a recreational facilities of the Ukrainian NNPs. Various published data sources as well as the data, regarding to the recreational renewal capacity of the territories of the NNPs acquired during own research was used. Results. The area of the reserved core that is larger than a one third of the entire area of the park may be seen in only few parks. Most of the NPPs have an insufficient size of the protected areas. This indicate an unstable and severely disturbed ecological conditions, which threatens the conservation of the biological diversity in these parks. That’s why the increase of the protected areas of these NNPs is highly advisable. In addition to all above, the area of the NNP special use zone should be smaller than the area of the regulated recreational area, which plays a certain environmental role; it can be decreased in a favor of the stationary recreational zone if needed. Unfortunately, these conditions are not met for the most of the studied NPPs. That’s why it is advisable to optimize the functional zoning of the NNPs, which will effectively protect the unique natural complexes and will let use them for the recreational purposes. The capacity, the degree of the resistance to the recreational loads, the level of improvement and the capacity of the tourist routes in each of the spoken NNPs were analyzed. The main criteria for choosing the studied NNPs were their representativeness or representation in terms of a variety of the accommodating regions, the availability of the data based on the physical and geographical characteristics, the length of the tourist routes and the statistcs of the visitors per year. The recreational capacity for the summer season of some NPPs of Ukraine was calculated, while taking into account the standards for each type of the natural complex for the zones of stationary and regulated recreation. Potentially, these zones may be expanded replacing the parts of the reserved special use zone. An assessment of the capacity of some tourist trails of the barely improved NPPs for an unstable and stable category of natural landscape complexes was given. Conclusions. The recreational potential of the researched Ukrainian NPPs is currently underutilized, but with the increase in the flow of the recreants, the recreational areas that are poorly equipped as well as the trails may lead to a deterioration in the state of the natural ecosystems. The functional zones of the stationary and of the regulated parts of the recreational areas of the NNPs may be expanded by migrating some types of the recreational activities to the special use zone of the parks. It is vital to expand the list of the recreational services for recreants, to strive the level of improvement of the tourist trails of the NNPs. If the natural healing resources are present on the territories of the NNPs, it is advisable to organize some centers for the sanatorium treatment, medical and socio-psychological rehabilitation, which will contribute to the creation and an improvement of the medical and the health infrastructure, the activation of recreational activities and the increase in the efficiency of the functioning of the NNP.

Influence of Geology and Relief on the Society Evolution

The main aim of this article is to consider the way geological and geomorphological processes on the planet Earth have influenced intellect, language, mastering of tools, social studies and cooperative behaviour, which helped society develop agriculture, live in the cities and build civilization. The formation of society has covered a long and difficult way on the planet Earth. Today society is regarded as a human being, stipulated by action and communication, a system of social living together, during which a person and his spirituality is formed as a result of a society’s transformation into some kind of its social existence. Man is in the centre of a society, which cannot exist without him. Society is a system of social living together. It originated from nature’s evolution, having acquired its characteristic features from the very beginning. Despite a wide interpretation of nature and society cooperation, we agree that the fundamental correlation of biological and social in our science are considered very simply. The biological is identified as the animal, the geological - as lifeless nature, but social - as human. The formation of ancient civilizations at the junctions of lithospheric plates confirms that the quintessence of inanimate (geological processes) development is precisely the surge of the living - human society. Particularly high concentration of the developed ancient civilizations is found on the Mediterranean-Himalayan-Indonesian seismic belt, where the network of latospheric plates joins. Later, in the process of society's evolution, the influence of the "inanimate" on the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of the "living" is increasingly manifested. It has been proved that the relief as a result of geological factors "work", acts as the essential lever in it. The isolated development of ancient societies is singled out, caused, first of all, by the environment of mountain systems. Conclusion. We notice that the idea of socio-natural world’s character, the coevolution principle as productive means of cognition and solution to the problem of the society and the Earth planet cooperation acquires an important methodological and world outlook meaning

Recreational and Tourist Activities in the Carpathian Biosphere Reserve: Dynamics, Current State and Development Problems

Purpose. To analyze the peculiarities of the organization and problems of development of recreational and tourist activities and the dynamics of the number of visitors to the Carpathian Biosphere Reserve, determine the centers of the greatest recreational load and their current state. Methods. Geospatial analysis, statistical-mathematical, cartographic, etc. Results. The current state and features of the organization of recreation and tourism in the Carpathian Biosphere Reserve in combination with environmental activities, which provides for maximum greening and rational use of recreational resources. The dynamics and current structure of the number of visitors to the biosphere reserve in terms of protected areas and environmental research departments are also analyzed. As a result, it was found that over the last ten years from 2011 to 2020, the number of visitors to the Carpathian Biosphere Reserve has increased significantly, and its maximum was recorded in 2017 – 37 443 people. The greatest recreational load is experienced by the reserve «Dolyna nartsysiv», which is visited annually mainly in the spring by about 40 % of tourists and vacationers of the reserve. The COVID-19 pandemic has a significant impact on recreational and tourist activities in the reserve, which in 2020 caused a sharp decrease in the number of visitors, with the exception of Tribushansky and Petros-Hoverlyansky nature protection research departments, which are characterized by a positive increase in visitors. Conclusions. The intensity of recreational and tourist activities in the reserve differs significantly, which causes an uneven recreational load on ecotourism routes, recreational facilities and protected areas. The greatest load on the recreational resources of the plain part of the Carpathian Biosphere Reserve is observed in May, then in Svydovetsky, Chornohirsky and others mountain protected areas active phase of recreational and tourist activities recorded in the summer - from June to August. Intensive monitoring of the recreational load and the current state of valuable landscape complexes of the reserve is needed at this period.

Geography of Disease of the Circulatory System of the Population in the Regions of Old Agricultural Development (Cherkasy Region)

Purpose. The aim of the article is to identify the main spatial trends in the spread of the incidence of diseases of the circulatory system in the regions of old agricultural development on the example of Cherkasy region. Methods. Cartographic. Results. Data on the basis of which the incidence analysis was conducted were collected in 20 districts for 2018. The initial data for the research were information on medical statistics on the incidence of rural population (in terms of administrative districts in 2018), two author's EGIS "Production types of agricultural enterprises in Cherkasy region in 2015" and "Assessment of environmental impact of agriculture on the landscapes of Cherkasy region ».. Based on the data on the incidence of diseases of the circulatory system in the population of the Cherkasy region and the cartogram of the prevalence of the same incidence, it was determined that the Kanevsky, Shpolyansky and Khristinovsky districts have high incidence rates. They mainly specialize in their agricultural activities in grain farming in combination with industrial crops. Using pesticides, pesticides, nitrates, mineral fertilizers, they can cause not only pollution of soil and groundwater and a significant decrease in landscape and biodiversity, but also lead to diseases of the circulatory system. Conclusion. The general dependence between deterioration of morbidity dynamics and a condition of the agrolandscapes disturbed by long agricultural activity is established. The main spatial difference in the spread of diseases of the circulatory system in the Cherkasy region is the concentration of absolute morbidity in the east of the region

Socio-Ecological Conditions for Restoration of the Kharkiv City Recreation Zone

Purpose. Investigate the socio-ecological conditions of existence of the recreational zone - Karpivsky Garden in the Novobavarsky district of Kharkiv for its further restoration and improvement. Меthods. Field, atomic absorption spectrophotometry, mathematical and analytical methods of information processing, conditional interrogation method. Results. Field research consisted of sampling of drinking water from an underground source in the garden, sampling of soil and vegetation. The study of drinking water from an underground source on the territory of Karpivsky Garden was carried out by chemical composition, quality indicators, organoleptic indicators. It is determined that the quality of drinking water meets the requirements of DSanPiN 2.2.4-171-10. The highest indicators in soil and leaf samples were determined in cities with a large amount of transport. Background concentrations of excesses are also not observed. A sociological survey of the residents of the district, who are visitors to the garden, was conducted in order to identify their desire to restore and equip the Karpivsky Garden. The questionnaire consisted of 12 questions. In restoration and improvement of the Karpivsky Garden. The variant of the organization of functional total, 20 people were interviewed. The survey showed the interest of the population of the district in the zones of a garden is offered Conclusions. Karpivsky Garden, which is located in the Novobavarsky district of Kharkiv, currently has all the environmental and social prerequisites for the restoration and further use of it for recreation of residents of the district in case of landscaping - installation of garden equipment and reconstruction of drinking water source.