KYIV-DNIEPER REGION: CHANGES IN AGRICULTURAL SPECIALIZATION IN TERMS OF LAND RESOURCES ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY

Abstract

Agricultural specialization of Kyiv-Dnieper region survives large changes, specifically reorientation on the production of highly profitable cultures, exhausting the soil. Sowing of grain (corn, wheat), technical crops (sunflower, rape, soy) increase substantially. Meanwhile, there is a shrink of traditional agricultural branches that carried out an ecological stabilising role, namely forage cultures, leguminous, flax. This was caused by the economic management system, growth of agricultural holdings, and foreign market condition. The decline of stock-raising indirectly increases soil exhaustion; the production of organic fertilizers diminishes, although powerful stock-raising commercial complexes are the pollutants of waters and soils. As a result, the threat of land degradation grows and fertility of soils goes down, especially in Polesian part of the country. Around the capital, the level of the anthropogenic loading on the land resources intensively rises and leads to reinforcement of negative ecological processes. Decision of issues such as rational specialization and ecologically safe husbandry needs combination of economic, ecological and nature protection measures that should maximally take into account local natural and economic features of certain region.