Assessment of the ecological and agrochemical condition of agricultural lands based on automated soil sampling

The article assesses the ecological and agrochemical condition of agricultural lands using the automated soil sampling system Bodenprobenehmer N2006. The relevance of applying automated soil monitoring technologies under conditions of intensified agricultural production, the development of precision farming, and the necessity to evaluate lands affected by military impacts is substantiated.The study was conducted on a land plot covering 279.4 hectares located outside the village of Bryhadyrivka, Izium Territorial Community, Izium District, Kharkiv Region, Ukraine. To assess the condition of the soil cover, 60 composite samples were collected from the 0–30 cm arable layer, with the territory divided into elementary plots of up to 5 hectares each.Laboratory analyses included the determination of the main agrochemical and ecological-toxicological soil indicators, particularly soil solution reaction (pH), humus content, easily hydrolyzable nitrogen, mobile phosphorus and potassium compounds, micronutrients, and heavy metals. Statistical processing of the results involved calculating weighted average values, variation ranges, and coefficients of variation.The soils of the studied area were found to be characterized by a near-neutral soil reaction and high humus content, indicating the preservation of their natural fertility potential. At the same time, an imbalance in certain agrochemical indicators was identified, including low availability of easily hydrolyzable nitrogen, very low content of mobile zinc compounds, and low manganese content. The ecological-toxicological assessment revealed an increased concentration of mobile cadmium compounds across a significant part of the study area, as well as slight and moderate levels of lead contamination within certain elementary plots.The obtained results indicate the spatial heterogeneity of agrochemical and toxicological indicators, which may be associated both with the natural mosaic structure of the soil cover and with localized military-technogenic impacts. The expediency of using automated soil sampling systems for developing electronic maps of soil indicators, monitoring contamination, planning reclamation measures, and implementing precision farming elements is substantiated.Received: 20.04.2026;Accepted: 14.05.2026