Forest Vegetation Influence on the Electrophysical Properties of Chernozem Ravine of the Ukrainian Steppe Zone

The results of the study of the natural forest vegetation influence on the dielectric constant, specific electrical resistance, specific electrical conductivity, mineralization, and salinity of chernozems in the conditions of Viiskove ravine, located in the Dnipro district of the Dnipropetrovsk region, are given.It was found that forest chernozems, the genesis of which is connected with forest vegetation, are characterized by reduced values of the investigated electrophysical properties compared to ordinary chernozems under steppe vegetation. The peculiarities of the ravines’ slopes lead to additional differentiation of soil properties, while the chernozems formed on the northern exposure slope are characterized by lower values of dielectric constant and higher values of specific electrical resistance, specific electrical conductivity, mineralization, and salinity compared to the chernozems formed on the southern exposure slope. It is proposed to use the dielectric constant as an additional diagnostic sign of soil compaction, which is determined by the peculiarities of the structural-aggregate composition and the manifestation of the eluvial-illuvial process in the chernozems of the natural forest vegetation.When examining the characteristics of soils to resist or conduct an electric current by determining the specific electrical resistance using the method of soil pastes or specific electrical conductivity in a soil suspension, in our opinion, preference should be given to the first method, which made it possible to reveal more differences in the electrophysical properties of the studied chernozems compared to the second method. It is assumed that the values of the specific electrical resistance determined in the soil pastes and the specific electrical conductivity determined in the aqueous soil suspension are determined by the action of various factors, since these values are inverse to each other, and according to the results of research, unidirectional changes of these values were revealed. The results obtained during the research indicate the need for a comprehensive study of the electrophysical properties of soils using various methods that allow detecting the effect of both related and different processes of soil genesis.