Modern Beligerative Relief (On the Example of Yavoriv Military Training Ground of Lviv Region)

The author establishes the types of relief created for military purposes (beligerative) and analyzes its morphology. The territory of the Yavoriv military training ground in the Lviv region, the largest in Ukraine training complex of various types and kinds of troops, was chosen as an example. The military training ground was established in the 30s of the twentieth century. In the past, Polish infantry, German tank divisions, Soviet troops, and nowadays Ukrainian and international ground and air forces trained here. The area of the landfill is 361.5 km2. It occupies an advantageous position in the terrain, as it is located on an elevated part of the Roztochchya Upland, where the Main European watershed passes. Loose sediments are widespread in the territory, which contribute to the creation of deep and elongated forms of beligerative relief. These are mainly quaternary alluvial sands and detritus of native rocks, aeolian and diluvial loess and sandy loams, alluvial sediments. We consider the beligerative relief as an integral part of the field military fortification. The research was performed on the base of interpretation of large-scale space images, aerial photographs and field studies. The modern beligerative relief observed at the Yavoriv military training ground was classified into positive and negative forms depending on the method of military activity. Positive forms include: 1) hills of command posts for control and surveillance, 2) hills of tank or cannon fortifications, 3) micro-hills of protection against small arms, 4) bunkers (wooden-earth defense points), 5) high-altitude targets and firing positions. Negative forms are as follows: 1) trenches of the defense line and the course of connections; 2) open structures for the protection of personnel: individual trenches, pairs, for several infantry, as well as for shooting lying down, kneeling, standing; 3) trenches for the protection of equipment and heavy artillery weapons; 4) closed structures for personnel protection: dugouts, bunkers, cracks, dugouts; 5) excavations from ruptures of artillery shells. There are more negative forms in the modern military relief. Analysis of space images from different times (1980–1990, 2000–2005, 2015–2019) and modern field observations allowed us to trace the dynamics of beligerative relief forms. The formation of new and most widespread forms occurs in the mid-80 of the twentieth century. At the end of the XX and at the beginning of the XXI century, the existing forms decline, steamrolled by exogenous processes, and new ones do not appear. New forms have been appeared since 2015, but only in small local areas. The place they appear are characterized by a significant anthropogenic transformation of the terrain, the development of exogenous processes, such as soil dispersal, desertification, erosion, oozing. Key words: beligerative (military) relief; Yavoriv military training ground (Ukraine); morphological classification.