Optimization of Agricultural Land in Cherkasy Region Through Alternative Farming Systems

In recent years, much attention has been paid to preserving soil fertility and preventing soil degradation, driven by public interest in the environment and growing awareness of the role of soil cover in ensuring environmental and food security in any country. A negative consequence of anthropogenic impact is the deterioration of the ecological function of soils in the ecosystem. There are processes of compaction and disruption of water, air and nutrient regimes. The goal of article is to soil erosion is the main destabilizing factor of the ecological situation in the agricultural landscapes of Cherkasy region, and this publication is aimed at studying it. To determine the qualitative characteristic of the soil cover, namely the actual state of water erosion, the erodibility coefficient (CEr) and data on the distribution of eroded soils by gradations of erodibility are used. The soil erosion coefficient is calculated as a weighted average for each soil based on the coefficients (non-eroded - 1; slightly eroded - 1.2; medium eroded - 1.4; highly eroded - 1.6), which indicate a corresponding decrease in fertility compared to the full profile soil. The erodibility coefficient, together with the data on the distribution of eroded soils by gradations of erodibility, is used as an important qualitative characteristic of the soil cover. Agricultural land occupies about 70% of Ukraine's territory, which is more than 60 million hectares. Overdevelopment of agriculture and a large amount of arable land are the main environmental problems associated with agriculture. The average plowed area reaches 70%, and 90% in Vinnytsia, Cherkasy, Kherson, Kirovohrad, and Zaporizhzhia regions. The article describes the negative effects of water erosion on agricultural landscapes of Cherkasy region. The definition of the qualitative characteristics of the soil cover, namely the actual state of erosion processes using the erodibility coefficient, is given.