Acidity of degraded soils of agricultural lands of the Donetsk Peoples Republic

Abstract

Th e purpose of this work was to study the acidity of degraded agricultural soils. Th e main objectives of the research
were to study the actual and potential soil acidity of agricultural lands of the Donetsk Peoples Republic on the example
of agricultural farms in the northern part of the Shakhtyorsky district. It was established that the studied model sites
are characterized by a slightly acidic, neutral or slightly alkaline medium reaction, which creates favorable conditions
for the formation of crops and plant growth. When studying the exchangeable acidity of soils, the ambiguity
of changes in its values was established, depending on the location of the model sites, the system of soil content in
the crop rotation, the horizon, and other factors. The most exceeding the control values of the exchange acidity are
characteristic of the slope surfaces of sites where the intensity of erosion processes reaches a maximum (exceeding
the indicator compared to the control by average of 8,6%). In the future, increased values of exchangeable acidity
may adversely aff ect the formation of crop yields. Changes in the values of hydrolytic acidity of soils follow the same
regularity as the variation in the indices of exchangeable acidity. The most signifi cant excess of the hydrolytic acidity
index in comparison with the control was recorded on the slope sites of the fi elds (increase by 11–17%). The conducted
studies confi rm the need for constant agroecological monitoring of these lands with the regulation of mineral
fertilizers to increase the absorption capacity of soils due to increased values of exchangeable and hydrolytic acidity.