Autor:innen:
Alla Achasova | National Scientific Center “Institute for Soil Science and Agrochemistry Research named after O.N. Sokolovsky“ / Research Institute for Soil and Water Conservation, Prague | Ukraine
Andrii Achasov | School of Ecology, V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University | Ukraine
Ganna Titenko | School of Ecology, V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University | Ukraine
Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine had begun, many researchers have had to stop their work, and some have left Ukraine. Many scientists including soil scientists have gone to the army to defend their country, and some of them were unfortunately killed. Constant shelling by the Russian Federation not only puts Ukrainian scientist's lives at risk but hinders normal scientific work. Due to the shelling of civilian infrastructure, there is no electricity, water and heating for hours every day in settlements of Ukraine. Regarding the specific problems of soil science, it is necessary to note that according to National Scientific Center «Institute for Soil Science and Agrochemistry Research named after O.N. Sokolovsky» (ISSAR) data, 16 million hectares of soils in Ukraine were affected by hostilities. About12 million hectares of them are highly fertile black soils, mainly chernozems. Field investigations in these areas are either not possible or are at high risk due to the presence of mines and unexploded ammunition. According to ISSAR, sites for long-term field experiments were seriously damaged. Unique, undisturbed virgin chernozems are situated in the war zone and could be damaged. According to the report from Ukrainian Ministry of Environment, since the start of the full-scale invasion, the Russian Federation has caused damage to Ukraine's environment for over 1.35 trillion UAH. And this amount increases every day of the war.
Despite of all these difficulties, Ukrainian soil scientists continue their work in the hard conditions of wartime. They are not only trying to solve their usual tasks but face new actual scientific and practical problems of war impacts on soil and environment. It's a new experience for Ukrainian soil and environmental scientists. And now Ukraine soil scientists run some projects to estimate the consequences of hostilities for soil and environment using remote sensing data and local field observation, as broad scale field research is impossible to carry out due to very high risk and military restrictions.
It is already obvious that the war started by the Russian Federation will have catastrophic consequences for the ecological state not only in Ukraine, but also in other countries. However, to assess these consequences and clearly understand the situation, comprehensive studies are needed, which is impossible without the support of the international community. The German Soil Science Society took a stand in favour of the invaded country (Ukraine) and the colleagues suffering from this war. We believe, cooperation of Ukrainian and German soil scientists will help to study the consequences of war on soil in Ukraine.