Plant and Soil Science

Impact of military activities on the biogenicity of southern chernozem

Tetiana Melnychuk, Yuri Vishovan, Oksana Samkova, Rostislav Bogdanovich
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Abstract

Among a number of significant problems that have arisen as a result of military operations on the territory of Ukraine is the degradation of soils, which requires finding ways to accelerate the processes of their recovery after damage. The purpose of the study was to assess the biogenicity indicators of the state of southern chernozem and low-humus sands under military influence and the use of a recovery complex, which consisted of organic fertiliser Parostok and bacterial-metabolic preparation Ultrachist. The research methods included laboratory analysis of samples using microbiological seeding on media suitable for microorganisms of ecological-trophic, functional, and taxonomic groups, and statistical data processing to determine the reliability of discrepancies. The conducted studies indicated a significant negative impact on the density of populations of soil microorganisms of southern chernozem from rocket hits and low-humus sands from fires as a result of military operations. The number of representatives of the native microbiota in soils has tripled after the military impact. The biogenicity indicators of southern chernozem and low-humus sands decreased by 7.7 and 4.9 million CFU/g of dry soil (2.6 and 2.3 times), respectively, compared to the control. The restoration complex contributed to the growth of soil biogenicity in all variants of the experiment. In the damaged samples, the increase in indicators under the action of the recovery complex was higher than in the control samples. The use of the recovery complex in the background southern chernozem conditions increased the biogenicity of the soil by 4.2 times, and after a missile hit – by 6.1 times. In the slightly humus-rich sands of forest lands under the influence of the restoration complex, an increase in its biogenicity was observed by 1.9 times, while in the sample after pyrogenic exposure by 9.9 times. The proposed recovery complex based on organic matter and beneficial microorganisms can be considered as a stabilisation factor that will activate the microbiota of degraded soil for the restoration of soil ecosystems

Keywords

soil microorganisms; low-humus sands; impact of military operations; degradation of the microbiocoenosis; recovery complex

Suggested citation
Melnychuk, T., Vishovan, Yu., Samkova, O., & Bogdanovich, R. (2026). Impact of military activities on the biogenicity of southern chernozem. Plant and Soil Science, 17(1), 59-69. https://doi.org/10.31548/plant1.2026.59
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