[VII Congress of the Ukrainian Society of Soil Scientists and Agrochemists [UTGA]]

The report deals with the Congress held on 24-27 July 2006 at the National Agrarian Univ., Kyiv (Ukraine). The preparation and work of the Congress were carried out under the following slogan: Soils as the basis of well-being of the state [of Ukraine], a concern of everybody. Fourteen plenary reports were presented at the congress, in particular i)Scientific bases of sustainable development of irrigation in Ukraine (Dr. S.A. Balyuk, NAU); ii)Problems of degradation of farm lands of Russia, their protection and productivity restoration (acad. V.A. Rozhkov, Dokuchayev Soil Inst., Russian Federation), iii)Balance of nutrients of mineral nutrition and soil fertility (acad. I.M. Bohdevych, Belarus Acad. of Sciences), iv)Problems of soil surveys (up-to-date vision)(O.P. Kanash, Ukraine), v)Ecological priorities and an up-to-date strategy of protecting soil fertility (Dr. V.I. Kysil, Sokolovsky Inst. Ukraine), vi)Present-day issues of history of Ukrainian soil science (Dr. V.I. Kanivets), vii)Degradation lines of evolution of chornozems of the Steppe zone while irrigating and in the post-irrigation period in the context of evolution of steppe ecosystems (Ye.N. Krasyekha) etc. Four sections worked at the Congress, in particular those of soil science, agrochemistry, soil protection and land improvement with 100 reports presented. Materials of the Congress are published in 2 books. The next VIII Congress will be held in 2010 in the State Agroecological Univ., Zhytomyr (ukraine). Prof. P.P. Nadtochiy, the pro-rector of the university mentioned, is elected as the UTGA President, Dr. V.I. Kysil as the UTGA General Secretary. According to the resolution of the Congress, the main lines of the activities will be as follows: developing theoretical and methodological bases of soil science as a fundamental science; studying production and ecological functions of soil cover; continuing the works on improving the diagnostics ans classification of soils of Ukraine; lines and methods of monitoring of lands, up-to-date approaches to soil-ecological mapping; studying biological roundup of substances and energy in agroecosystems,processes of migration and accumulation of substances and energy in conditions of diverse anthropogenous loads using plant by-products; developing the theoretical bases and resourse-saving technologies of ecologically secure land use, forming scientifically substantiated farming systems, sustainable agrolandscapes; soil-ecological substantiation of reconstruction and modernization of land improvement systems, developing resourse-saving technologies of improving the agroecological state of irrigated and drained agricultural lands; standardizational and metrological support of scientific research, harmonizing the national regulatory framework with the international one.