Ecological and toxicological condition of militarily degraded chernozems: A case study of the Chkalovsk territorial community

This study aimed to assess the ecological and toxicological condition of militarily degraded chernozems in the Chkalovsk territorial community of the Chuhuiv District in the Kharkiv Region. This involved conducting a detailed, comprehensive survey of the ecological and toxicological condition of the chernozems in the Chkalovsk territorial community, which were affected by military actions, and determining their suitability for agricultural use. If necessary, recommendations for soil remediation measures were provided. An improved system for classifying and assessing the degree of military degradation of soils, based on indicators of chemical contamination by organic and inorganic compounds, was proposed. It was established that on recently demined areas of the de-occupied territory, there is a trend of slight increases in the content of lead (1.4 times), cobalt (1.3 times), iron (1.6 times), and zinc (2.6 times) relative to pre-war (background) levels. The observed exceedances of heavy metals in the soil, while present, are not critical for agriculture and do not necessitate land conservation or the implementation of overly complex and costly soil remediation measures. A slight decrease in mobile cadmium, lead, nickel, cobalt, and iron was recorded after demining, accompanied by an increase in plant-available chromium and zinc. The concentrations of bioavailable manganese and copper remained almost unchanged during this period. These changes may also indicate the ongoing processes of self restoration in chernozem soils, which are typically characterised by high buffering capacity against heavy metals. The results obtained demonstrate very low concentrations of all polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, explosive substances, and related nitroaromatic compounds in the studied soils. The findings can be used when developing a post-war soil restoration programme and the rational use of land in agricultural production