INFLUENCE OF EROSION PROCESSES ON THE QUALITY OF SOILS OF THE MOUNTAIN ZONE OF THE TRANSCARPATHIAN REGION

Abstract

After the reform in the mountainous zone of the Transcarpathian region, there are currently 15 territorial communities, which have united 75 village and city councils, which include 130 settlements. In this area 80,2% are hayfields and pastures. Another 0,5% of the area is occupied by perennial plantations, and 5,21 thousand hectares or 19,3% of the total area is allocated for arable land. The main types of soils in the mountain zone are brown mountain-forest, mountain-meadow and turf-brown soil, crushed on eluvium-deluvium of Carpathian flysch and igneous rocks. By their nature, the soils of the mountain zone are infertile, primarily due to high acidity. According to agrochemical indicators, they are characterized by an average acidic reaction of the soil solution with a pH value of 4.81 units, an increased content of humus (3.74%), a low content of alkaline hydrolyzed nitrogen compounds (133.4 mg/kg) and mobile phosphorus (42.5 mg/ kg), the average content of mobile potassium compounds (91.7 mg/kg) and increased mobile sulfur (9.6 mg/kg). In general, the soils of the mountain zone are rated at 37 points, which puts them in the seventh class of low quality soils. The most susceptible to erosion processes are soils under row crops, in particular under potatoes and other roots. Withdrawal of eroded lands from agricultural lands is the most ecologically justified and economically feasible way of their use. In general, in all soil and climatic zones of the region, about 37.3 thousand hectares of arable land should be removed from intensive cultivation, of which 23.0 thousand hectares should be plowed and transferred to hayfields and pastures, and 14.3 thousand hectares should be afforested.