Annex 2 - Erosion of Ukrainian soils Figure 27: Ukraine: soil erosion is visible from satellites
Source: Google Earth © (Obtained 17 June 2013).
Soil erosion is the most important form of soil
at different levels of severity (Figure 28), and an
degradation in Ukraine. Erosion can be caused by
additional 40 percent is prone to wind and water
wind or water. Both forms occur in Ukraine, and
erosion. A 1996 study by the State Committee
sometimes the combination of both. Erosion has
of Land Resources reported that 13.2 million ha
associated negative impacts at field and farm level,
were exposed to water erosion, and 1.7 million ha
such as decrease of soil fertility and decrease of
were exposed to wind erosion54. It was estimated
crop yields, but also at the landscape scale:
that these figures would increase by about 60 000-80 000 ha per year. At this rate erosion
• decrease in water quality from nutrient leaching; • siltation of rivers and reservoirs; and • loss of rural income. In the past, Ukraine was considered the granary of the former Soviet Union. However, high agricultural production, mostly in an intensive manner, caused serious erosion. According to FAO53, annual soil losses during that period were as much as 600 million tonnes, including 20-
would affect about 14 to 14.5 million ha in 2013. Erosion is exacerbated by the recent significant decrease in the application of mineral and organic fertilizers, which has caused a sharp decline in soil humus content, as reported in Annex 2. The map above represents the percentage of arable land affected by erosion, but not its severity level. Some authors proposed an evaluation of the erosion level in terms of intensity. For instance the paper by Belolipskii
30 million tonnes of humus, and cost the country more than USD 1.6 billion annually. An estimated 40 percent of the country territory is now eroded 53 Bogovin A.V. 2006. Country Pasture/Forage Resource Profiles: Ukraine.” FAO. http://www.fao.org/ag/agp/agpc/ doc/counprof/ukraine/ukraine.htm.
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54 World Bank. 2007. Integrating Environment into Agriculture and Forestry Progress and Prospects in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Volume II. Ukraine, Country Review. 22 pp. www.worldbank.org/eca/environmentintegration.