Information on the thesis

The thesis is devoted to the complex study of the peculiarities of burozems process
in the mountain-meadow zone of the Ukrainian Carpathians. The aim of the manuscript is
to examine the features of mountainous meadowy brown soils formation on the valleys of
Svydovets and Chornogora arrays and analysis of changes in their properties, as a result of
human activity on the polonynas.
The systematic and generalized information will be used to address the important
genetic, geographical and classification problems of soil science, and the tasks of balanced
soil use and protection of the soil cover of the Ukrainian Carpathians. The results of the
research are proposed to be used to improve the methodology of soil-geographic zoning;
during the study of the dynamics soil processes and properties for soil monitoring.
In the highlands of the Ukrainian Carpathians, burozems soil formation process is
supplemented by turf, which significantly affects the soil properties and composition
formation – this way unique shallow, rubble, highly acidic, base unsaturated, mountain-
meadow brown soils with high Corg content (Dystric Cambisols) are formed. Irrational
and haphazard farming in the valleys leads to the soil degradation and formation of 20
specific anthropogenically altered mountainous meadowy brown soil. To study the
features of the soil formation and to analyze changes in properties, as a result of economic
activity, we conducted detailed soil-geographic research within the valleys of the
Svydovets and Chornogora array.
For the first time, the chronological periodization of soil-geographic studies of
mountainous meadowy brown soils of the Ukrainian Carpathians, consisting of three
stages, has been drawn up and substantiated.
The investigated soils are characterized by high exchange and hydrolytic acidity.
Under the influence of anthropogenic factor there is a tendency of displacement of the
reaction of the soil environment in the strongly acidic side.
Mobile Aluminum prevails in the composition of absorbing complex. Aluminum
mobilizes due to acid hydrolysis Aluminosilicate. The tendency to replace exchange
Aluminum by exchange Calcium is observed under the influence of human activity. It has
been established that the investigated soils have a high content of humus in the upper
humus-accumulative horizon – 5–16%. Anthropogenically altered soils are characterized
by lower levels of total humus content – up to 6%. This is due to changes in the
composition of vegetation and nomadic transformation of the soil profile. A group of
fulvic acids dominates in the composition of humus.
Granulometric composition of mountainous meadowy brown soils is characterized
by variability of indicators. This is due to the presence of various parent material: the soils
are formed on a flysch with a predominance of clay shale, characterized by a heavier
granulometric composition. Accumulation of clay elements in soil is absent.
The peculiarity of the bulk chemical composition of mountainous meadowy brown
soils is the high content of silicon oxides and high content of aluminum and iron oxides.
Their total content is within 94%. There are differences between the energy indices of
mountainous meadowy brown soils, formed on different parent material. Nomadic
transformation in the mountainous meadowy brown soils of the Svydovets and
Chornohora arrays is reflected differently in energy indices. The investigated soils have a
significant humus energy. This correlates with the indicators of its content within the soil
profile and solid phase density.
Research has established that anthropogenically altered mountainous meadow
brown soils are characterized by lower Corg rates, higher acidic reaction of the soil
solution, high hydrolytic acidity and the dominance of exchange calcium in the absorbing
soil complex, different qualitative humus composition – humate-fulvate. As a result of
anthropogenic soil transformation, composition indicators underwent distinct changes –
soil of the genetic horizons with a decrease in the total porosity; structure of the humus-
accumulative horizon of virgin soil has undergone transformation and is characterized as
prismoidal.
Keywords: mountainous meadowy brown soils, chemical, physico-chemical,
physical properties, macromorphological features, polonyna, nomadic transformation,
anthropogenically altered soils, Svydovets and Chornogora arrays, Ukrainian Carpathians.