Scholarly record

OPTIMIZATION OF SHELTERBELTS IN THE STEPPE ZONE OF UKRAINE IN THE CONTEXT OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Tatiana Boiko

Abstract

Preservation of the environment becomes a vital issue in an era of intensive societal development. The long-term economic development of areas with low forest cover and poor composition of woody vegetation leads to a sharp decline in biodiversity and the deterioration of trophic connections. Forest ecosystems are those components that are capable of stabilizing the environmental situation and solving economic and social issues. Forest plantations play a special part in preserving and maintaining ecological balance. Forests outnumber other ecosystems for sustainability and adaptability to changes in the environment, and play a significant role in the sustainable development of the south of Ukraine. They are the main stabilizing element of the landscape, a guarantee of preservation of all its natural components: vegetation, fauna, hydrological regime, soil cover and atmospheric air. In order to ensure the implementation of the ideas and principles declared by the United Nations Conference on the Environment and Development (Rio de Janeiro, 1992) and the World Summit on Sustainable Development (Johannesburg, 2002), Ukraine adopted the В«Concept of Sustainable Development of Agro-Ecosystems in Ukraine for the period up to 2025В», which provides for the formation of the genetic component as an important part of the agrosphere. Protective shelterbelts play a significant role in the formation of the sustainability of agro-ecosystems, especially the hydrological regime of the territories, which determine the ability to withstand dry winds and dust storms, water erosion. One of the many principles of the В«Concept ..В» is the principle of preserving and enriching the biological diversity of the affected steppes. The article deals with the role of shelterbelts in the structure of the ecological network of Ukraine. Among the ecosystems distorted by the agriculture in the Steppe zone, they play the role of ecological corridors of migration and gene pool exchange of the aboriginal plant and animal species in the plowed areas. The issues of the structural-functional organization of the shelterbelts around the disturbed steppes are considered. The proper attention of the state and people will contribute to the restoration of steppe bios with its flora and fauna, to reduce the soil degradation rate, to restrain desertification and flooding, and generally to efficient and rational nature management, and will become the key to the steady development of the Steppe zone.

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