Caring for soils in war and peace: status and challenges towards land degradation neutrality
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.51599/is.2025.09.02.12Keywords:
soil, Earth, Russian-Ukrainian war, armed aggression, military actions, military degradation, soil pollution, soil monitoring, ecological safety, food security.Abstract
Purpose. This study aims to determine and summarise the current state of research and its key directions regarding the impact of military actions on soil and land resources in the context of the Russian-Ukrainian war, as well as to identify the main consequences of military land degradation and measures for post-war restoration of soil health.
Results. The current state and trends in global research on assessing the impact of military actions on soil and land resources were analysed in the context of the Russian-Ukrainian war. Additionally, leading countries, organisations, authors, and journals in terms of publication number were identified.
Research on the impact of military actions on soil and land resources is primarily conducted by organisations in the USA, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom. This study constructed bibliometric maps of country co-authorship and term frequency in global publications on wartime soil and land resource impacts from 2022 to 2024. Based on the six identified clusters and the 10 most-cited articles, the main current and future research directions were outlined. The impact of the Russian-Ukrainian war on soil and land resources is summarised, in particular the negative socio-economic and agro-ecological consequences. Almost all types of military soil degradation: mechanical, physical, physicochemical, chemical and biological have been recorded across various regions of Ukraine. Some measures for the post-war restoration of the health of militarily degraded soils are considered, in particular bioremediation using biological products.
Scientific novelty. By combining a bibliometric analysis of Scopus database metadata with a review of proceedings from the conference “Soil Care in Times of War and Peace: Status, Monitoring and Management”, this paper provides one of the first attempts to assess the state of research on military impacts on soil and land resources in the context of the Russian-Ukrainian war, and the challenges on the path to land degradation neutrality. The foundations of the economics of military land degradation and innovative practices for post-war restoration of land quality are further developed.
Practical value. The study advances understanding of the global consequences of military actions on soil and land resources in the context of the Russian-Ukrainian war and the post-war restoration of soil health and land relations in Ukraine. The results may be useful for researchers, practitioners (in particular communities, landowners, land users) and other stakeholders when assessing military degradation and planning measures to restore soil health.
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