During the development of civilization, humanity, in order to maintain its
existence, gradually transformed up to 40 % of the natural ecosystems of land into
highly productive but depleted biota varieties, and therefore unsustainable
agrocenoses. Artificial support of their ecological balance is ensured by the increasing
cost of investing in agrotechnics, which is one of the powerful factors of the global
environmental crisis. The importance of preserving biodiversity of natural and artificial
ecosystems, which should reduce the risks of environmental violations, is increasing.
In Ukraine, agricultural landscapes occupy the bulk of the territory and have a
dominant influence both on the overall ecological situation and on the efficiency and
sustainability of agrarian production. According to the available scientific literature,
the insect fauna of Ukraine in the 20th century comprised 25 to 35 thousand species
[4]. How many species of insects live in agrocenoses now is not known, which
complicates the definition of the actual state of biodiversity for the environmental
justification of the measures envisaged by the UN Convention.
What actually happens with entomological diversity and how to track this
process?
The goal of the paper based in development of methodology of evaluation of
typological entomological diversity of agrarian landscapes of Forest-Steppe Ukraine.
Methodics and methods of researches. The research was carried out during
2003-2017 in certain agrarian landscapes, in the forest-steppe area (Kyiv region,
Vasylkiv and Fastiv districts, Poltava region, Luben district, etc.).
Agricultural landscapes of research sites are located within the Eastern European
platform and have a unique geological structure. The surface of the land is a wavy plain
disassembled by river valleys, ravines and gullies. On the Right Bank of the Dnieper,
it is inclined from the southwest to the northeast. The climate is temperate continental,
with mild winters and warm summers. The average annual air temperature in the
northern part of the region is 6.5°, in the south it is 7.5°С. The average perennial air
temperature in July (the warmest month) increases from north to south from 19.2 to
20.1°C; The coldest - January - is: in the northern regions – 6.5°С, in the central part –
5.8°C, in the south of the region – 6.1°С. Absolute maximum of air temperature reaches
40°С, minimum - minus 37°С.
Global climate change, recorded over the past 100 years, has also affected climate
change in the forest-steppe zone. The annual temperature increase of 0.7-0.9°С was
recorded; At the same time, the spring waves of frost cold waves, which have a negative
effect on agriculture, became characteristic. In general, over the past 20 years, there
has been a tendency towards decreasing precipitation by magnitude and amplitude of
oscillations, increasing the contrast of the temperature regime; the duration and
intensity of adverse weather events increases.
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