Spring water sampling trip within the framework of DG3(Ukraine) in the Dnipro River Basin in Ukraine

As part of the project implementation program, scientists from the Department of Agrosphere Ecology and Environmental Control of the NUBiP of Ukraine carried out an expedition on April 11-13, 2025 to collect water samples, samples of various groups of indicator of flora and fauna, soil samples within a radius of 10 km from the water sampling points.

 

It is worth noting that the above tasks were carried out in the territories of the Desna River sub-basin and the Middle Dnieper sub-basin, the territories of which are included in the Ukrainian project site. The duration of the expedition covered three days with a total distance of about 1700 km, 24 water sampling points, and 7 local soil sampling points in Sumy, Chernihiv, Kyiv, Cherkasy, Poltava, Kirovohrad, and Dnipropetrovsk regions.

 

Associate professors of the department Vita Strokal and Svitlana Palamarchuk participated in the scientific expedition, who were responsible for collecting water samples and determining water parameters at the sampling site (water temperature, electrical conductivity, dissolved oxygen content, oxygen saturation of the reservoir, total dissolved solids, pH) using portable devices, including EC60 Waterproof (EC, TDS, Temp), EZODO 8200/8200M (pH, EC, TDS), PDO-408 (DO, Temp).

 

 Associate professors of the department Maryna Ladyka and Ievgeniy Berezhniak, using the “cutting ring” method to determine the density of the soil composition, took samples in the 0-10 cm layer under different crops in four-fold replication for further determination in laboratory conditions of physical, chemical, ecotoxicological indicators of soil quality. Associate Professor of the Department Liudmyla Vagaliuk, during the expedition, selected indicator groups of plants.

 

The expedition also actively participated in the postgraduate student of the Department of Agrosphere Ecology and Environmental Control, specialty "Ecology" Serhiy Lelyushok and the student of the educational degree "Master" in specialty "Ecology" Oleksiy Davydenko. In particular, Oleksiy Davydenko, in the context of his master's thesis, under the guidance of the scientific supervisor Vita Strokal, collected water samples and determined their hydrochemical indicators with portable devices, visually described point and diffuse sources of the predicted impact on the qualitative state of the reservoir. Serhiy Lelyushok, as part of his dissertation work, collected soil samples in places of mass unauthorized landfills, described the composition and structure of waste.

After the expedition, part of the water samples and soil samples were sent to a certified laboratory to determine the chemical and ecotoxicological indicators of water and soil quality, and with the rest of the soil samples and plant samples, the scientists of the department continue to work on the basis of the scientific laboratory "Environmental Impact Assessment" of the Department of Agrosphere Ecology and Environmental Control at the Faculty of Plant Protection, Biotechnology and Ecology at the NUBiP of Ukraine.

 

Traveling through different regions, we could observe wonderful natural, anthropogenically modified landscapes and agrocenoses. Despite the fact that Ukraine has been in a state of war for more than three years, it should be noted that all agricultural lands are cultivated, sown with various crops, or prepared for sowing. 

During the expedition trip, the participants had the opportunity to see the floodplains in territories of Desna River and in the territories of the Middle Dnieper sub-basin, the wonderful Ukrainian landscapes of the Kaniv, Kremenchuk and Kamianske Reservoirs, observed varieties of pheasants within Kirovohrad and Dnipropetrovsk regions, contemplated the sunrise and sunset, looking at swimming swans and ducks in the Dnipro River.

 

As the project coordinator from the Ukrainian side, I would like to thank all participants of the scientific expedition for their activity, professionalism, excellent teamwork, and positive attitude throughout the entire expedition trip.