Restructuring agricultural land use in Ukraine. Directions for development

The intensity of agricultural land use in Ukraine was analyzed based on soil quality and the values of the land-use intensity (LUI) index and the land-use capacity (LUC) index. In the administrative districts of Cherkasy region, the LUI index ranged from 0.07 to 1.0, and the LUC index ranged from 0.01 ha per 1000 UAH of gross output to 0.19 ha per 1000 UAH, which points to considerable difference in land-use intensity and agricultural land-use capacity. New approaches should be sought to improve the management and use of agricultural land. Functional land use areas should be restructured, in particular, by implementing non-traditional methods of agricultural land use. The results of the study indicate that land-use functions should be modified over an area of 5,343,900 ha, where 2,049,900 ha should be converted to crop rotations for soil protection, 208,000 ha – to protective forest margins; and 2,878,000 ha – to non-traditional forms of agricultural land use. Motives: The purpose of the article was to propose a methodological approach for assessing the intensity of agricultural land use and to suggest directions for land-use restructuring to improve its ecological status. Aim: In the proposed methodical approach, the intensity of agricultural land use was assessed with the land-use intensity (LUI) index and the land-use capacity (LUC) index. To reduce plowing and increase land-use intensity, the functions of degraded arable land should be modified over an area of 5,343,900 ha, where 2,049,900 ha should be converted to crop rotations for soil protection, 208,000 ha – to protective forest margins; and 2,878,000 ha – to non-traditional forms of agricultural land use. Results: The article substantiates the need to modify the functions of arable land over an area of  5,343,900 ha, where 2,049,900 ha should be converted to crop rotations for soil protection, 208,000 ha – to protective forest margins; and 2,878,000 ha – to non-traditional forms of agricultural land use.