Відділ зрошукавного землеробства та декарбонізації агроекосистем

Department of Irrigated Agriculture and Agroecosystem Decarbonization

Liudmyla Granovska, Doctor of Economics, Professor, Corresponding Member of the  National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine

e-mail: G_Ludmila15@ukr.net

Key Areas of Research and Activities

Rational use of water and land resources, restoration and improvement of irrigated soil fertility, reduction of anthropogenic pressure on the environment, and minimization of adverse impacts of climate change on the development of irrigated agriculture, in line with the principles of the European Green Deal.

Management of water, salt, and nutrient regimes of irrigated soils to prevent degradation and desertification, considering land and water use models, irrigation water quality, and delivery technologies.

Soil carbon sequestration under various farming systems, taking into account pathways for transformation and decarbonization of agroecosystems to achieve climate neutrality of agriculture in irrigated zones of Ukraine.

Improvement of existing regulatory and legal frameworks for the implementation of state policy in irrigated agriculture, guided by low-carbon and climate-smart principles and focused on counteracting negative manifestations of climate change.

Application of Earth Observation (remote sensing) data in agroecological monitoring of agricultural lands using machine learning methods under climate change and digitalization of the agro-sector.

 

Scientific Achievements

• Development of optimal parameters of water and nutrient regimes in irrigated soils under different tillage systems and varying shares of grain and industrial crops in short-rotation crop rotations.
• Identification of patterns in changes of soil physical and mechanical properties through optimization of tillage, fertilization, and irrigation regimes, ensuring environmentally safe functioning of agrocenoses on irrigated lands under current agricultural land-use practices and climate change conditions.
• Design of intensive farming systems for agricultural enterprises of different specializations cultivating irrigated lands.
• Development of agro-meliorative measures to mitigate negative effects of irrigation water quality on crop productivity under limited natural precipitation and different irrigation methods.
• Introduction of resource-efficient, soil-protective, and biologically optimal irrigation regimes tailored to soil reclamation status, irrigation water quality, crop biology, weather conditions, and economic factors of agricultural enterprises and farms.
• Establishment of a database on water regime formation in dark chestnut soils under different tillage systems, organo-mineral fertilization schemes, and irrigation regimes and methods, enabling reduced anthropogenic pressure on irrigated soils through minimization of primary tillage systems and rational use of irrigation water.
• Development of a methodological approach for selecting cover crops, their species, combinations, and seeding rates, depending on soil type, agrochemical and agroecological characteristics, soil nutrient and water regimes, and requirements of subsequent rotation crops under low-carbon no-till technology.
• Determination of optimal cover crop mixtures under no-till low-carbon technologies to improve soil fertility, enhance nutrient balance, increase soil carbon, and reduce unproductive water losses in the agroecological conditions of Southern Ukraine, based on experimental verification of calculations according to the national methodology.
• Formulation of scientific and methodological principles for the effective use of Earth Observation data in agroecological monitoring of agricultural lands under current climate change conditions, including mathematical modeling of soil reclamation status and fertility indicators using machine learning.

 

Services Provided

• Scientific support for the restoration of irrigated agriculture and the introduction of resource-efficient irrigation technologies and methods adapted to crop type and weather conditions.
• Recommendations for the management of water, salt, and nutrient regimes of irrigated soils to prevent degradation and desertification, depending on land and water use models, irrigation water quality, and supply technologies.
• Scientific support for the implementation of environmentally balanced farming systems on irrigated lands, including the development of measures to improve the hydrogeological and reclamation condition of irrigated agricultural lands.
• Agrochemical assessment of irrigated soil fertility and design of agro-meliorative and ecological reclamation measures for its improvement.
• Research on the influence of tillage methods and depth on agrotechnological properties of solonetzic soils when using mineralized irrigation water.
• Soil moisture monitoring and integration of weather conditions for operational adjustment of irrigation regimes (irrigation norms, timing, and frequency) to ensure the proper condition of crop stands and achieve planned yields.