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The objective of the study was to examine the structure of typical Ukrainian chernozem developed on loess, which (I) had been fertilized by standard crop rotation since 1912 with farm yard manure at the rate of 16 t ha-1 and (II) had not been fertilized with farm yard manure by sugar beet monoculture since 1929. After harvest of winter wheat and sugar beet, the samples of undisturbed structure were taken from 5 layers of both profiles: 0-8, 10-18, 20-28, 30-38, and 40-48 cm. The morphological analysis of the structure of the investigated chernozem revealed that the most visible differences between the soil structures of the two pedons occurred in their superficial layers. The 0-18 cm layer of the soil in the experiment I had an aggregate structure, whereas analogous layer of the soil in experiment II was much more compacted. Below about 30 cm from the ground level both pedons had very similar structure. For the soil in the experiment I an appropriate crop rotation and regular supplies of organic matter allowed for preservation of a favourable structure even in the upper layers - in contrast to the soil in the experiment II.

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Open‐cast mining of lignite leads to considerable degradation of the natural environment, which then must be reclaimed. The aim of this study was to assess the transformation of Technosols in an area after lignite mining which had been under 40‐year cultivation of alfalfa with grass at various NPK fertilization rates. We hypothesized that 40‐year cultivation of plants caused morphological transformation of the parent material and resulted in differentiation of physical and chemical properties in the profile of the Technosols; fertilization had an added advantageous effect on their properties. The surface layer was transformed into an Ap‐horizon. Under alfalfa, with grass and NPK fertilization, Ap‐horizons demonstrated lower bulk density (BD) (7–11%) and particle density (PD) (1–2%), and higher total porosity (TP) (18–35%), drainable porosity (DP) (2–94%), field water capacity (FC) (11–21%), unavailable water (UW) (4–17%), soil organic carbon (SOC) (80–142%), total nitrogen (TN) (261–330%), available P (39–435%), available K (32–89%), cation exchange capacity (CEC) (25–43%), and soil acidity (Hext) (42–81%) compared to Cd‐horizons. Fertilized Technosols (1NPK, 2NPK), compared with control (0NPK), showed in the Ap‐horizon an increase in SOC (18–35%), TP (8–15%), DP (81–90%), FC (9–10%), P (110–285%), K (14–71%), and TN (0–18%), and a decrease in BD (4–7%). In contrast, fertilization had no effect on the UW, PD, soil inorganic carbon (SIC), CaCO3, available Mg, and pHKCl. The alfalfa and orchard grass played a key role in the reclamation and soil‐forming processes, while fertilization played a supporting role.