This paper studies the assessment of sensitivity to land degradation of Deliblato sands (the northern part of Serbia), as a special nature reserve. Sandy soils of Deliblato sands are highly sensitive to degradation (given their fragility), while the system of land use is regulated according to the law, consisting of three zones under protection. Based on the MEDALUS approach and the characteristics of the study area, four main factors were considered for evaluation: soil, climate, vegetation and management. Several indicators affecting the quality of each factor were identifi ed. Each indicator was quantifi ed according to its quality and given a weighting of between 1.0 and 2.0.ArcGIS 9 was utilized to analyze and prepare the layers of quality maps, using the geometric mean to integrate the individual indicator map. In turn, the geometric mean of all four quality indices was used to generate sensitivity of land degradation status map. Results showed that 56.26% of the area is classifi ed as critical; 43.18% as fragile; 0.55% as potentially affected and 0.01% as not affected by degradation. The values of vegetation quality index, expressed as coverage, diversity of vegetation functions and management policy during the protection regime are clearly represented through correlation coeffi cient (0.87 and 0.47).

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In the territory of the municipality of Bor, 69 samples were taken from agricultural lands at a depth of 0-30 cm, in which the total content of arsenic, chromium, copper, nickel, lead, zinc, and cobalt was determined. The study area is dominated by dystric cambisol, vertisol, calcomelanosol, and eutric cambisol. The results show that the main pollutants are As and Cu, in 18.8% and 30.4% above the MDK. Also, the calculation method Median + 2MAD determined the background limits of PTES in the soil, then the environmental risk index and pollution index, which indicates the degree of moderate pollution with arsenic in 4.3%, samples, copper in 10.2% of samples, and heavy pollution with copper in 1.4% of the samples. PCA analysis and correlation highlighted the component with high values of As, Cu, Pb, which indicate anthropogenic activities, and the component with high values of Ni, Co, and Cr, which indicate the background. The zone with the potentially harmful impact of As and Cu in the wider vicinity of Bor, Ostrelj - Slatina - Brestovac presentation the subject of continuous monitoring with the aim of implementing land repair and remediation measures.

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The fertile arable lands in the dry steppe zone of the Ural piedmont, which were intensively used for cereal production for 30 years of the last century, have been withdrawn from cultivation and abandoned for the last 20 years. The Republic of Kazakhstan's new strategy to restore the productivity of natural pasture presents a challenge to scientists when it comes to restoring the natural soil properties to the natural pastoral conditions of the dark chestnut soils studied (Haplic Kastanozems). This chapter presents the results of a project devoted to investigating the changes in the soil's physical and chemical morphology due to the past cultivation history of Haplic Kastanozem soils that have been in a fallow state for the last 19 years. Some changes in the soils' morphological characteristics were caused by the changes in the soils' physical properties due to their past long-term cultivation. The changes observed in the soils' agrochemical characteristics were due to the changes in the soils' physical properties and to the past fertilization history. A minor increase in soil salinity was observed due to the greater accumulation of soluble salts in the arable layer of fallow soil compared to its virgin Haplic Kastanozem analogue. The changes and transitions in the vegetation composition need to be investigated further, and techniques should be developed for the accelerated restoration of fallow soils in dry-steppes of Western Kazakhstan.