The contemporary condition of soil cover in Ukraine is characterized. The attention is focused onto widespread degradation processes in soils. The causes that determine the development of these negative processes are considered. The contemporary informational support for the condition of soil cover in Ukraine is estimated. In general, the current available information is of narrow-departmental nature, obtained by different methods and non-correlated monitoring programs. As a rule, it is stored in under-structured databases, incompatible with other information systems; mainly recorded on paper media unusable with modern technologies, whereby such information resources are diffi cult to be compiled together. These disadvantages are strong constraints against consistent usage of materials for evaluation, forecast and management of changes in the soil cover. The Soil Observation program should thereby be combined with Agrochemical Passportization and ecology-ameliora- tive monitoring; in other words, the application of innovative soil-agrochemical methodology is considered. Each individual type of surveys shall complement the others, and taken altogether, they shall constitute a con- sistent Information System, capable of solving the problems of assessing the condition, forecasting, manage- ment, usage and protection of soil resources. The monitoring procedures should be conducted on the basis of a new soil concept in line with unifi ed programs and methods, so as to meet European approaches to the maxi- mum extent. Such a technical composition enables getting information on present-day processes in soils, and is the only combination that actually helps us to “ecologize” our knowledge of soils, which is the leading trend in the scope of global soil-science. Thus obtained results will serve as a State-owned tool which would subse- quently facilitate the use and protection of soil resources all over the country, to be involved in a united global soil-information scope. The attention is focused onto social signifi cance of the information on soils and their fertility in terms of land resources optimization, as well as the formation of sustainable land use in Ukraine.

The article specifies the features of humus accumulation in the soil profiles of one-loess terraces in order to clarify their classification belonging. The objects of the study were soils of varying degrees of hydromorphism on one-loess terraces of river's left-bank on the territory of Sumy, Poltava and Kharkiv regions within the limits of the Forest-Steppe of Ukraine. Methods of research: traditional field description of soil morphological characteristics; analytical determination of the total content of humus, content of granulometric fraction <0.01 mm (physical clay) and exchange cations; calculations of the parameters of humus accumulation and humus redistribution in the soil profile by the coefficients of profile accumulation of humus (CPAH), relative accumulation of humus (СRAH) and regression of organoprofile (CROP); field observations of groundwater seasonal ripples by wells. It is shown that the polygenetic nature of the soils in one-loess terraces is due to the specific dynamics of soil formation factors. The influence of the groundwater pulsing level on the soil morphogenesis and the intensity of humus accumulation have been determined. The expediency of application of parametrizated estimations in the diagnostics of soils with discussion genesis has been proved. The identified of podzolization processes in semihydromorphic and hydromorphic soils based on content and distribution of exchange cations in profile as a consequence of the periodic settlement of forest vegetation on the territory of first-loess terraces. As a result was clarifscation the genetic status of the soils of one-loess terraces and establishment of their belonging to the overtypical and typical levels of the pedosphere organization.

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Reliable information on soil condition -the basis for evaluation its current condition of rational use. In the leading countries of the world it is accepted periodically -once in 20-30 years to conduct a solid survey of soil cover. During such a period of time, changes in soil properties become noticeable, and at the same time, due to the progress in soil science, the idea of soil genesis, their diagnostics, evolution in use, the evaluation of agro-industrial qualities and the way of rational use are improved. The purpose of this study is to propose new approaches for the transfer of information on the condition of soil with the help of modern devices of information and communication and GIS technologies for the mapping and updating of large-scale soil maps. The main tasks of this research work: 1)  Improvement of elements of the methodology of large-scale soil survey; 2) Working out the methodology of large-scale and detailed soil survey; 3) Search for the use of innovative technical tools for the soil mapping. Working out the methods of information and communication facilities in largescale and detailed studies of soil cover. In particular, a modern mobile device (smartphone) is used in field work with the use of on-line mode for data transmission directly over the Internet. For the work is used mobile software Collector for ArcGIS, application for collecting field data. Mobile device with Android operating system equipped with GPS receiver. The work covers the all technological process, from the development of a database of geospatial data (DB) to map representation in ArcGIS Online and its use for gathering field data and matching the results. The following software and hardware are used to perform the work: ArcGIS Desktop 10 and later; ArcGIS Online with organizational account (account); ESRI Collector for ArcGIS. In the course of the work, the collection of data in the field conditions on soil profiles and their description with the help of the Collector for ArcGIS application is performed. The methodology of the process for collecting data using Collector is presented: 1) Determining the data to be collected. Development of data collection model, what type of point objects and their attributes should be; 2) Placing the data collection model as an object service on ArcGIS Online; 3) Arrival at the place designated for the field works (in particular, in places of location of soil profiles) and the opening of a web-map (map-version) used for data collection. During the research of soil cover in the field, a series of soil profiles and trenches are located on the specific elements of the relief (where there may be a soil changes). All information is shown on the map in Collector for ArcGIS on your mobile device (smartphone, tablet). When entering points in the device, all required fields are filled in. 4) Data collection by mobile device using Collector for ArcGIS (spatial coordinates, attributes and photos, etc.);

The ecological-genetic status of soil is determined by the course of the soil-forming process and is the main factor in optimizing the agricultural use to achieve a sustainable state. The definition of a qualitative indicator of this status (KVAG) is developed in Ukraine and is characterized as costing and resource intensive. To solve the problem, it is proposed to replace agrochemical methods with less costly magnetic ones. The purpose of the study is to show the informativeness of geophysical methods for the indication of the process of pedogenesis on the example of chernozems podzolized of Kharkiv region. We used the standardized studies of determination of organic carbon content, determination of the particle size distribution of soil, and pH analysis. The characteristic of the sampling site on the slope was performed by determining the erosion hazard index. The mass-specific magnetic susceptibility of soil (MS) was determined and then calculated. The study sites were located at the area of distribution of chernozems podzolized in the northern part of Kharkiv district and the central part of Pechenigy district of Kharkiv region. Soil genetic identity has been determined initially at the large-scale survey map and refined by field studies. The erosion processes complicated the soil study at the slope. We registered high informativeness of MS for the indication of genetic status. MS is relevant to use not only within a single agrocenosis, but also in agrolandscapes for soils which pedogenesis is complicated by hydromorphism. The experiment was performed at one-lane terrace of the Siverskyi Donets River, where soils of varying degrees of hydromorphism are developed. Magnetic methods have significant outlook for their application in soil studies. The example of the podzolized soils investigation of Kharkiv region shows the possibility of the identification of hydromorphic processes in the lower part of the soil profile (decrease of the values of MS compared to the background). The example of the arable land shows the possibility of replacing the high-cost determining of the humus content by much cheaper MS as the indicator of ecological-genetic status of soil (KVAG). The correlation coefficient between the KVAG and KVAMS (based on the MS measuring) is: ρ = 0.901.