In Ukraine's Steppe zone the extraction of minerals is important. To eliminate the consequences of coal mining the agricultural recultivation of the disturbed soil is used. Thus toxic compounds for human beings and the majority of plants and soil biota representatives, which can be found mining rock, get into plants and invertebrates by trophy chains. When remediating soil, it is necessary to create tropic conditions in order to provide the life of soil biota. Earthworms (Lumbricidae) are the primary decomposers of the organic material. They are numerous in soil and facilitate the improvement of natural and artificially created soil. This paper studies the possible influence of different variants of substrates, which are used in re-cultivation, the leaf litter from leaves of different wood species, as well as different levels of humidity on the representatives of soil saprophages. Optimal variants of artificial mixed-soil providing the stable existence of animals have been shown, which are recommended for the implementation of rehabilitation measures.

Abstract-Environmental aspects of tropho metabolic activity of soil saprophages on the pH buffering capacity of remediated soils in Ukraine was considered. Earthworm (Lumbricidae) casts have been proven experimentally to have a higher acid-base buffering capacity in comparison with that of the initial soil. Remediated soils enriched with earthworm casts become more resistant to negative anthropogenic effects. Thus, the activity of soil saprophages influences positively the environmental properties of remediated soils on forest remediation sites by increasing their buffer capacity.

Plants of the genus Chaenomeles are traditionally used in the countries of South-East Asia, due to their high nutritional and health-promoting properties. However, the successful introduction of species promising for gardening from geographically remote areas requires the study of plant ontogeny under the conditions of new habitat. This is a very substantial problem for the steppe zone, where the continental climate has features of aridity and complicates the process of increasing the diversity of fruit crops by introducing the desired species. The present study aims to assess the effectiveness of the protective enzymatic system of different Chaenomeles genotypes subject to a steppe climate as well as the accumulation of the biologically active compounds with high antioxidant capacity. The study was performed on the basis of the introduced horticultural plants collection in the Botanical Garden of the DNU, and the Chaenomeles fruits, leaves, and the seeds were examined. The highest activity of catalase, benzidine-peroxidase and guaiacol-peroxidase, and the greatest enzymes activation during vegetation were found in leaves of Ch. cathayensis and Ch. speciosa, while the lowest activity was in leaves of both Japanese species. The biggest total phenolic content in the isopropanolic plant extracts, determined by Folin–Ciocalteau assay, was found in leaves of Ch. × superba, Ch. × californica and Ch. cathayensis (44.8, 52.8, and 43.6 mg GAE/g WW); a less high level was found in leaves of Ch. japonica and Ch. japonica var. maulei (43.1 and 40.2 mg GAE/g), while the lowest was in leaves of Ch. speciosa (29.3 mg GAE/g). The total flavonoids content determined using the aluminum chloride method, did not differ by variety or species in the plant leaves, being in the range of 2.6–2.9 mg of RE per g WW (accordingly, in leaves of Ch. japonica var. maulei and Ch. × californica). The high total reducing power determined by potassium ferricyanide assay was found in leaves of both hybridogenic species and Ch. cathayensis (respectively, 11.6, 14.1, and 11.4 AAE/g WW); leaves of both Japanese species had slightly lower values and the lowest was in leaves of Ch. speciosa (7.7 AAE/g). In the Chaenomeles fruits, the total phenolic content was the lowest in Ch. speciosa (17.8 mg GAE/g), average in both Japanese species (28.7 and 27.8 mg GAE/g), and the highest (33.3 mg GAE/g) was in Ch. cathayensis. The flavonoid accumulation was highest in the fruits of Ch. cathayensis and Ch. japonica var. maulei (0.67 and 0.63 mg RE/g), intermediate in both hybridogenic species and Ch. japonica (accordingly, 0.57, 0.42 and 0.38 mg RE/g), and the lowest in Ch. speciosa (0.30 mg RE/g). The total reducing power of Chaenomeles fruit was lower as compared to leaves, and decreased from 11.2 to 5.7 mg AAE/g in the series Ch. cathayensis > Ch. × californica > Ch. japonica > Ch. japonica var. maulei > Ch. × superba > Ch. speciosa. High correlation coefficients between total reducing power and total phenols content in the Chaenomeles leaves and fruits (respectively, r = 0.96 and r = 0.95, P < 0.05) confirm the significant contribution of phenolic compounds to the antioxidant capacity. The study results indicate a high antioxidant capacity of the Chaenomeles species in the conditions of the steppe climate due to the antioxidant enzymes activity and the accumulation of a significant amount of phenolic metabolites in leaves and fruits.

Earthworms (Oligochaeta: Lumbricidae) are typical representatives of the functional group of ecosystem engineers. They actively participate in formation and stabilisation of soil fertility through their effect on its buffer capacity. Buffer capacity defines in many aspects soil potential, supports immobilisation and mobilisation of certain elements of fertility, and first of all mineral elements essential for plants, productive moisture, heat energy of soil, gas composition of soil air, etc. Park soils within megapolises territory are megapolises' integral components, and this feature defines conditions of growth and development for green plants. To evaluate the contribution of earthworm coprolites into acidic-base (pH) buffer capacity of two categories of soil within the city, i.e., urban soils and urban grounds (urbanozems) of the park zones within the plots planted with Norway maple (Acer platanoides L.) trees on the territory of two parks Zeleny Gai and Pisarzhevsky Park (city Environmental Research, Engineering and Management 2019/75/1Dnipro, Ukraine), soil and coprolites samples were collected. Buffer capacity of coprolites and anthropogenically transformed soils (urban soils) was evaluated according to the Arrhenius method after "a buffer area". It was established that acid-base buffer capacity of coprolites (earthworm excretes), which are new formations of zoogenic origin in soil, was statistically significantly higher than for the initial type soil within city parks. For urban soil with the upper humified layer of calcic chernozem within the acidic diapason of external load, it was 22.9% higher, which, on average, accordingly was 22.9 and 18.7 convectional units; within alkaline, it was 18.4% higher and was, accordingly, 24.2 and 20.4 convectional units; and in sum (acidic-alkaline), it was 20.6% higher and was 47.1 and 39.1 convectional units. For urban ground (urbanozem) within the acidic diapason of external load, it was 44.9% higher and acidic-alkaline buffering capacity, on average, accordingly, was 25.5 and 17.6 convectional units; in sum (acidic-alkaline), it was 20.6% higher and was 42.8 and 35.4 convectional units, accordingly. Thus, soil saprophages, such as earthworms, in the conditions of magapolises in the recreation zones within the territories of city parks' green plantations are one of the natural factors of ecological rehabilitation of urban soils. This, in general, improves the ecological state of green plantations on urban soils within park areas and recreation zone edaphotope revitalisation as well as supports optimisation of human living and recreation environment.

Diplopoda play an important role in the processes of creating and maintaining soil fertility by implementing leaf litter destruction at its initial stages. Recently, in Ukraine the problem of soil fertility restoration has acquired a great urgency due to climate changes (aridity and temperature rising) and constantly increasing anthropogenic impact on natural biotopes, which often have Diplopoda as its element. The aim of this study was to evaluate the integrity of linear morphological characteristics of experimental animal Rossiulus kessleri (Lohmander, 1927) in different forest biotopes within semi-arid climate of the steppe zone. To determine the interrelation of morphological features, the method of correlation pleiades was used. It is established that 14 studied morphological characteristics of R. kessleri form the most powerful correlation pleiades with relative intensity values 0.64 and 0.93, within natural subwatereshed-ravine landscape and terrace flood plain forest conditions respectively. However, weakened one with 0.07 relative intensity value is observed within standing forest. Generally, the integrity of morphological characteristics of millipedes is increasingly prominent in the natural forest biotopes and extremely low in forest stands. Morphological variability of diplopods identified sylvatization degree of julidae's habitat. Relative potency value of correlation pleiades can be used for diagnostics of forest stands naturalization within the steppe zone of Ukraine.