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.

Based on scientific, methodological and practical principles and approaches, the scheme of Eastern Podilia ecological network, which forms a part of the pan-European ecological network, was developed. Different types of its structural elements, such as key, connecting, buffer and rehabilitating territories were distinguished, their geographic confinement, area and status were determined. Typical plant groups, which are the basis for formation of biogeocenotic cover of the key territories (biocentres), were defined. The results of the research show that the ecological network of the region is formed by 24 key, 16 connecting and 60 rehabilitating territories. Currently, the number and area of buffer zones that are established around key and connecting territories is being clarified. The total area of structural elements of the ecological network of Eastern Podilia (key, connecting and rehabilitating territories) is 884,087.53 ha, which makes 33.37% of the total area of the region. It should be noted that world experience determines the biological balance of territories only if at least 60% of natural Environmental Research, Engineering and Management 2018/74/3 56 ecosystems are present. Therefore, the ecological network of the region still needs substantial improvement and scientifically grounded implementation.

On the basis of herbarium data, literary and cartographic sources, own field research with subsequent critical-system processing of the collected material, an inscription of the flora of Eastern Podilia was compiled, which includes 1210 species belonging to 526 genera and to 123 families. The taxonomic structure of the flora of the investigated area includes five divisions, where the Magnoliophyta division with 1183 species is dominant (97.2%). The authors have also established the biomorphological structure of phytogenic manures of the region, 88.6% of which belong to herbaceous plants. The majority of species belong to polycarpic 736 (60.8%), monocarpic (17.4%), and young (10.4%) species. It should be noted that when assessing phytobiota by the Raunkiaer eco-biomorphic index, it was found that hemicryptophytes (47.9%) and tetophytes (22.2%) prevailed in the studied flora. Cryptophytes, which are divided into geophytes, gelophytes, and hydrophytes, constituted 17.6%, and phanerophytes and hamefites 12.3%. As a result of studies on the ecological and coenotic structure of the flora of the region, there are 16 categories of ecological structure. The dominant group is the meadow-steppe – 191 species (15.8%), rayon – 185 species (15.3%), and non-forest species – 183 species (15.1%) of vegetation.

It has been demonstrated that coal mining leads to land degradation and devegetation with subsequent desertification of landscapes. Recently, it has become a worldwide environmental and socioeconomic problem. The presented study was performed on various stratigraphic types of artificial edaphotopes on the reclaimed site of "Pavlogradskaya" mine (Pavlograd, Dnipropetrovsk region, Ukraine) planted with eastern red cedar (Juniperus virginiana L.). The features of the structure of oribatid mite (Oribatida) population as primary destructors of dead plant material that provide such ecosystem service as improvement of soil fertility are considered. The amount of oribatid mite species varied from 17 to 26 within the studied plots in the topsoil under the red cedar. The minimal quantity of species (17 and 19, accordingly) was found in recultivated plots covered with Calcic Chernozem on the interlayer of loesslike loam and Calcic Chernozem on the interlayer of sand compared to loess-like loam topsoil (26 species). The average density of populations of oribatid mites varied from 1820 to 2887 ind./m 2 . A higher meaning for average population density was found for Calcic Chernozem cover (from 2333 to 2887 ind./m 2 ). In the population of oribatida in all studied artificial edaphotops under the red cedar within reclaimed forest plots, such common species as Multioppia (M.) glabra (Mihelčič, 1955), Ramusella (Rectoppia) mihelcici (Pérez-Íñigo, 1965) could be identified.