Olena Kozak

War and armed conflicts have tragic and devastating consequences for people, biodiversity and the environment. Among all the numerous impacts, one of the most destructive and long-lasting is the explosion of munitions, especially missiles. Despite the large territories affected by explosions, research about their comprehensive impact on ecosystems is fragmentary and insufficient. This study aims to conduct a complex assessment of the consequences of a ballistic missile explosion on the geological environment, soils and vegetation using the case study of a crater near the village of Buda-Babynetska (Kyiv region, Ukraine). The explosion caused the mixing of soil and rocks, resulting in significant changes in geological diversity, soil structure and its physicochemical properties. Despite the high potential for the restoration of native pine-oak forest in the affected area, several issues that may hinder this have been discussed, including the reduction of soil organic matter, the shift towards sand-dominated substrates and the introduction of alien species. Continued long-term monitoring will be essential to determine the direction of ecosystem development.

Biodiversity underpins the stability of ecosystems and human well‐being. However, it is rapidly declining globally, necessitating robust and scalable monitoring solutions. Citizen science has emerged as a powerful complement to traditional biodiversity research, enabling the collection of widespread data and fostering public engagement, particularly through digital platforms such as iNaturalist and eBird. This study investigates global patterns in citizen science contributions to biodiversity monitoring, exploring the influence of socioeconomic factors, national biodiversity value, and platform‐specific contributions on data generation. Key strategies for optimizing public participation, enhancing data quality and coverage are identified through statistical analysis and three in‐depth case studies from Finland and Ukraine. Our findings show that citizen science platforms now provide a significant portion of biodiversity records in GBIF. Citizen science contributions to global biodiversity data are shaped more by a country's ecological uniqueness and biodiversity value than by its socioeconomic development, as effectiveness depends not just on user numbers or observations but also on biodiversity significance, platform origin, and user engagement. Combining digital platforms with targeted outreach, through social media, personal communication, and expert validation, emerges as a promising strategy to enhance data reliability and participant engagement. This mixed‐methods approach proves especially effective in contexts with varying levels of digital access, biodiversity richness, and species monitoring needs.

Мета роботи. Метою даного дослідження є комплексний аналіз динаміки аерозольного забруднення повітря в умовах мегаполіса з урахуванням просторового розподілу концентрацій PM2.5 і PM10, їх взаємозв’язків із погодними умовами та впливу на стан міських зелених насаджень. Методологія. Методологія поєднує польові, лабораторні, статистичні й геоінформаційні підходи. Джерела даних: SaveEcoBot (сім автоматичних станцій), супутникові знімки Sentinel‑2, векторні шари QGIS, оперативна інформація про ракетні обстріли, пилові бурі, пожежі, а також зразки листя дерев Acer platanoides, Acer negundo, Tilia cordata, Populus nigra та Robinia pseudoacacia, відібраних у зонах спостереження. Наукова новизна. Дослідження є комплексним аналізом динаміки та просторового розподілу концентрацій PM2.5 і PM10 у Києві в умовах 2024 року з урахуванням факторів воєнного впливу, пилових бур і пожеж. Уперше поєднано дані автоматизованого моніторингу, супутникових спостережень, геоінформаційного аналізу. Отримано нові емпіричні дані щодо рівня пошкодження зелених насаджень в умовах аерозольного навантаження. Висновки. Рівень аерозольного забруднення повітря в Києві у 2024 році демонстрував численні короткотривалі перевищення гранично допустимих концентрацій (ГДК), зумовлені військовими обстрілами, пиловими бурями та пожежами. Спостереження за станом зелених насаджень в локаціях моніторингових станцій показали ознаки стресу деревних видів, що проявлялося у виглядів хлорозів, некрозів, та пошкодження патогенами листків дерев. Виявлено залежність між рівнем забруднення та морфо-фізіологічним станом дерев. Результати підкреслюють необхідність активного моніторингу якості повітря, адаптивного озеленення міста та врахування впливу війни в екологічній політиці. Застосований підхід є дієвим інструментом для діагностики урбоекосистем в умовах багатофакторного стресу.

Climate change, accompanied by anomalously high temperatures and a decrease in precipitation during the warm season, can have serious consequences for the ecosystems and sustainability of the Ukrainian Polissia. In particular, there are increased risks of forest and peat fires, as well as an overall deterioration of the region’s ecological condition. Between 1990 and 2021, the Ukrainian Polissia region recorded an average temperature increase of 0.60 °C per decade, along with a 3–5% decrease in annual precipitation. An analysis of the spatial distribution of wildfire incident density based on satellite data (FIRMS) in the regions of the Ukrainian Polissia from 2001 to 2023 highlighted several periods of sharp increases in fires: 2002, 2007–2009, 2014–2015, and 2019–2020. The Spring Fire Season and the Late Summer–Autumn Fire Season coincide with periods of reduced precipitation, which in some years reached 40–60% below the climatic norm. Although the climatic conditions of spring 2022 were not as warm and dry as those in 2020, significant parts of Kyiv Polissia and Chernihiv Polissia suffered from large-scale wildfires due to ongoing military actions. The spatial distribution of fire frequency in 2020 and 2022 highlights different contributing factors: in 2020, weather anomalies were the primary cause, while in 2022, armed hostilities played a key role. Military conflicts not only increase the risk of fires but also complicate firefighting efforts, making the region even more vulnerable to large-scale forest fires, and thereby threatening its sustainability. These findings underscore the urgent need for integrated fire management strategies that take into account climate change, land-use policies, and geopolitical factors to mitigate the escalating wildfire threat in the region and ensure long-term sustainability.

The Carpathian mountain ecosystems have been changed under anthropogenic pressure during last decades. The different types of anthropogenic pressure affect the ecosystem characteristics and functioning. The species composition, species richness and ecological indicator values of 12 ecological factors were compared among 14 habitats: natural, semi-natural, degraded and ruderal ecosystems in different altitude zones. The results show that anthropogenic pressure and altitude gradient influence indices of edaphic and climate conditions. The anthropogenic pressure also affects biodiversity: the highest species richness and Shannon-Wiener index are observed in habitats with ‘intermediate’ disturbances level, while high level of disturbances cause decrease in bio-diversity. The disturbances cause the ecosystem to become susceptible to invasion of alien species, while native species, especially rare, become vulnerable and can disappear.