CLIMATE CHANGES IN THE PEAT BOG AREAS OF WESTERN POLISSYA AS ILLUSTRATED BY THE WEATHER STATION AT THE SARNENSKA RESEARCH STATION
Abstract
An analysis of long-term data on average daily air temperature shows that during the period of large-scale land reclamation—1962–1988— a decrease in these values was observed, both compared to the long-term average for 1946–2024 and to the average value for the period prior to large-scale land reclamation—1946–1961. The increase in the area of the evaporating surface caused by land reclamation led to an increase in the intensity of total evaporation and, consequently, to a decrease in air temperature. The average decrease in the mean daily air temperature during the growing season and over the year was, in both cases, 0,1 (°C). In turn, the increase in total evaporation during the period of large-scale land reclamation led to a 48,5 mm increase in precipitation during the growing season compared to the amount that fell before reclamation; on an annual basis, this figure amounts to 57,0 mm. Thus, overall, large-scale land reclamation on drained lands has resulted in positive climatic changes, and the current climate warming in the Polissya region is not associated with these reclamation efforts.
An analysis of current climate changes shows that the average precipitation during the growing seasons of 2015–2024 is 33,6 mm lower than during 1999–2014. It should be noted that there has been a fairly significant decrease in precipitation during the active growing season for agricultural crops—June through September—which is generally a negative phenomenon for agricultural production. The average monthly air temperature during the growing season in the s of 2015–2024 increased by 0,5 (°C)compared to 1999–2014, and by 0,8 (°C) per year.
Climate changes over the past decades, characterized by a significant increase in heat availability during the growing season, make it possible to grow crops that are non-traditional for the Polissya region — economically attractive forest-steppe and steppe crops such as grain corn, soybeans, and sunflowers—which have recently been rapidly replacing crops previously traditional for this region, such as winter rye, buckwheat, oats, perennial grasses, and others.
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