Ecological Efficiency Evaluation of Water Regulation of Drained Land in Changing Climatic Conditions

Full text

210
INTRODUCTION
The main task of hydro-technical reclamation
is to ensure high and stable yields of cultivated
crops. That can be achieved by developing and
implementing a complex of agro-ameliorative
measures, technical and technological solutions
for regulating the water-air regime as a dening
component of the general natural and ameliora-
tive regime. At the same time, the criteria for the
Ecological Eciency Evaluation of Water Regulation of Drained Land
in Changing Climatic Conditions
Roman Koptyuk1, Anatoliy Rokochinskiy1, Pavlo Volk1, Vasil Turcheniuk1,
Nadia Frolenkova2, Oleg Pinchuk3*, Ruslan Tykhenko4, Ivan Openko5
1 Department of Water Engineering and Water Technologies, National University of Water and Environmental
Engineering, 11 Soborna St., 33028, Rivne, Ukraine
2 Department of Enterprise Economics and International Business, National University of Water and
Environmental Engineering, 11 Soborna St., 33028, Rivne, Ukraine
3 Department of Hydroinformatics, National University of Water and Environmental Engineering,
11 Soborna St., 33028, Rivne, Ukraine
4 Department of Management of Land Resources, National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of
Ukraine, 17 Vasylkivska Str., 03040, Kyiv, Ukraine
5 Department of Geodesy and Cartography, National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of
Ukraine, 17 Vasylkivska Str., 03040, Kyiv, Ukraine
* Corresponding author’s e-mail: hydroinformaticsua@gmail.com
ABSTRACT
In view of global climate changes, the study of the ecological feasibility of hydromelioration systems and their
impact on the natural environment is extremely relevant. Evaluation of the ecological eectiveness of water
regulation of drained land for current and forecasted climatic conditions was performed by determining the en-
vironmental reliability coecient, which characterizes the ecological reliability of a reclamation project. The
environmental reliability coecient was determined on the basis of a certain set of physical indicators. The set
of physical indicators reects the extremely complex nature of the formation of water and general natural and
ameliorative regimes of reclaimed land as a whole in changing natural, climatic and agro-ameliorative conditions
of real objects. Their determining is based on the implementation of a machine experiment based on a complex of
predictive and simulation models for water regulation of drained land on a long-term basis. The obtained results
showed that ecologically optimal natural, ameliorative and soil regimes of the drained land, subject to compliance
with the restrictions 0.5 < kn ≤ 1.0, are ensured by the application of humidifying sluicing. At the same time, the
environmental reliability coecients are 0.59 and 0.58, respectively, for current and forecast climatic conditions,
and the level of ecological reliability of applying humidication to drained land is suciently high. The carried
out evaluation of ecological reliability of water regulation of drained land conrms the need to increase the role of
humidication as a component of eective adaptive measures on drained land in modern and forecasted climatic
conditions. Humidifying measures have a decisive inuence on the ecological eect and the ecological and ame-
lioration state of drained land.
Keywords: ecological reliability, drained land, water regulation technologies, changing climatic conditions,
adaptive measures.
ECOLOGICAL ENGINEERING
& ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGY
Ecological Engineering & Environmental Technology 2023, 24(5), 210–216
hps://doi.org/10.12912/27197050/166018
ISSN 2719–7050, License CC-BY 4.0
Received: 2023.04.16
Accepted: 2023.05.20
Published: 2023.06.05

211
Ecological Engineering & Environmental Technology 2023, 24(5), 210–216
application of hydro-technical reclamation are
economic eciency and ecological feasibility of
the impact of hydro-melioration systems on the
surrounding natural environment.
The ecological expediency of ameliorative
measures to preserve and improve soil fertility in
view of rational use of land and water resources
as well as environmental protection is becoming
extremely relevant. First of all, this is due to the
global climate changes, which encourage the ad-
aptation of agricultural production to new climat-
ic conditions [Altieri, et al., 2017; Lipper, et al.,
2014; Rokochynskiy et al., 2019].
On the drained land with a close occurrence
of groundwater, climatic conditions directly take
part in the formation of water regime of soil and
groundwater. In addition, climatic conditions de-
termine the course of soil processes in certain
growing periods of agricultural crops. Therefore,
there is already a need to determine the conse-
quences of predicted global climate changes and
make appropriate adaptive decisions regard-
ing these changes, as well as mitigating their
consequences in agricultural production [Fio-
rillo et al., 2022; Romashchenko et al., 2020;
Kulhavý et al., 2015].
On drained land, adaptive measures should
be aimed at: eective regulation of water regime;
regulation and accumulation of moisture in the
soil prole, as well as within the drainage sys-
tem; transition from traditional periodic to regular
humidication of drained land; improvement of
water regulation technologies; improvement of
types and designs of drainage systems and their
technical elements; introduction of new methods
of their design, etc. [Querner et al., 2022; Kova-
lenko et al., 2019; Morecroft et al. 2019].
The purpose of the scientic research is to
determine the impact of climate and its changes
on the ecological eciency of water regula-
tion and the ecological and ameliorative state of
drained land in modern and changing forecasted
conditions.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
The substantiation of optimal natural, ame-
liorative and soil regimes of drained land based
on an integral assessment of an indicator set of
their ecological eciency can be eectively per-
formed using the method of B.P. Karuk [1987].
He suggested determining the ecological reli-
ability of the reclamation project by the sum of
the indicators of two levels. At the same time, the
indicator of the rst level takes into account envi-
ronmental protection requirements within the en-
tire region, while the indicator of the second level
takes into account the environmental protection
requirements within a specic reclamation object
[Rokochynskiy, 2010]. The choice of a rational
solution in this case is carried out on the basis of
a multi-criteria expert assessment of various indi-
cators of environmental components of the gen-
eral optimization condition. Conceptually, this
process is depicted in g. 1.
According to [Rokochynskiy, 2010], the char-
acteristics of the ecological reliability of the rec-
lamation project can be presented in the form of a
vector – terms H with components Hz
/,N,...,z/HH
z
21
(1)
where:
N
– the number of elements (factors) that
characterize the ecological reliability of
the reclamation project.
Figure 1. Scheme of nding optimal values of environmental factor X by environmental criterion Z:
1 – zone of ecological optimum; 2 – zone of environmental risk; Xopt – ecologically optimal value of the
factor; X1
lim, X2
lim – critical values of X; – search zone for ecologically acceptable values of X

212
Ecological Engineering & Environmental Technology 2023, 24(5), 210–216
Here, the components Hz take their respective
values provided that





,HHif,
;HHif,
H
z
nz
z
nz
z0
1
(2)
where:
Hnz
is the normative, critical or permis-
sible value of the z-th element.
Such an approach to evaluating the environ-
mental reliability of the project diers from the
classical theory of reliability, where probabi-
listic values appear. However, this approach is
quite simple and universal in nature. This makes
it possible to use dierent evaluation methods
and any set of heterogeneous indicators depend-
ing on the task.
Assuming that they are all equally important
in the system of factors, the absence of a certain
element can be considered as a corresponding de-
crease in the degree of environmental reliability.
Then the coecient of environmental reli-
ability of the reclamation project can be deter-
mined by the formula
N
H
k
N
z
z
n



1
(3)
This coecient represents an approximate
evaluation of the environmental sustainability of
the project and takes into account the factors of
environmental reliability of its functioning. This
is especially important for maintaining favorable
natural, ameliorative, and soil regimes within the
project term of the object’s operation.
The values of environmental reliability coef-
cients of the reclamation object by the recom-
mended scale are given in the Table 1.
Thus, by the considered method, ecologically
optimal natural, ameliorative and soil regimes of
drained land are provided that the environmental
reliability coecient is in the range of values
0150 ,k,
n

(4)
The proposed scheme of evaluating the en-
vironmental reliability of the reclamation proj-
ect is universal. That is why any factors, both
quantitative and qualitative, characterizing the
ecological and ameliorative state of the territory
can be the components of reliability.
By model (2), the component Hz takes xed
values Hz = 1 or Hz = 0. However, as practice and
accumulated experience show, such a relation-
ship has a non-linear nature with a pronounced
optimum within the limit (optimal minimum and
maximum) values of the ecological eciency in-
dicator of water regulation on drained land.
In contrast to the considered approach, we
propose a more exible tool for determining the
value of the component Hz, when it takes all pos-
sible values in the range from 0 to 1 by a non-
linear dependence based on a dome-shaped em-
pirical formula (see Fig. 1) of the general form
cHbHa
z
fzfz
eH 

2
(5)
where:
a
,
b
,
c
– empirical coecients that de-
pend on the normalized optimal indicator
values of ecological eciency on drained
land;
Hfz
is the actual value of the z-th element.
The improved approach makes it possible to
dierentiate the coecient of environmental reli-
ability of the reclamation project. This approach
will also allow for a more objective evaluation of
the ecological eciency of applying an appropri-
ate water regulation technology.
According to [Rokochynskiy, 2010], the eco-
logical consequences of land reclamation projects
can be evaluated by groups of physical indica-
tors, selected as criteria for ecological eciency:
groundwater table (GT), moisture content of the
estimated soil layer (MC), maintaining a favor-
able water regime (WR) of estimated soil layer,
moisture exchange, irrigation standards, degree
of man-made load, etc.
In the zone of excessive and unstable mois-
ture, the recommended indicators of the ecological
Table 1. Scale of environmental reliability
coecients
No. Environmental
reliability coe󰀩cient
Level of environmental
reliability
1 0.00 – 0.25 Unreliable
2 0.26 – 0.50 Not reliable enough
3 0.51 – 0.75 Reliable enough
4 0.76 – 1.00 Reliable

213
Ecological Engineering & Environmental Technology 2023, 24(5), 210–216
eciency of water, natural and ameliorative re-
gimes of the drained land can be such criteria:
•IW – a moisture supply of the estimated soil
layer during the growing season;
•n(IW) – a duration of the optimal moisture
supply of the estimated soil layer during the
growing season;
•VI – an inltration during the growing season,
m3/ha;
•n(VI) – a duration of inltration during the
growing season;
•VP – feeding of the estimated soil layer from
WT during the growing season, m3/ha;
•n(VP) – feeding duration of the estimated soil
layer from WT during the growing season;
•V – a total moisture exchange during the grow-
ing season, m3/ha;
•IC – a comprehensive indicator of soil mois-
ture supply during the growing season;
•Fr – relative weather and climate risk as to the
yield;
•αm – a share of inuence of ameliorative factor
during the growing season;
•E PHAR – a actual value of the eciency of
the use of photosynthetically active radiation
(PHAR) by the cultivated crop.
The determination of these indicators was
carried out based on a machine experiment using
the appropriate set of predictive and simulation
models regarding: main structural and technolog-
ical variable parameters of drainage systems; cli-
matic conditions of the area; water regime; water
regulation technologies; productivity of drained
land for schematized natural, climatic, and ame-
liorative conditions.
An example of determining the ecological
eciency of various technologies of water reg-
ulation of drained land for the drainage system
“Birka” of the Volodymyretskyi district of the
Rivne region in the area of 544.9 ha was imple-
mented for modern and forecasted changing cli-
matic conditions of the studied object [Scientic
and…., 2021; Kovalenko et al., 2019].
The machine experiment based on predictive
and simulation modeling was performed under
the following natural and ameliorative conditions
of the studied object:
•for the calculated by heat and moisture sup-
ply growing seasons, the aggregates
{ }
p
,
p
n,p 1=
are following: very wet (p=10%), wet
(p=30%), medium (p=50%), dry (p=70%),
very dry (p =90%);
•by two schemes for evaluating weath-
er and climate conditions: modern – (re-
cent-1991–2015); forecast – (by the UKMO
climate model – the model of the United King-
dom Meteorological Oce, which predicts an
increase in the average annual air temperature
by 6° C when increasing CO2 content in the
atmosphere). This model takes into account
more critical scenarios of changes in weather
and climate conditions when calculating fore-
cast regimes. Such a model is better consistent
with the models used by us for the predictive
evaluation of the normalized distribution of
the main meteorological characteristics both
for multi-year and intravegetation periods;
•for two types of drained soil: sod-clay sandy
soils (g = 1) with a ltration coecient (kf =
0.7 m/day) and a fractional share of distribu-
tion within the system (fgm = 0.4) and peat me-
dium-strength and medium-decomposed soils
(g = 2), kf = 1.3 m/day, fgm = 0.6;
•for the crops of estimated crop rotation:
winter wheat (estimated yield = 48 t/ha, es-
timated share of sowing fk = 0.3), potatoes
(Y = 420 c/ha, fk = 0.2), perennial grasses for
hay (Y = 42 c/ha, fk = 0.5);
•by the methods of water regulation, the aggre-
gates {s}, s = 1,ns are following: D – drainage;
PS – preventive sluicing; HS – humidifying
sluicing; SD – sprinkler irrigation on the back-
ground of drainage, SPS- sprinkler irrigation
on the background of preventive sluicing.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
As an example, the comparative characteris-
tics of changes in environmental eciency indi-
cators when applying preventive sluicing, as the
most widespread technology of water regulation
on drained land, by the entire spectrum of both
current and forecast weather and climate condi-
tions of the estimated years are shown in Fig. 2.
The relevant indicators are presented by the ratio
of their actual values to the optimal values.
The given data characterize the overall ef-
ciency of the application of preventive sluic-
ing. The comparative characteristics clearly
show the dierentiation of the eect of certain
factors in the formation of the water regime of
drained land depending on the water supply of
the growing season.

214
Ecological Engineering & Environmental Technology 2023, 24(5), 210–216
At the same time, the predominant role of the
climatic factor in the wet periods of the growing
season can be traced both in the current and fore-
cast climatic conditions. At that, the eectiveness
of reclamation measures when applying drainage
and preventive sluicing deteriorates. Since certain
indicators specifying the intensication of wash-
ing water regime and the deterioration of eco-
logical and reclamation state of the drained land,
signicantly exceed their optimal values in some
estimated by heat and moisture supply years.
Thus, there is a need to increase the eect of
the reclamation factor on the formation of water
regime of drained land and the conditions for the
development of cultivated crops in dry periods
of vegetation by using regular humidifying mea-
sures. Such measures have a positive eect on the
ecological and ameliorative state of drained land.
For visualization and comparison, the gener-
alized results on the ecological reliability coe-
cient, determined by the model (3), are presented
in Figures 3, and 4.
The presented results show the signicant
variability of the overall ecological eciency of
applying various technologies of water regula-
tion on drained land for the estimated by heat and
moisture supply years in variable both current
and forecast weather and climate conditions.
The generalized results on the ecological ef-
ciency of the options of water regulation on
drained land for the current and forecast condi-
tions, determined by the model (3), are shown in
Table 2.
Figure 5 presents a generalized comparative
characteristic of ecological eciency of various
technologies of water regulation on drained land
in modern and forecast weather and climate con-
ditions, determined by the model (5).
a) b)
Figure 3. Generalized results on the ecological eciency of water regulation of
drained land in dierent estimated years by various water regulation technologies
in current (a) and forecast (b) weather and climate conditions
a) b)
Figure 2. Comparative characteristics of environmental eciency indicators in a relative
form when applying preventive sluicing for the estimated years for variable weather and
climate conditions of the studied object; (a) current conditions; (b) forecast conditions

215
Ecological Engineering & Environmental Technology 2023, 24(5), 210–216
a) b)
Figure 4. Generalized results on the ecological eciency of applying various technologies of water regulation
on drained land by the estimated years of current (a) and forecast (b) weather and climate conditions
Table 2. Generalized results on the ecological eciency of the options of water regulation on drained land for
the current and forecast conditions
№Indicator Optimal
value
Indicator value Hфz Hz by the model (5)
D PS HS SD SPS D PS HS SD SPS
Current conditions
1IW 0.7–0.9 0.712 0.745 0.785 0.876 0.882 0.64 0.84 0.99 0.72 0.68
2n(IW) 0.8–1.0 0.75 0.77 0.88 1 1 0.41 0.51 0.98 0.67 0.67
3VI -200–0 -518 -439 -439 -518 -439 0.03 0.07 0.07 0.03 0.07
4n(VI) 0–0.2 0.34 0.24 0.24 0.34 0.24 0.10 0.32 0.32 0.10 0.32
5VP 500–1000 316 347 537 242 271 0.22 0.27 0.70 0.13 0.16
6n(VP) 0.8–1.0 0.66 0.76 0.76 0.66 0.76 0.10 0.46 0.46 0.10 0.46
7V500–1000 -203 -92 97 -276 -169 0.00 0.00 0.03 0.00 0.00
8IC 0.9–1.0 1.176 1.133 1.009 1.019 1.006 0.14 0.27 0.87 0.83 0.88
9fr0.0–0.3 0.43 0.383 0.345 0.338 0.32 0.20 0.28 0.35 0.37 0.41
10 am0.0–0.1 0 0.06 0.12 0.14 0.16 0.82 0.99 0.68 0.53 0.39
11 Ephar 0.5–1.0 0.9 0.96 1 1 1.04 0.93 0.99 1.00 1.00 0.99
kn0.33 0.45 0.59 0.41 0.46
Forecast conditions
1IW 0.7–0.9 0.611 0.654 0.708 0.855 0.859 0.13 0.29 0.61 0.84 0.82
2n(IW) 0.8–1.0 0.66 0.69 0.74 0.99 1 0.10 0.17 0.36 0.72 0.67
3VI -200–0 -299 -238 -238 -299 -238 0.30 0.46 0.46 0.30 0.46
4n(VI) 0–0.2 0.26 0.15 0.15 0.26 0.15 0.26 0.64 0.64 0.26 0.64
5VP 500–1000 464 535 868 406 440 0.52 0.69 0.89 0.39 0.46
6n(VP) 0.8–1.0 0.74 0.85 0.85 0.74 0.85 0.36 0.90 0.90 0.36 0.90
7V500–1000 165 296 630 106 202 0.06 0.19 0.89 0.04 0.09
8IC 0.9–1.0 1.332 1.27 1.024 1.045 1.046 0.00 0.02 0.81 0.70 0.70
9fr0.0–0.3 0.457 0.413 0.356 0.327 0.321 0.16 0.22 0.33 0.39 0.40
10 am0.0–0.1 0 0.07 0.17 0.21 0.22 0.82 0.97 0.33 0.14 0.11
11 Ephar 0.5–1.0 1.37 1.45 1.54 1.6 1.63 0.35 0.21 0.11 0.06 0.05
kn0.28 0.43 0.58 0.38 0.48

216
Ecological Engineering & Environmental Technology 2023, 24(5), 210–216
CONCLUSIONS
The obtained results showed that ecologically
optimal natural, reclamation and soil regimes of
the drained land, subject to compliance with the
restriction 0.5 < kn ≤ 1.0, are ensured by applying
humidifying sluicing. At the same time, the eco-
logical reliability coecients are 0.59 and 0.58, re-
spectively, for current and forecast climate condi-
tions, and the ecological reliability of applying hu-
midication of drained land is suciently reliable.
The carried out evaluation of ecological reli-
ability of water regulation on drained land con-
rms the need to increase the role of humidica-
tion as a component of eective adaptive mea-
sures on drained land in current and forecast cli-
matic conditions. Humidifying measures have a
decisive eect on the ecological and ameliorative
state of drained land.
REFERENCES
1.
Altieri M.A., Nicholls C.I. 2017. The adaptation and
mitigation potential of traditional agriculture in a
changing climate. Climatic Change, 140(1), 33–45.
2.
Fiorillo D., De Paola F., Ascione G., Giugni M.
2022. Drainage systems optimization under climate
change scenarios. Water Resources Management.
3. Frolenkova N., Rokochinskiy A., Mazhayskiy Yu.,
Volk L., Prykhodko N., Tykhenko R., Openko I.
2022. Specic features of environmental risk man-
agement in environmental projects. Management,
Economic Engineering in Agriculture and Rural
Development, 22(2), 325–334.
4. Karuk B.P. 1987. Ensuring ecological reliability of
reclamation objects. Kyiv: «Harvest».
5.
Kovalenko, P., Rokochynskiy, A., Jeznach, J.,
Koptyuk, R., Volk, P., Prykhodko, N., Tykhenko,
R. (2019). Evaluation of climate change in polissia
region and ways of adaptation to it. Journal of Water
and Land Development, 41(1), 72–82.
6. Kulhavý Z., Fučík P. 2015. Adaptation options for
land drainage systems towards sustainable agri-
culture and the environment: A Czech perspective.
Polish Journal of Environmental Studies, 24(3),
1085–1102.
7. Lipper L., Thornton Ph., Campbell B., Baedeker T.,
Braimoh A., Bwalya M., Caron P., Cattaneo A., Gar-
rity D., Henry K., Hottle R., Jackson L., Jarvis A.,
Fred Kossam F., Mann W., McCarthy N., Meybeck
A., Neufeldt H., Remington T., Sen Ph., Sessa R.,
Shula R., Tibu A., Torquebiau E. 2014. Climate-
smart agriculture for food security. Nature Climate
Change, 4, 1068–1072.
8.
Morecroft M., Duied S., Harley М., Pearce-
Higgins J., Stevens N., Watts O., Whitaker J. 2019.
Measuring the success of climate change adaptation
and mitigation in terrestrial ecosystems. Science,
366(6471).
9. Rokochynskiy A. 2010. Scientic and practical as-
pects of optimization of water regulation of drained
lands on ecological and economic grounds: mono-
graph. Rivne: NUWEE.
10.
Rokochynskiy A., Volk P., Frolenkova N., Prykhod-
ko N., Gerasimov I., Pinchuk O. 2019. Evaluation of
climate changes and their accounting for develop-
ing the reclamation measures in western Ukraine.
Scientic Review Engineering and Environmental
Sciences, 28(1), 3–13.
11.
Romashchenko M., Husyev Y., Shatkovskyi A.,
Saidak R., Yatsyuk M., Shevchenko A., Matiash T.
2020. Impact of climate change on water resources
and agricultural production. Land Reclamation and
Water Management, 1, 5–22.
12.
Scientic and methodical recommendations for
the creation and functioning of drainage systems
in changing modern conditions. Rivne: NUWEE,
2021, 114.
13.
Querner E., Besten J., Veen R., Jager H. 2022. A
scenario analysis of climate change and adaptation
measures to inform Dutch policy in The Nether-
lands. Journal of Water and Land Development,
54(7–9), 177–183.
Figure 5. Generalized comparative characteristic of ecological eciency of various technologies
of water regulation on drained land in current and forecast weather and climate conditions