Due to the predominant influence of the North Atlantic on the temperature and humidity regime of Belarus, the forecast of the dynamics of such a temperature indicator as the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO) is of significant interest for the development of ultra-long-term forecasting methods (for a year ahead and more). In order to create this forecast, such a well-known ultra-long-term forecasting method was used as the component-harmonic method was used. Several variants of additive models of adaptive nature were formalized based on a linear trend and harmonic components simulating quasi-harmonic oscillations.

The models were built using moving time windows with a forecast for the year following the learning sample (moving window). Various variants of moving windows were considered, selected based on the revealed durations of the quasi-six-decade and quasi-nine-year harmonics. It is determined that the second most important after the quasi-sixty-year oscillation in the formation of AMO values is the quasi-nine-year harmonic. The correlation coefficient of the best models with the observed data is ρ = 0,6–0,7. The disadvantages of the models include underestimating of the values of the standard deviation.

The goal of this study was to investigate the duration of rainless periods and the number of their occurrences for the period of 1955–2023, as well as changes in these characteristics during the period of modern warming (since 1989). A rainless period was defined as a period of minimum duration of 10 days, during which no precipitation was observed or its amount was insufficient for plant growth and development. It was found that the average duration of rainless periods and the number of their occurrences during the warm period of the year (April–October) remained at the same level: 3–4 periods per year were observed on average, and their average duration was 16–17 days. The most significant changes for the period of modern warming were observed for the average of the maximum durations of rainless periods: its values predominantly increased by 2–3 days (at some stations – up to 5 days). It should be also noted that at 48 % of the stations under consideration new records of the number of rainless periods for the warm period of the year (up to 9 cases) were established. The absolute maximum of the duration of the dry period (83 days) was recorded in Brahin in 1974, and only at 28 % of the stations under consideration, the records of duration were established after 1989. The period of modern warming was also characterised by trends for the increase in the number of rainless periods during the warm period of the year and their maximum duration over most of the territory of Belarus.

The study analyzes very strong (including squally) winds during the cold season in the territory of Belarus. The main meteorological conditions for the development of a hazardous hydrometeorological phenomenon from November to March have been determined based on the processing of data from the network of hydrometeorological observations of Belarus for the period 1989-2022, when the country has a steady increase in air temperature, especially during the cold season. Maps of the spatial distribution of cases of very strong wind have been constructed. The recurrence and development trends of a hazardous hydrometeorological phenomenon in a changing climate are presented. The results of the conducted studies have shown that very strong gusty winds are most often recorded in the northwestern and eastern regions of the country, and there has also been an increase in the number of hazardous hydrometeorological phenomena in the last decade. In addition to the physical and geographical conditions of weather stations that affect the spatial and temporal distribution of the phenomenon under study, surface synoptic, high-altitude aerological factors contributing to the strengthening of the wind to the criteria of very strong are determined. The revealed patterns of spatial and temporal distribution can be used to develop environmental protection measures in order to reduce the negative consequences of hazardous weather phenomena, and the established links between the considered hazardous hydrometeorological phenomenon and the aerosynoptic conditions of its formation can be used to replenish the methodological base on forecasting very strong (including squally) winds in the cold season.

In the article industrial enterprises using primary polymers of styrene as potential sources of environmental pollution by macro- and microplastic in Belarus are discussed. The data used include data from the interactive information-analytical system of the National Statistical Committee, as well as results of inquiries to the National Statistical Committee, the State Customs Committee, the Bel NIC "Ecologiya", and industrial enterprises. Over a 20-year period, the volumes of expandable polystyrene used in the country for the production of insulation boards, packaging, and other products are presented. It is shown that compared to 2000 the use of expandable polystyrene in 2020 increased by 2.2 times, reaching 13.3 thousand tons. Approximately 44 % of the total polystyrene raw material is used by enterprises in Minsk and Minsk region. The largest number of enterprises using polystyrene is located in the basins of the Dnieper River (29) and the Neman River (15).

The total volume of polystyrene waste generated in 2020 amounted to 7.2 thousand tons, of which about 8 % (or 0.55 thousand tons) was polystyrene foam waste. Higher levels of accumulation of expanded polystyrene waste are typical for administrative districts with regional centers. At the same time, official statistics do not account for polystyrene waste in 64 administrative districts.

The sources of polystyrene and associated hexabromocyclododecane entering the natural environment, as well as the need to develop environmental protection measures to prevent the dispersion of waste and the release of raw material particles beyond industrial sites are discussed.

The article discusses the features of the winter thermal, hydrochemical and hydrobiological regime of the cooling pond of the Lukomlskaya GRES – Lake Lukomskoe. The relevance of the study lies in the need to monitor the quality of water in the lake due to the activation of limnic processes due to thermal pollution. The purpose of the research was to study individual abiotic and biotic components of the ecosystem of Lake Lukomskoe for the period from 1972 to 2024.

In the ionic structure, it is noted that hydrocarbonates, as well as magnesium, sodium and chlorine ions, are characterized by the highest rate of entry and accumulation in the water mass of the reservoir, with a relative decrease in the content of sulfates and calcium. Among the biogenic elements, the most stable growth is demonstrated by the concentration of phosphorus.

Long-term studies of winter phytoplankton of the cooling pond indicate a relative constancy of the community structure and its dominant complex. Outbreaks of algae development in some years are largely due to weather conditions. The species composition and structure of the zooplankton community are currently typical for the winter period and correspond to reservoirs with low trophicity. The reduction in the total number due to rotifers and the growth of biomass, largely formed by large crustaceans, indicate a decrease in the rate of eutrophication of the cooling reservoir.

The article discusses the features of pollution of coastal areas of reservoirs and watercourses with plastic waste in places of recreational fishing. Field studies were carried out in the summer of 2023 and 2024 at the reservoirs. Chizhovskoye, Drozdy, Tsnyanskoye, Slepyanskaya water system and the Svisloch river (Minsk) and Lake Zhlobinskoye, Svetilovichskoye and Lake untitled (Baranovichi). Two research methods were used to estimate the amount of plastic waste: the route method and the site method.

It is shown that plastic waste is found at all sites with a variability from 0.03 to 13.3 pcs/m². The largest amount of waste was found in areas where fishing sites are being equipped using foam, polyethylene and other polymeric materials. It was found that plastic waste in fishing areas is represented by household waste (66 % of the total amount), fishing accessories (19 %) and tobacco products (15 %). The plastic waste (73% of cases) is found on the shore directly at the fishing spot or near this place, approximately 27% – in the water. The ratio of plastic waste by size is considered. The need to identify the factors of accumulation of plastic waste and their redistribution is discussed.

The paper presents estimation of the long-period changes of groundwater levels in Belovezhskaya Pushcha taking into account the omissions restoration in the series of stationary hydrogeological observations. A modified version of the k-nearest neighbour (KNN) method, which takes into account both spatial and temporal autocorrelation of groundwater levels, was used to fill in the gaps in the time series of groundwater levels. The proposed method made it possible to reconstruct the dynamics of groundwater levels of different types of different genesis for the last 50 years with a relative error of less than 2–3 % for groundwater and sporadic waters and less than 10 % for pressurised interstratum waters.

Statistically significant trend of long-period change of groundwater levels at the level α = 0.01 according to the Mann – Kendall criterion is observed for 33 out of 40 hydrogeological wells, including 13 groundwater wells, 16 sporadic water wells and 4 pressure water wells. Estimates of groundwater level trends using the Theil – Sen method show that during the warming period in Belarus (since 1989) groundwater has decreased on average by 35 cm, pressure water by 25 cm, and sporadic water by 53 cm. The highest value of the trend slope is observed for sporadic waters of the Brovsky hydrogeological post – 0.34 m/10 years.

The article presents the dynamics of fires in wetlands of international importance in the Republic of Belarus for the period 2001–2020. The wetlands with a high total area of fires (the total area of fires is more than 10 000 hectares) includes five lands, five territories are characterized by a relatively average area of fires (the total area of fires is from 10 000 hectares to 1000 hectares), nine wetlands have a low area of fires (the total area of fires is less than 1000 hectares), seven Ramsar territories have fires for the period under review has not been identified (wetlands "Servech", "Berezinsky Biosphere Reserve", "Dikoe Fen Mire", "Vygonoshchanskoe", "Drozhbitka – Svina", "Kotra", "Duleby Islands – Zaozerye"). The wetlands "Vileity", "Vydritsa", "Golubitskaya Pushcha", "Morochno", "Osveisky", "Podvelikiy Moh", "Polesskaya valley of the Bug River", "Svislochsko-Berezinsky" are characterized by damage to ecosystems by fires only in isolated years. The largest area of fires was identified on the territory of the wetland "State Landscape Zakaznik "Srednyaya Pripyat" (the total area of fires is 42 474 hectares).

During the study period, the largest area of fires in all wetlands was in 2002 – 46 222 hectares (fires were recorded on seven wetlands). No fires were detected in 2007. In the dynamics of fires at the wetlands, separate periods with the largest number of them can be distinguished: 2002–2004, 2011–2015 and 2018–2020. In 2020, fires were recorded only on five wetlands.

Modern geological processes in the territory of Central Belarus are manifested quite diversely and unevenly. The probability of their development, estimated in conventional points, varies in the range from 5–7 to 30 and more. Zoning of the territory by this indicator let to identify areas with moderate (less than 10 points), average (10.1–15.0), increased (15.1–20.0), high (20.1–25.0) and very high (more than 25 points) probability of modern geological processes development. A certain relationship between the considered indicator and the tectonic and geomorphological features of the region has been established.

The article presents a new methodological approach to assess the natural resources of groundwater in poorly drained river basins. Its implementation is demonstrated through the watersheds of the Lesnaya and Mukhavets rivers, which occupy a significant portion of Brest hydrogeological basin. To evaluate the structure of the balance of natural groundwater resources, a numerical geofiltering model for the watersheds of the Lesnaya and Mukhavets rivers was developed. The model was created using the licensed software of ModTech by Geolink LLC. The calibration process involved the obtaining of the specified amount of groundwater discharge into the rivers and reconciling the modeled and actual groundwater pressures during the summer-autumn low water period. Satisfactory calibration results were achieved after the segmenting of the modeled water inflow into the computational blocks of the model, dividing the groundwater discharge into the rivers and evapotranspiration.

It was established that in the long-term perspective, the area of modeled watersheds, concerning the process of water exchange between the land surface and the depression surface of groundwater, can be divided into approximately equal parts: 1) territory with a positive value of groundwater infiltration recharge; 2) territory where, in the long-term perspective, groundwater discharge in the form of evapotranspiration predominates.

A quantitative assessment was provided for the components of the balance of groundwater, interstitial, and surface waters in the watersheds of the Lesnaya and Mukhavets rivers, taking into account the intra-annual variations in the intensity of infiltration recharge: the total long-term average value of groundwater recharge is 92.4 mm/year; the long-term average value of groundwater discharge into the rivers is 44.1; the total long-term average value of groundwater discharge through evapotranspiration is 48.3; and the long-term average intensity of water exchange between the groundwater and interstitial aquifer horizons is 14.2 mm/year.

The article presents a method for calculating the main characteristics of sapropel lying under peat in experimental area of Gala-Kovalevskoye peat deposit. It has been shown that in the case of extracting carbonate sapropel in the area using borehole hydraulic mining technology, the area occupied by the drainage network is considered to be a loss of balance reserves. The coefficient of balance reserves use was 0.93. With sapropel pulp moisture content of 97 %, the theoretical yield of air-dry matter, with conditional moisture content of 60 %, from 1 m3 is 0.075 t/m3. Two methods for the determining of the water addition coefficient are considered: by the mass of the developed sapropel deposit and its moisture content, and by dry matter content in the deposit and pulp. Field experiments have shown that when extracting carbonate sapropel using a borehole method, an average dry matter content in the pulp is 3%. In regard to sapropel with the moisture content of 73.4 %, lying under the layer of peat in the experimental area, water addition coefficient was 7.9 per 1 t of sapropel with pulp moisture content of 97 %. The graph of the required amount of water addition has been given depending on the sapropel moisture content in the deposit and the pulp moisture content. It has been shown that there is an optimal pulp moisture content that ensures, under the given conditions, the maximum sapropel extraction program and the rational zone of rheological parameters within which the hydrotransport of sapropel pulp is advisable.

The article presents a modernized installation and a methodology for the determining of the temperature of the onset of the freezing of water in soils, rocks and pore solutions. In order to provide independent from the temperature in the freezing chamber regulation of the samples cooling intensity, the working chamber of the unit is modernized by supplementing it with a security heater placed on the body of the device and a control differential thermocouple embedded in the thermal insulation layer of the device. This makes it possible by regulating the heater supply voltage to reduce the temperature difference in the insulation layer and thereby provide the slowdown of cooling during the period of the probable onset of the samples freezing under study, which will provide more accurate determination of the onset temperature of freezing. The installation can be used to express determination of the freezing onset temperature of water in soils, rocks and pore solutions.

The water-physical and sorption properties of carbonate-containing minerals (chalk, dolomite flour, tripoli) as components of composite sorption materials based on peat were studied.

Samples of granular composite sorption materials based on peat and the above carbonate-containing minerals containing the latter of 25 and 50 % were obtained. It has been shown that the absorption of ammonia in the molded compositions is reduced, and the addition of calcium carbonate (chalk) to the composition in an amount of 25 % has a lesser effect on the amount of absorbed ammonia compared to the same addition of dolomite flour and tripoli. The water absorption of composites is slightly reduced compared to granulated peat.

It has been established that the introduction of dolomite flour and tripoli in an amount of 25 % increases the abrasion strength of composites, which is associated with structure formation processes through the interaction of peat functional groups with metal ions.

The kinetics of ammonia and water adsorption in gas phase by peat and peat-mineral sorbents has been studied. It has been established that ammonia is absorbed most intensively during the first two to three days, then the intensity of absorption decreases. The composition was optimized and the formulation of peat-mineral sorbent was developed.

The purpose of this work was to obtain preparations from sphagnum peat and moss by the methods of oxidation in alkaline medium and hydrolysis in aqueous medium at the elevated temperature and initial studies of their antimicrobial activity on the pure cultures of pathogens of the agricultural plants. The conditions of oxidation and hydrolysis processes have been established in terms of temperature, duration, reagent consumption and maximum yield of soluble compounds. From sphagnum moss Sphagnum magellanicum, and three samples of sphagnum magellanicum peat with decomposition degree of 5; 10–15 and 20–25 % 11 samples of preparations were prepared, including 9 by oxidation and 2 by hydrolysis in aqueous medium at high temperature. Using the modified method of delayed antagonism, the biocidal activity of the preparations against a number of the phytopathogenic microorganisms of bacterial and fungal nature was studied. It has been found that the highest antibacterial activity against pathogen of tomato plants Clavibacter michiganensis subsp. michiganensis N.P. had three preparations obtained from magellanicum peat with decomposition the degree of 5 % and 20–25 % by oxidation in ammonium hydroxide medium, as well as a sample obtained by the oxidation of magellanicum peat (20–25 %) in ammonium and sodium hydroxide medium (1 : 1) with the use of oxidation catalyst – cobalt salts. Aqueous hydrolysate of magellanicum peat with R = 5 % showed activity against two pathogens of tomato plants Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato DC3000, C. michiganensis N.P. and Erwinia amylovora E2 – pathogen of fruit crops, and moss magellanicum – against two pathogens P. syringae pv. tomato DC3000 and C. michiganensis N.P. No antifungal effect was shown by any preparation.

The article presents the results of a comparative study in 2020 and 2021 in the Smolevichi district of the Minsk region and in the more northern Dokshitsy district of the Vitebsk region, geographically 250 km from each other, in an experimental culture on reclaimed areas of high-moor peat production of the effect of mineral Basacot Plus 6 (N₁₅P₈K₁₂ kg/ha active ingredient) and domestic biological fertilizers – nitrogen-fixing and phosphate-mobilizing microbial MaKloR in 5 % and 10 % concentrations, as well as organo-mineral Ecogum-complex on the agrochemical properties of the substrate under plantings of early-ripening Ben Lear and late-ripening Stevens varieties of large-fruited cranberry within the framework of identical field experiments. It was established that in both seasons all the tested agricultural practices contributed to its noticeable enrichment with nutrients compared to the control, while the degree of this enrichment was determined by the geographical location of the study area, weather conditions of the growing season, the genotype of the experimental plants and the stage of their seasonal development. Nevertheless, regardless of all the indicated factors, in most cases the most effective in increasing the level of substrate fertility was the introduction of mineral fertilizers, and among biological fertilizers – the use of Ecogum-complex and 5 % MaKloR.

All over the world, the formation of difficult-to-process waste is a pressing issue for all industries, including mushroom growing, whose volumes of waste production can be up to 60 %. Storing, burying or burning waste does not solve the problem, but only aggravates the negative consequences, especially in relation to the environment. A possible and promising solution to this problem may be the use of vermicomposting, since it allows not only completely process waste, but also obtain new environmentally friendly products. It has been established that spent mushroom substrate processed by worms has growth-stimulating activity in relation to plants, which increased as it was processed, and a complete absence of phytotoxicity.