The maps of this block show natural territorial complexes (landscapes) – their typology, morphology, genesis, properties, evolution in Pleistocene, patterns of territorial distribution, and regional features. The mapping is based upon general landscape genetic principle assuming that the structure and the formation of landscapes are determined mainly by relief, lithologic-and-tectonic basis, climate, water, soils, vegetation and animal life, which continuously interact and interrelate with one another and predetermine the making of a landscape. Anthropogenic factors have considerable impact upon modern natural landscapes.

Landscapes are grouped into classes, types, genera, and kinds, which are represented on the map, in accordance with the patterns of forming of natural territorial complexes and their spatial differentiation.

Classes of landscapes are determined by major morphostructures – platform plain – which correspond to flatland that is characterized by latitudinal zonality of landscapes and upland with vertical zoning of landscapes.

There are two classes of landscape complexes in Ukraine: flatland and mountainous ones. Mountainous landscapes depend upon geographical location of mountains and their sea-level altitude.

Almost the entire territory of Ukraine is in the temperate zone. Only on the southern shore of the Crimea there are elements of subtropical Mediterranean-type landscapes.

Classes of landscapes subdivide into types depending on the balance of warmth and moisture, and in the case of proper lithogeneous base of superficial deposits they are characterized by common zonal soils and vegetation. The flatland landscapes of Ukraine belong to four zonal types: coniferous-and-broad-leaved, broad-leaved forest, forest-steppe, and steppe. The steppe type comprises three subtypes: northern, middle and southern steppe. Two types prevail in mountainous area landscapes: forest meadows with mountain pasture-grounds in Ukrainian Carpathians and forest meadows with yailas in Mountainous Crimea.

Types and subtypes consist of landscapes genera characterized by relief morphology and lithogenous base.

The inferior typological unit includes the types of landscapes characterized by the structure and origin of relief, types of soils and natural vegetation.
Floodplain landscapes of flatlands and mountains are set off.

The map shows 2 classes, 6 types, 38 genera, and 157 types of landscapes.

The flatland class of landscapes dominates over 93% of the territory of Ukraine; the rest almost 7% are occupied by mountainous landscapes.
Morphological units of landscape include landscape area, holes, and facies. For a long time natural landscapes and their resources were used intensively and for the most part irrationally; as a result both human activity and natural phenomena had an effect on them. In particular, such adverse effect may be caused by annual plowing-up, burning-out and felling of forests, industrial, hydrotechnical construction and transport expansion, reclamation, military events, etc.

Paleolandscapes. Pleistocene. The modern landscapes of Ukraine have a long geological history determined by their Pleistocene evolution. Five paleogeographic maps in the Atlas show the reconstruction of natural conditions in Ukraine in the course of 750 ths years: preglacial period (2 maps), the period of mainland glacication (1), and postglacial time (2). The variation of climate toward the fall of temperature before glaciations, changes of the level of southern seas, development of fluvial network, accumulation of loess, and altering limits of native zones led to the formation of predecessors of modern Ukrainian landscapes. The mapping is based on the paleolandscape reconstructions including the study of the paleogeographic stages of Pleistocene, interregional correlation of formations of the stages of paleogeography, reconstruction of the components of old landscapes after paleogeographic relics and indicators, and synthetic reconstruction of paleolandscapes after their components. Paleorelief is a relic of the ancient relief; its paleoindexes include the sediments’ facies composition, thickness, and mode of occurrence. The main aspects of relief morphology determining higher associations, classes, and subclasses of landscape were formed mainly in pre-Quaternary time. The fossil soils and spore-pollen spectrums of deposits are the relics of soil and vegetation components of paleolandscapes. Reconstructed types of soils and vegetation are the indicators of paleoclimate and the determinants used for bringing out and classification of ancient landscapes. The paleogeographic charts below exhibit periods as follows: the warmest Martonosha stage of early Pleistocene, the warmest Zavadivka and the coldest Dnipro stages of mid-Pleistocene, as well as the warmest Kaidaky and Pryluky stages of late Pleistocene. Paleolandscape charts enable the study of history of modern Ukrainian landscapes’ formation in space and time and the forecast of possible trends of their transformations as a result of climatic changes.

The landscapes of Ukrainian Carpathians include the classes of mountainous and foothill landscapes. The Ukrainian Carpathians consist of medium-altitude mountains, Prykarpattia (Forecarpathian) upland and Zakarpattia (Transcarpathian) lowland. Genetically the landscape variety of Ukrainian Carpathians is represented by landscape stages: bottomland-low terrace, medium terrace, upper terrace, hilly-foothill, low-mountain, smooth-slope low-mountain, steep-slope low-mountain, steep-slope medium-mountain, mountain-meadows medium-mountain, and ancient glacial Alpine.

The landscapes of the Crimean Mountains include steppe and forest-steppe foothill landscapes, the External Cuesta Range, medium-mountain-forest landscapes of the Internal Cuesta Range, yaila Alpine meadow and forest landscapes of the Main Range. In-between the cuestas broad-leaved forest landscapes with bushes are common. On the southern macroslope the landscapes contain oak, beech and pinewoods. The southern coast sub-Mediterranean landscapes include pistachio-and-oak, juniper-pine forests, phryganas and sibljaks with savannah vegetation.
Landscapes of the Chornobyl’ Nuclear Station Exclusion Zone.

The landscape structure of the Chornobyl’ Nuclear Station area and the adjoining territory influences the formation of radio-ecological situation and is one of preconditions of decision-making process concerning rational and safe exploitation of lands contaminated with radio nuclides as a result of an accident.

The mapped information about the component and morphological structure of this territory’s landscapes, trends of their current evolution, which – under conditions of discontinued economical activity–began self-restoring, was formed on the basis of field exploration of these landscapes, the available land and remote sensing data.

The map of landscapes exhibits the invariant of landscape, i.e. the part of it, which was not drastically changed as a result of human activities, and shows relief, the lithology of soil formation, the soils together with the types of soil moisture and accretion conditions. On the level of form it includes the following background depressions of Chornobyl’ Nuclear Station Exclusion Zone: end moraine, moraine-lake-glacial plains, above-flood-plain terraces, backwater, and subdominant depressions of erosion, funnel and eolian forms.
This map uses space survey data of 1995–2001.

Geochemistry of landscapes. Landscape-and-geochemical mapping of the territory is intended to determine the factors of its landscape-and-geochemical differentiation, initial conditions and directions of chemical elements migration and sites of matter accumulation in landscapes (geosystems).

The basic units of landscape-and-geochemical mapping are classes, types, genera, and types of landscape geochemical systems (LGS), formation and development of which are related to chemical composition of their components and migration of chemical elements among them. As far as soils are important indicators of processes in landscapes, the main attention is paid to their physical and chemical properties, which determine the taxons of geochemical classification of landscapes. The LGS class is determined after typomorphic elements, which have high clarkes in this system, migrate most actively and tend to accumulate. The LGS type is determined from macro- and microelements, the clarke of concentration of which exceeds 1, that is after prevailing elements which form the geochemical background of the landscape. The genus is determined from humus content and reaction of soils or factors of migration, which find out both sorption properties of geosystems and dynamics of chemical elements in them. The sludgy fraction in soils predetermines their sorption properties and permeability and aids in establishing the types of LGS. The combination of landscape geochemical systems represents the spatial variety of landscape geochemical structure of a territory.
Precipitation here exceeds evaporation, and drainage is rather good; therefore local LGS are of acid class (caused by Hions). The emergence of glei and swamps resulting from overwetting, low relief and high groundwater table tend to form acid glei class (H-Fe). The exceedingly wet temperate climate forms landscapes of acid calcium class (H-Ca). The LGS of calcium class (Ca) are widespread over forest-steppe and northern steppe loess plains; further south they gradually turn into LGS of calcium-magnesium class (Ca-Mg). The salinization forms the calcium-sodium class (Ca-Na).

The landscape-geochemical charts help to elucidate the landscape-geochemical differentiation of the territory; they are used to estimate ecological conditions of the territory, carry out ecological monitoring, explore mineral deposits, and conduct medical-and-geographical investigations.

The physiographical zoning is an important method of complex geographical studies enabling to generalize the knowledge about landscape complexes and their spatial differentiation.

The map of physiographical zoning represents a division of the territory into real regional landscape units: zonal (belt, zone, and subzone) and azonal (country, land, area, and region). All zonal and azonal regional units are interrelated and collaterally subordinated: every superior unit includes all the inferior ones. All regional units have individual properties, typology and structure of landscapes, and create a variety of landscapes of Ukraine.

The physiographical zoning charts are based on the landscape maps of Ukraine adhering to the landscape genetic principle. The branch natural environment zoning maps were used as well. In the process of regional units determination and the analysis of their properties their origin, development of natural territorial complexes, interrelation of natural components and contemporary natural processes are taken into consideration. Every regional unit has its individual characteristics and differs from others in the landscape structure.

Ukraine has four landscape zones: mixed (coniferous-and-broad-leaved) woods, broad-leaved forests, forest-steppe and steppe. Their formation is determined by the balance of warmth and moisture and lithogenous basis.

These zones are distinguished by the types of landscapes and divided into lands due to their geological, geomorphological structure and climatic features (the southward increase of continentality).

The lands are subdivided into areas with their peculiar structure of landscapes. Physiographical region is the inferior regional unit; it has more or less homogeneous landscapes and different intensity of current natural processes.

The maps of this block reflect the significant landscape variety of Ukrainian territory (see the table below: the landscape variety of modern natural zones and mountain regions).

The river-valley floodplain landscapes are widespread in all areas and mountainous regions; therefore they are marked out as separate kinds (3 for flat valleys and 3 for mountainous ones).

The maps of landscapes and physiographical zoning have a great scientific and applied value for problem solving con­cerning rational use of natural resources and natural ecosystems, environmental control and preservation. They are widely used in agriculture, forestry, planning of transportation and engineering objects, geological and medical-and-geochemical researches.