Geoecological analysis of the Ketarsha river catchment basin based on a landscape approach

Abstract

The article presents the results of a geoecological analysis of the catchment area of the Ketarsha River, located in the forest-steppe zone of the Nizhny Novgorod region (Buturlinsky district), based on a landscape approach. The research is based on remote sensing and field research data, processed using the QuantumGIS geoinformation system. During the research, the following methods were used: landscape analysis, remote sensing of the Earth, geoinformation, and expeditionary. To implement the principles of the landscape approach for the researched territory, a landscape map was developed at the level of the tracts. A high degree of anthropogenic impact on the landscapes of the forest-steppe zone of the Nizhny Novgorod region has been established, manifested in intensive agricultural development (in particular, in the basin of the Ketarsha River, tillage reaches 48.1%) and the critical condition of the hydrographic network, including the loss of permanent runoff by the Ketarsha River by 2025. Using the adaptive assessment and environmental management (AEAM) methodology, an assessment of the impact on individual landscape components (lithogenic base, relief, hydro grid, soil and vegetation cover, etc.) was carried out, which made it possible to identify the most vulnerable and stable landscape complexes at the tract level. A significant spatial heterogeneity in the stability of landscapes to anthropogenic loads has been established, which has a pronounced attraction to the boundaries of tracts.