Land cover dynamics during recent 30 years (case study of the "Alanya" National park, the Northern Caucasus)
Abstract
The article deals with land cover changes in the "Alanya" National Park (North Ossetia) over a 30year period. The objectives of the article are to identify the extent of land cover changes in mountain landscapes, as well as the main factors, both natural and anthropogenic, that determine the current dynamics of land use. Based on the interpretation of satellite images for 1988, 2006 and 2017, the analysis of historical, statistical and archival materials, and field studies, the dynamics of land cover and land use was revealed within various types of landscapes, namely nival-glacial, mountain meadow, mountain forest and mountain steppe. It is a typical set of altitude zones for the North Caucasus with specific dynamics of landscapes and land use changes. The decrease in the area of glaciers and snowfields in the nival-glacial zone, the expansion of meadow vegetation in the mountain meadow zone, the restoration of forests and the expansion of forest areas in the mountain forest zone were noted. The area of pine and birch forests has increased by 44% and 33% respectively. The greatest increment is observed within the altitudes of 1600–1800 m, rather than at the upper forest limit. The main trend of land use change in the valleys is the reduction of arable lands and hayfields; there is a significant decrease of pastures and hayfields in the middle mountains, and reduction of pastures in the high-mountain belt. The main factors of land cover dynamics are climate warming, as well as a decrease of the anthropogenic activities, mainly pastoral. The interrelation of these two factors had a positive effect on forest overgrowing of mountain meadows, less often – mountain steppes. The limitation of economic activities after the national park establishment in 1998 (since then the number of resident population has decreased about 1,6 times) had a relatively small impact on the land use/land cover, but played an important role in regulating land use in connection with actively developing tourism and seasonal recreation. The priorities of the national park include the expansion of ecological tourism and recreation and the maintenance of traditional types of land use, taking into account the landscape and environmental features of different altitudinal zones.
About the Authors
N. N. Alekseeva
Lomonosov Moscow State University
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Faculty of Geography, Department of Physical Geography and Geoecology, Executive Head of the Department, Associate Professor, PhD. in Geography
A. N. Gunya
Institute of Geography, Russian Academy of Sciences
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Department of Physical Geography and Environmental Management, Senior Scientific Researcher, Dr. Sc. in Geography
A. A. Cherkasova
Russian Geographical Society
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Consultant
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For citations:
Alekseeva N.N., Gunya A.N., Cherkasova A.A. Land cover dynamics during recent 30 years (case study of the "Alanya" National park, the Northern Caucasus). Lomonosov Geography Journal. 2021;(2):92-102. (In Russ.)
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