Anthropogenic Transformation of Some Properties and Composition of Gazh Gray-Brown Soils of the Ganja-Gazakh Plain

Gay gray-brown soils are distributed mainly in the foothills of the Lesser Caucasus, on the Ganja-Gazakh plain and in the lower reaches of the Araz basin. They are formed by changing volcanic rocks in hot and dry climates. In the process of erosion and soil formation, pyrite, alunitized and other sulfur-containing rocks turn into gazh, on which gray-brown gazh soils are formed. As a result of human activity, i. e. deep plowing and irrigation, these lands are being converted. It turned out that the transformation of these soils is clearly felt in the thickness of the humus layer, its distribution along the profile, quantity and composition. The thickness of the humus layer increases from 40–45 cm to 100 cm. As a result of the transformation, the length of the humus profile is constantly decreasing. Changes in the composition of humus led to an increase in the content of humic acids. Although the coefficient in the uncultivated area decreased from 1.36 to 0.80, in the irrigated area it changed from 1.70 to 0.93.

Water quality assessment of the rivers of the Southern Buh Basin within Vinnytsia Region as per integral indicator of pollution

Vinnytsia Region is a region of Ukraine that attracts people by its nature from ancient times to the present day and is subject to various active economic development efforts. Natural water (aquatic) objects such rivers, lakes, as well as their floodplains and watersheds, are among the ones that are intensively affected by human activities. Therefore, the author chose the basin of the Southern Buh River within Vinnytsia Region for establishing a degree of anthropogenic transformation in the river itself and for determining the state of its left tributaries. The paper highlights the results of field and laboratory studies of chemical and organoleptic state of water of the Southern Buh and its tributaries. The study of the Southern Buh Basin was conducted within Vinnytsia Region, as it is a region of early agricultural development and it has a large number of enterprises of various industries on its territory. Since the basin occupies a large area of Vinnytsia Region, it was reasonable to explore the main tributaries of the Southern Buh flowing through the main localities, and to identify the required sampling points. Currently, the problem of ensuring rational use of water resources is severe because of such factors as growth of water consumption, irrational use of natural resources, excessive and uncontrolled economic activity. All these factors lead to disruption of relations within geosystems, degradation of natural components and decrease of natural resources productivity. Therefore, the study of a degree of anthropogenic transformation of landscape complexes, including geosystems, allows identification of a possibility to reverse anthropogenic changes and display intensity and tendencies of natural processes after transformation of the complexes, as well as display of ability of natural components of the landscape to self-restore. All these components are necessary for field researches and form a basis for the author's research. The aim of the research is to conduct an assessment of the ecological status of surface waters, which serves as one of components of the general status of water bodies, as well as to determine their chemical status based on concentrations of high-priority hazardous pollutants. It establishes the fact that the quality of surface waters of the basin depends on a degree of pollution of water bodies that are subject to economic activity affecting the transformation of the basin system.

ASSESSMENT OF THE MODERN GEOECOLOGICAL STATE OF THE LANDSCAPES OF MIDDLE MOUNTAINS OF THE SOUTHERN URALS: METHODS AND RESEARCH RESULTS

The medium-altitude mountains of the Southern Urals began to experience a strong anthropogenic impact since the 18th century in connection with the construction of mining plants. Subsequently, a long economic development of the territory formed anthropogenic transformed landscapes. The assessment of the modern geoecological state of landscapes of the middle regions of the Southern Urals was carried out by superimposing thematic maps based on the processing of indicators, including the influence of climatic factors, the stability of natural complexes to external influences, the anthropogenic transformation of natural complexes, the modern state of landscape components. As a result, landscapes with a favorable, satisfactory and stressed geoecological state were identified.

Influence of Forest Environment Factors on Ornithocomplexes of the Valleys of the Large Tributaries of the Ob River (Western Siberia)

Western Siberia is an interesting polygon for studying the patterns of territorial variability of zonal forest formations and their animal population. Forests covering more than 60% of the territory are undergoing significant anthropogenic transformation due to the activities of the oil-and-gas industry, large-scale deforestation and fires. All this makes it very relevant to study the spatial differentiation of ornithocomplexes, as well as natural and anthropogenic environmental factors that determine it. The data was collected during the period of 1996-2010 using the route bird census method in 64 landscape forest plots with a total length of over a thousand km, in the valleys of large tributaries of the Ob River (the Chulym, Ket, Vasyugan and Tym Rivers). The total abundance of birds, the composition of the dominant species in terms of population density, and the species richness depending on the zoning (middle and southern taiga subzones), the species composition of tree stands, the terrain, and the degree of anthropogenic transformation of the environment by forest cutting and fires of forest ornithocomplexes, are discussed.

Ecological aspect of the development of soil-forming processes at the post-technogenic stage

The relevance of the study is caused by the problem of the global anthropogenic transformation of natural landscapes in Kuzbass as a result of the development of mining. The rate of reclamation of disturbed lands lags behind the rate and scale of their formation, and most of the territory is self-recovering. This paper is aimed at studying the ecological conditions of the natural environment and technogenic factors affecting the dynamics of soil-forming processes and the formation of phytocenoses in disturbed territories, which differ in the way of formation at the technogenic stage. For the first time, some physicochemical parameters of technozems were obtained. Like ebriozems, they are formed in the post-technogenic phase of the development of a technogenic landscape under the conditions of its self-growth. The similarities and differences in the properties of technozems and ebriozems formed in the same natural and climatic conditions of the southern forest-steppe zone of Kuzbass have been revealed. It was found that the rate of their transformation, expressed in the formation of the soil profile, depends on the conditions of the relief and underlying rocks created at the technogenic stage. The presence of a preserved layer of potentially fertile rocks and the absence of slope surfaces led to the formation of the frontal soil and vegetation cover of the technozem; under other conditions, the formation of soils and plant groups occurs fragmentarily, which leads to the asynchronous development of the functions and modes of the technogenic landscape.

Scenario model to forecast behavior of intrusive plant communities in response to control effects in arid agriculture

The presence of large areas of anthropogenic transformation of plant communities with a potentially negative impact on adjacent territories makes it relevant to develop various methods for automated monitoring and modeling of processes occurring in these ecosystems. Based on the results of previous studies of phytocoenoses, the authors selected four groups of indicators for constructing a scenario model: integral characteristics of intrusive plant communities (IPC), including those obtained by using remote dynamic methods; integral indicators of the negative impact of IPC on the adjacent agro-ecosystem; indicators of the distribution of mobile forms of trace elements in the soil; and indicators of soil microbiota. As the result, a hypothetical formula is obtained that allows, with minimal impact on the biosystem of technogenic IPC, to sufficiently reduce its adverse impact on the adjacent agro-ecosystem. Further refinement and dissemination of the scenario model and its connection to databases on plant communities will automatically change the values of the coefficients in the solving equations, thereby providing the most accurate and reliable forecast of the response of agro-ecosystems to various control actions.

Natural and anthropogenic transformation of geosystems of Tunkinsky national park: identification and mapping

The paper focuses on the specifics of landscape medium scale mapping employing traditional methods. We selected a key site in Tunkinsky National Park (Republic of Buryatia) and the Tunkinskaya depression located within it and its mountain framing (south of Eastern Siberia) to display the modern structural and dynamic features of the geosystem functioning. The map compiled at a scale of 1 : 100 000 illustrates the differentiation into categories of landscape structures by types of altitudinal-belt conditions of the natural environment, differing in morphological and phytocenotic properties, as well as the nature of natural-anthropogenic transformation. The main factors of landscape discreteness are morphological features of the surface structure of the intermontane territories; the complexes with natural vegetation and their derivative biocenoses, formed as a result of agricultural and pyrogenic transformation, reflected the dynamic nature of the geosystem functioning. The complexes have been formed in river valleys due to debris flows and are assigned to variable states.

Natural and Geomorphological Response of the Small Lowland River Valley for Anthropogenic Transformation

The regulation of small rivers and the consequent maintenance works are common in the Central European Lowlands. This article attempts to determine the relationship between the invertebrate fauna (and consequently the biocenosis) of the small lowland river valley and its landforms (morphodynamics) under the conditions of very large and rapid changes caused by river regulation and maintenance. On this basis, an attempt to analyze the response of the ecosystem to rapid transformations associated with engineering works was made. The study covered Kraska, a small river typical for Polish Lowlands, which has been regulated along almost the entire length. The results showed that, in the regulated sections, where the natural forms of the relief were destroyed, there were significantly fewer taxa and significantly smaller numbers of the specimen. Despite the clear negative impact of the regulatory work on the ecosystem, the river in some sections showed the ability to spontaneously restore certain geomorphic features.

Problem issues of methodology of synecological diagnostics of anthropogenic transformation of forest ecosystems

Aim. The aim of the study was to identify and systematize methodological problems in the diagnosis of anthropogenic transformation of forest ecosystem. Methods. Theoretical methods of system-structural, retrospective analysis, interdisciplinary, ecosystem approaches, special methods of forestry, synecology, ornithology and mycology. Results. Changes in functional indicators and parameters of communities were recorded depending on the genesis of the anthropogenic factor, pattern, intensity and time-scale of its impact and reproducibility of ecosystems. These changes were established in the presence of close correlation between the most sensitive structural and functional components (grass layer, leaf-litter, surface of soil, stand) and preserving the integrity of consorted links. Conclusions. A conceptual model for diagnostic human transformation of forest ecosystems for various functional according to the state and development of consorted links of producers, consumers, reducers (for example, plants, fungi, birds) through qualitative and quantitative parameters of relevant diversity structures and principles of its application was proposed. Keywords: ecosystem, communities, anthropogenic factor, transformation, biodiversity, consorted links.

Сhange of 1xodidae population in i connection with anthropogenic transformation of landscapes on the boundary of forest and forest-steppe zones of the middle volga region

Within the last 60 years in the region studied the joint inhabitance zone of I. ricinus and I. persulcatus displaced in the North-East direction and the D. reticulatus natural habitat significantly expanded to the North- West. These regional changes depend on the temperature rise of climate, the decrease of precipitation and change of species and age of afforestation. Decay of epidemiologic stress of natural foci of the tick borne encephalitis, Lyme disease, and strengthening the epizootologic valency of foci of pyroplasmosis, nuttaliosis as well as epidemiologic f importance of natural foci of tularemia of meadowfield type would be expected in further expansion of the boundaries of I. ricinus, D. reticulatus natural habitat and contraction of the inhabitance zone of I. persulcatus on the territories cleared of the latter species.