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Semiarid Intermontane Basins of the North Caucasus: Landscapes and Land Use Transformations

  • SYSTEMATIC STUDY OF ARID TERRITORIES
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Abstract

Long-term field studies of the semiarid intermontane basins in the North Caucasus region made it possible since the end of the 20th century to identify their landscape structure and modern changes in the landscapes that are due to different levels of anthropogenic pressure. In the early 1990s, the pressure on landscapes in the Itum-Kalinskaya basin decreased due to the termination of intense economic use (mainly grazing), and their biogenic components began to recover. As a result, the aridization noted by many authors in the 1970s–1980s has stopped. The destruction of cultural landscape elements (plow terraces, irrigation systems, etc.) is currently observed in mountain meadow–steppe landscapes. In the Bylymskaya basin, the anthropogenic pressure generally decreased in the 1990s, but its current distribution is extremely irregular. As a result, some landscapes are degrading, while the state of others is improving. The increased pressure on mountain–steppe landscapes has gradually transformed them into anthropogenic modifications. The most severe anthropogenic disturbances are noted in landscapes on north-facing slopes adjacent to the residential and economic zone, which are used almost year-round. The contrast between landscapes with different use levels is increasing: landscapes in the vicinity of settlements are exposed to high pressure, while some remote landscapes may be not in use at all.

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Notes

  1. Latin names of the plant are provided in accordance with S.K. Czerepanov (2007).

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Funding

This study was performed as part of the State Assignment of the Chair of Physical Geography and Landscape Science, Department of Geography, Moscow State University, contract no. 1.8, Center of Information Technologies and Systems registration no. 121051300176-1 (Factors and Processes of the Spatiotemporal Organization of Natural and Anthropogenic Landscapes) and as part of the State Assignment of the Institute of Geography, Russian Academy of Sciences, theme no. 0148-2019-0007 (Assessment of Physiographical, Hydrological, and Biotic Changes in the Environment and Their Consequences for Sustainable Nature Use). Part of the work was carried out within the theme no. 075-03-2021-074/4.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geography, Moscow State University, 119991, Moscow, Russia

    M. N. Petrushina

  2. Institute of Geography, Russian Academy of Sciences, 119017, Moscow, Russia

    A. N. Gunya

  3. Chechen State University, 366007, Grozny, Russia

    A. N. Gunya

Authors
  1. M. N. Petrushina
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  2. A. N. Gunya
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Correspondence to M. N. Petrushina or A. N. Gunya.

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Conflict of interests. The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

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Translated by L. Emeliyanov

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Petrushina, M.N., Gunya, A.N. Semiarid Intermontane Basins of the North Caucasus: Landscapes and Land Use Transformations. Arid Ecosyst 11, 343–350 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1134/S2079096121040089

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S2079096121040089

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