| Abstrakt: |
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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
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