Dynamic Changes of the Steppe Zone Lakes in Altai Krai under Anthropogenic Impacts and Climate Change

Multiscale relict lakes are the essential elements of the steppe plains in Altai krai in Russia (South Siberia). Based on the remote sensing data (Landsat and Sentinel-2 images), we analyzed the water bodies’ area dynamics in the two endorheic lake systems of the Kulunda Steppe–Kulunda and Plotava. We found no evident tendency to reduce water bodies’ area between 1989 and 2020. Despite several severe droughts during the last 30 years, water bodies of Kulunda and Plotava lake systems have not experienced any extremely sharp reductions. The SPEI index was used to estimate the duration and intensity of droughts. It was shown that the interannual dynamics of lakes weakly depend on weather fluctuations of a particular year. Statistically significant correlations were found only with 24- and 36-month SPEI indices, which generally indicated the relative stability of feeding mechanisms of lake systems in Kulunda Steppe. Despite the significant difference in catchments and lake areas, the Kulunda and Plotava lake systems were characterized by high synchrony of interannual fluctuations. The relative range of intra-annual variation within the small Plotava lake system was significantly higher than in the much larger Kulunda system. Stability in the functioning of the Kulunda lake systems may be related to a very moderate human impact on the feeding watercourses in recent decades. There was the absence of large-scale water withdrawal and flow regulation.

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