Comprehensive Geoecological Assessment of Small Watersheds for Management Purposes (Example of Two Objects in Kursk Oblast)

An overview of modern approaches to the study of drainage basins is provided, which can form the basis of a comprehensive geoecological assessment of the territory. The algorithm for such an assessment is presented, comprising five main steps. The proposed approach may enable the creation of a reliable framework for the further expansion or specialisation of analysis of the territory, and the development of recommendations for optimizing land and water use within a small drainage basin. To illustrate the research algorithm, two small drainage basins in Kursk Oblast are used as examples. They are comparable in area (both measuring about 3.2 km²) but have different morphological structures. Taking the dynamics of water discharges into account shows differences in the nature of erosion and accumulation processes in the catchments. The landscape scheme made it possible to assess the disturbance of landscapes. The basin adjacent to the city has a high proportion of moderately disturbed landscapes, and the more remote one has slightly disturbed landscapes. Socioeconomic activity in the surrounding area affects erosionaccumulative processes and disturbance of the landscape structure of basins in different ways. The greatest environmental stress is created by the road running along the watershed between the basins and the landfill site in the upper reaches of one of them.

1. Abalakov A.D., Lopatkin D.A. Landscape stability and its mapping. Tr. Irkutsk. Gos. Univ., Ser. Nauki Zemle, 2014, vol. 8, pp. 2–14. (In Russ.).

2. Andrukhovych A.I. Geoekologicheskaya otsenka sostoyaniya komponentov prirodnoi sredy [Geoecological Assessment of the State of the Components of the Natural Environment]. In Regional’naya fizicheskaya geografiya v novom veke. Vyp. 8 [Regional Physical Geography in the New Century. Vol. 8]. Minsk: BGU, 2014, pp. 1–9. (In Russ.).

3. Atlas Kurskoi oblasti [Atlas of Kursk Oblast]. Tatarinov N.A., Minin L.S., Eds. Yekaterinburg: Ural’skaya kartograficheskaya fabrika Roskartografii, 2000. 48 p.

4. Bondarev V.P. Kontseptsii sovremennogo estestvoznaniya [Concepts of Modern Natural Science]. Moscow: Al’fa-M Publ., INFRA-M Publ., 2013. 512 p.

5. Bondarev V.P. Geoecological problems and basin organization of the Earth’s surface. In Nauki o Zemle i Tsivilizatsiya. Vyp. 9 [Earth Sciences and Civilization. Vol. 9.]. St. Petersburg: Izd-vo RGPU im. A.I. Gertsena, 2019a, pp. 75–79. (In Russ.).

6. Bondarev V.P. Longitudinal and cross profiles as indicators of morphodynamics of small drainage basins (case study European Russia). In Climate Change Impacts on Hydrological Processes and Sediment Dynamics: Measurement, Modelling and Management. Springer Proceedings in Earth and Environmental Sciences. Springer, 2019b, pp. 12–15.

7. Bondarev V.P., Zorina E.F., Kovalev S.N. Hydrological and morphometric characteristics of gully-balka systems of the center of the Russian Plain. Geomorfol., 2000, no. 2, pp. 52–58. (In Russ.).

8. Bondarev V.P., Golosov V.N., Kuznetsov P.V. Impact of morphometric characteristics of gully-balka systems on the redistribution of sediments in their bottoms. Geomorfol., 2005, no. 2, pp. 26–34. (In Russ.).

9. Chalov R.S. Ruslovedenie: teoriya, geografiya, praktika. Tom 1 [Channel Studies: Theory, Geography, Practice. Vol. 1]. Moscow: LKI Publ., 2008. 608 p.

10. Chorley R.J., Schumm S.A., Sugden D.E. Geomorphology. Routledge, 2019. 607 p.

11. Debelaya I.D., Kocherezhko E.A. Geoecological analysis is an effective method for assessing the ecological state of a territory in areas of mineral extraction. Vestn. TOGU, 2009, no. 2, pp. 103–110. (In Russ.).

12. Dmitriev V.V. Definition of the integral indicator of the state of a natural object as a complex system. Obshchestvo. Sreda. Razvitie, 2009, no. 4, pp. 146–165. (In Russ.).

13. Downs P.W., Gregory K.J., Brookes A. How integrated is river basin management? Environ. Manage., 1991, vol. 15, pp. 299–309.

14. Dunne T., Leopold L.B. Water in Environmental Planning. Macmillan, 1978. 818 p.

15. Environmental Management of River Basin Ecosystems. Ramkumar M., Kumaraswamy K., Mohanraj R., Eds. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer, 2015. 761 p. .

16. Erozionno-ruslovye sistemy [Erosion-Channel Systems]. Chalov R.S., Sidorchuk A.Yu., Golosov V.N., Eds. Moscow: INFRA-M Publ., 2017. 702 p.

17. Galitskaya N.F., Galitsky V.I., Kochergin P.G. Geografiya Kurskoi oblasti [Geography of Kursk Oblast]. Voronezh: Tsentral’no-Chernozemnoe knizhnoe izd-vo, 1970. 78 p.

18. Gorshkova A.T., Urbanova O.N. Integral indicators in environmental diagnostics. Mezhdun. Nauch.-Issled. Zh., 2016, no. 6, part 5, pp. 132–136. (In Russ.).

19. Griffiths P.G., Hereford R., Webb R.H. Sediment yield and runoff frequency of small drainage basins in the Mojave Desert, U.S.A. Geomorphology, 2006, no. 74, pp. 232–244.

20. Grin A.M., Klyuev N.N., Mukhina L.I. Geoecological analysis. Izv. Akad. Nauk, Ser. Geogr., 1995, no. 1, pp. 21–30. (In Russ.).

21. Ivanov A.N., Samoilova G.S., Surkov V.V. Landscape and ecological studies in the design of gas pipelines in the forest zone. Vestn. Mosk. Univ., Ser. 5: Geogr., 2008, no. 1, pp. 58–65. (In Russ.).

22. Kabanova R.V., Kudinova M.R., Sokolovskii L.B. Geografiya Kurskoi oblasti [Geography of Kursk Oblast]. Kursk: KGPU, 1997. 112 p.

23. Kidron G.J., Zohar M. Spatial evaporation patterns within a small drainage basin in the Negev Desert. J. Hydrol., 2010, vol. 380, no. 3–4, pp. 376–385.

24. Knighton D. Fluvial Forms and Processes: A New Perspective. Routledge, 2014. 383 p.

25. Kochurov B.I. Ekodiagnostika i sbalansirovannoe razvitie [Ecodiagnostics and Balanced Development]. Moscow, Smolensk: Magenta Publ., 2003. 384 p.

26. Kopylov I.S., Karaseva T.V., Gershanok V.A. Comprehensive geoecological assessment of mining regions of the Northern Urals. Politemat. Setevoi Elektron. Nauch. Zh. Kuban. Gos. Agrar. Univ., 2012, no. 84, pp. 113–122. (In Russ.).

27. Korobov V.B., Kotova E.I., Kochurov B.I. Integral and integrated indicators in geoecological assessments of territories and water areas. Probl. Reg. Ekol., 2021, no. 4, pp. 107–111. (In Russ.).

28. Korytny L.M. The basin concept: From hydrology to nature management. Geogr. Nat. Resour., 2017, vol. 38, pp. 111–121. https://doi.org/10.1134/S1875372817020019

29. Makkaveev N.I. Ruslo reki i eroziya v ee basseine [River Channel and Erosion in Its Basin]. Moscow: Izd-vo AN SSSR, 1955. 345 p.

30. Mikhno V.B., Kandybko E.V. Features of transformation of landscapes of basins of small rivers of Voronezh Oblast. Vestn. Voronezh. Gos. Univ., Ser. Geogr. Geoekol., 2006, no. 1, pp. 9–16. (In Russ.).

31. Milkov F.N. Chelovek i landshafty. Ocherki antropogennogo landshaftovedeniya [Man and Landscapes: Essays on Anthropogenic Landscape Studies]. Moscow: Mysl’ Publ., 1973. 224 p.

32. Milkov F.N., Mikhno V.B., Drozdov K.A., et al. Dolinnorechnye landshafty Srednerusskoi lesostepi [Valley-River Landscapes of the Central Russian Forest-Steppe]. Voronezh: Izd-vo Voronezh. Univ., 1987. 256 p.

33. Minella J.P.G., Merten G.H., Clarke R.T. Identification of sediment sources in a small rural drainage basin. In Sediment Transfer through the Fluvial System (Proc. Symp. Moscow, August 2004). No. 288. IAHS Publ., 2004, pp. 44–51.

34. Newson M. Land, water and development. Hydrol. Sci. J., 1998, vol. 43, no. 3, pp. 498–498.

35. Oruonyel E.D. Morphometry and flood in small drainage basin: case study of Mayogwoi River Basin in Jalingo, Taraba State Nigeria. J. Geogr. Environ. Earth Sci. Int., 2016, vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 1–12.

36. Ponczynski J.J., Abrahams A.D. Impact of construction activities on sediment response in a small drainage basin, western New York. Phys. Geogr., 2013, vol. 4, no. 1, pp. 25–37.

37. Prokopyev M.G., Vitukhin A.D. Analiz i rejting sostoyaniya okruzhayushhej sredy’ po regionam CzFO RF [Analysis and rating of the state of the environment by region of the Central Federal District of the Russian Federation]. Reg. Probl. Ekon. Transform., 2019, no. 8, pp. 175–183. (In Russ.).

38. Prostranstvenno-vremennye zakonomernosti razvitiya sovremennykh protsessov prirodnoi i antropogennoi erozii na Russkoi ravnine [Spatial and Temporal Patterns of the Development of Modern Natural and Anthropogenic Erosion on the Russian Plain]. Golosov V.N., Ermolaev O.P., Eds. Kazan: Izd-vo AN RT, 2019. 372 p.

39. River Basin Management in the Twenty-First Century: Understanding People and Place. Squires V.R., Milner H.M., Daniell K.A., Eds. CRC Press, 2014. 511 p.

40. River Basin Management. Deng X., Gibson J., Eds. Springer, 2019. 422 p.

41. Safina G.R., Golosov V.N. The impact of climate change on the intraannual flow distribution of small rivers in the southern half of the European territory of Russia. Uch. Zap. Kazan. Univ., Ser. Estestv. Nauki, 2018, vol. 160, no. 1, pp. 111–125. (In Russ.).

42. Shit P.K., Bera B., Islam A., et al. Introduction to drainage basin dynamics: morphology, landscape and modelling. In Drainage Basin Dynamics: An Introduction to Morphology, Landscape and Modelling. Springer, 2021, pp. 1–9.https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-79634-1

43. Simonov Yu.G., Kruzhalin V.I. River basins. In Dinamicheskaya geomorfologiya [Dynamic Geomorphology]. Moscow: Izd-vo Mosk. Univ., 1992, pp. 237–264. (In Russ.).

44. Simonov Yu.G., Simonova T.Yu. River basin and basin organization of the geographical sphere. In Erozionnye i ruslovye protsessy. No. 14 [Soil Erosion and Channel Processes. No. 14], Moscow: Izd-vo Mosk. Univ., 2004, pp. 7–33. (In Russ.).

45. Solntsev N.A. Some issues of landscape dynamics. Vestn. Mosk. Univ., Ser. 5: Geogr., 1963, no. 2, pp. 155–176. (In Russ.).

46. Spesivy O.V., Lisetsky F.N. Assessment of the intensity and normalization of soil erosion in the Central Chernozem area based on the basin approach. Reg. Geosist., 2014, vol. 27, no. 10, pp. 125–132. (In Russ.).

47. Strahler A.N. Quantitative analysis of watershed geomorphology. Eos Trans. AGU, 1957, vol. 38, no. 6, pp. 913–920.

48. Surkov V.V. Assessment of the anthropogenic load of landscapes along the route of the North European gas pipeline within Vologda Oblast. In Landshaftovedenie: teoriya, metody, regional’nye issledovaniya, praktika [Landscape Studies: Theory, Methods, Regional Studies, Practice]. Moscow: Geogr. Fak. Mosk. Univ., 2006, pp. 590–593. (In Russ.).

49. Surkov V.V., Zavadsky A.S., Chernov A.V. Floodplain of the Moscow River in the lower reaches, ecological state, development in conditions of intensive technogenic use and assessment of technogenic disturbance of its natural territorial complexes. In Erozionnye i ruslovye protsessy [Soil Erosion and Channel Processes]. Moscow: Izd-vo Mosk. Univ., 2019, pp. 113–148. (In Russ.).

50. Tsymbarovich P., et al. Soil erosion: An important indicator for the assessment of land degradation neutrality in Russia. Int. Soil Water Conserv. Res., 2020, vol. 8, no. 4, pp. 418–429. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iswcr.2020.06.002

51. Verstraeten G., Poesen J. Assessment of sediment-fixed nutrient export from small drainage basins in central Belgium using retention ponds. In The Role of Erosion and Sediment Transport in Nutrient and Contaminant Transfer (Proc. Symp. Waterloo, Canada, July 2000). No. 263. IAHS Publ., 2000, pp. 243–249.

52. Yasinskii S.V., Kashutina E.A. Spatial and temporal patterns of changes in spring slope and river flow on the Russian plain. Izv. Akad. Nauk, Ser. Geogr., 2007, no. 5, pp. 71–81. (In Russ.).

53. Zaikanov V.G., Minakova T.B. Metodologicheskie osnovy kompleksnoi geoekologicheskoi otsenki territorii [Methodological Foundations of a Comprehensive Geoecological Assessment of the Territory]. Moscow: Nauka Publ., 2008. 81 p.

54. Zakharov K.V., Medvedkov A.A., Ivanova E.Yu. Technology of geoecological assessment of urbanized territories (on the example of the near Podmoskovye). InterKarto. InterGIS, 2019, vol. 25, no. 1, pp. 352–361. (In Russ.).

55. Zorina E.F. Ovrazhnaya eroziya: zakonomernosti i potentsial razvitiya [Gully Erosion: Patterns and Development Potential]. Moscow: GEOS Publ., 2003. 168 p.