Landscape analysis of the South Kamchatka natural park territory (World Natural Heritage site “Volcanoes of Kamchatka”)

DOI: 10.35595/2414-9179-2024-1-30-306-320

View or download the article (Rus)

About the Authors

Anna A. Vysotskaya

Lomonosov Moscow State University, Faculty of Geography,
1, Leninskie Gory, Moscow, 119991, Russia,
E-mail: an.vys@yandex.ru

Alexey A. Medvedkov

Institute of Geography, Russian Academy of Sciences,
29 build. 4, Staromonetny ln., Moscow, 119017, Russia,

Lomonosov Moscow State University, Faculty of Geography,
1, Leninskie Gory, Moscow, 119991, Russia,

E-mail: a-medvedkov@bk.ru

Ivan S. Kuzmichev

Lomonosov Moscow State University, Faculty of Geography,
1, Leninskie Gory, Moscow, 119991, Russia,
E-mail: pilot238@mail.ru

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to map the landscapes of the protected area of the South
Kamchatka Natural Park (in the future—the National Park), which is part of the UNESCO World Natural Heritage cluster site “Volcanoes of Kamchatka”. This area is characterized by poor exploration, especially in landscape terms, which makes it extremely relevant to work on mapping landscapes in such heterogeneous geological, geomorphological and climatic conditions. As a basis for mapping landscapes, the following were used: the results of geological surveys of different years, a landscape map of the USSR (ed. by A.G. Isachenko), a digital relief model ArcticDEM (32 m), author’s materials collected in different parts of the park during the summer field studies of 2021 and 2022, as well as formed for the entire protected area multi-temporal (summer and autumn over different years) low- and cloudless mosaics of multi-zone satellite images of Landsat (30 m) and Sentinel-2 (10 m), which have become the main source of information about vegetation. The result is a map that is essentially a conceptual zoning scheme. The landscape basis in cartographic form was developed for the first time for this territory. According to the results of the work carried out, the territory of the park is geologically and geographically differentiated into 3 hierarchical levels. Based on the analysis of morphostructural features within the park, two regions are identified at the first level: “1”—eastern, including territories without signs of modern volcanism (coastal ridges and low-lying plains) and “2”—western, represented by territories where volcanic accumulation processes are developing (active volcanic apparatuses, lava plateaus and volcanic plains). Further, the regions are divided into districts representing specific types of landforms, identified based on the similarity of the processes that formed their appearance. Whereas the districts, in turn, are differentiated into provinces, the allocation of which took into account the typical and most widespread plant communities. The results obtained in the form of their physical and geographical analysis and cartographic display reveal the basic principles of the natural landscape organization of the park territory, which are the basis for planning ecological, tourist, environmental protection and research activities within its boundaries.

Keywords

natural heritage, protected landscapes, physical and geographic regionalization, landscape mapping, volcanic landscapes, South-Eastern Kamchatka

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For citation: Vysotskaya A.A., Medvedkov A.A., Kuzmichev I.S. Landscape analysis of the South Kamchatka natural park territory (World Natural Heritage site “Volcanoes of Kamchatka”). InterCarto. InterGIS. Moscow: MSU, Faculty of Geography, 2024. V. 30. Part 1. P. 306–320. DOI: 10.35595/2414-9179-2024-1-30-306-320 (in Russian)