Modern trends in the formation of fallow land arrays as a prerequisite for the complication of fire situations in the Volga-Ural region

DOI: 10.35595/2414-9179-2024-2-30-236-251

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About the Authors

Vladimir M. Pavleichik

Institute of Steppe of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences,
11, Pionerskaya str., Orenburg, 460000, Russia,
E-mail: vmpavleychik@gmail.com

Natalya Yu. Svyatoha

Institute of Steppe of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences,
11, Pionerskaya str., Orenburg, 460000, Russia,
E-mail: osugeo@yandex.ru

Zhanna T. Sivohip

Institute of Steppe of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences,
11, Pionerskaya str., Orenburg, 460000, Russia,
E-mail: sivohip@mail.ru

Abstract

Wildfires pose a threat to the environment, the economy and the safety of the population in various regions of the world. In relation to steppe regions, the most important indicators for understanding the causes of fire situations are indicators reflecting the structure and dynamics of agricultural land use. The main purpose of the study was to identify regional features of the formation of fallow land arrays, taking into account the zonal structure of landscapes. The Trans-Volga-Ural region was adopted as the research area, which representatively covers a number of zonal landscapes from mixed and broad-leaved forests to southern deserts, and corresponding environmental management systems. On the basis of geoinformation products (global datasets on arable land dynamics from the GLAD laboratory of the University of Maryland and types of soil and vegetation cover (LCCS) of the FAO) and official statistical data, current trends in the dynamics of arable land use have been identified. Spatial heterogeneity in the sustainability of agricultural development is revealed due to the diversity of the natural resource potential of the region. The main areas of distribution of fallow land masses are concentrated along the southern border of the agricultural belt of Northern Eurasia, their formation is due to a number of reasons, the main of which are: a) the development of unsuitable lands in the 1950s and 1960s during the virgin lands campaign; b) negative phenomena in the economy and economy of the post-Soviet countries; c) unfavorable agro-climatic conditions of the 1990s with a subsequent tendency to increase the anomaly of the regional climate. The time period under consideration covers the period of a sharp and widespread decline in agriculture (1990–2000) and the current stage with multidirectional dynamics. Restoration of vegetation of fallow lands to a pyrogenic hazardous state takes about 10–15 years, and thus, by the early 2000s, these unused lands began to be exposed to increasing pyrogenic effects. The results obtained indicate the continued deterioration of fire conditions in areas where there is a tendency to reduce the area of cultivated land. Monitoring the transformation of land use types is an important stage in the organization of fire prevention measures and fire management.

Keywords

wildfires, arable land, fallow lands, steppe regions, nature management

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For citation: Pavleichik V.M., Svyatoha N.Yu., Sivohip Z.T. Modern trends in the formation of fallow land arrays as a prerequisite for the complication of fire situations in the Volga-Ural region. InterCarto. InterGIS. GI support of sustainable development of territories: Proceedings of the International conference. Moscow: MSU, Faculty of Geography, 2024. V. 30. Part 2. P. 236–251. DOI: 10.35595/2414-9179-2024-2-30-236-251 (in Russian)