Investigation of changes in natural environment of coastal areas of Lake Baikal (within the boundaries of Irkutsk oblast)
O.V. GAGARINOVA, I.A. BELOZERTSEVA, E.A. IL’ICHEVA, V.A. PRELOVSKII, A.P. SOFRONOV, M.V. TSYGANKOVA
V.B. Sochava Institute of Geography, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Irkutsk, Russia
Keywords: geomorphological processes, waterlogging, flooding, landscape, soils, vegetation, water level, estuarine zones, fauna
Abstract
This article discusses the main methods for assessing the impact of dynamic changes in hydrological conditions of the lake on the natural environment of its coast. A brief component-wise analysis is made of the current state of the natural conditions of the coastal territory with a focus on the formation of the analytical physical-geographical basis for assessing the ecological consequences under various scenarios of changes of the Lake Baikal level. The territories vulnerable to the occurrence and development of unfavorable natural processes, which are most susceptible to fluctuations of the lake water level, have been identified Baikal. It is shown that the estuarine zones of tributaries and low coastal areas, which are the habitats of endemic and red-book biota species, are most susceptible to the negative influence of fluctuations in the lake level. The study of the natural components of the coast: geomorphological elements, soils, vegetation, animal world and landscapes in general has been carried out on the basis of published data and the results of previous and current research by the authors. It is concluded that the influence of the lake’s hydrological regime on the adjacent territory has not been adequately explored to date.
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