Home – Home – Jornals – Geography and natural resources 2017 number 1

We investigated the present status of the landscape structure of the country estate (usad’ba) parks in the Vsevolozhskii district of Leningrad oblast: Ryabovo, Sofievka and Shcheglovo. Field investigations topographic maps and high resolution space images were used in compiling landscape maps, and in analyzing the landscape structure of the country estates. The history of development of the country estates is described. It is found that the parks and the buildings in the country estates are in an extremely neglected condition to date. The degradation process of the park complexes is demonstrated: overgrowth of the parks with not valuable woody species, swamping, a loss of decorative qualities of meadow areas (replacement of meadow vegetation communities by trees and shrubs), and overgrowth of artificial water bodies. A package of measures has been developed, which are necessary for the restoration of the exterior of the historical country estates: removal of dead-standing trees from the terri tory of the parks, tending of trees along the lanes, cleaning of ponds, and restoration of meadow vegetation. It is conclu ded that a restoration work can be based on studying the landscape structure of the parks and the history of the creation of the country estates. Because of an advantageous geographical location (not far from St. Petersburg), their restoration can transform the neglected historical-architectural complexes to profitable sites of tourism industry.