FOREST LANDSCAPES OF THE SLUCH RIVER BASIN (WITHIN THE RIVNE REGION)

Abstract

In the article, we investigated the peculiarities of the formation, dynamics, and intra-organizational structure of forest landscapes in the Sluch river basin. The dynamics of afforestation indicators of the territory in the Sluch River valley were characterized for the period from 1910 to 2020, and corresponding cartographic images were created in the section of the specified time segments. It is worth saying that the forest cover of the Sluch River valley decreased by 27% from 1910 to 2020 and is 57% today. The basin’s forest cover is decreasing annually due to uncontrolled logging and amber mining. The current state of the forests of the Sluch river basin and their species composition are described. Dominant species have been identified. These are pine, ordinary oak birch hung and black alder. A forest typological characterization was carried out and the forest landscape areas were selected. As a result of the construction of the map of the forest landscapes of the region, we selected 17 forest landscape areas in the basin of the Sluch River, in particular lower and elevated boundary rivers, flood plains and fluvioglacial plains with predominance of pine-oak, pine, pine-alder, pine-birch, oak, oak-hornbeam forests. The anthropogenic influence on the forest landscapes of the Sluch river basin has been analyzed, the main directions of influence and their consequences have been determined. Solid felling is accompanied by the development of erosion, the destruction of plants, changes in the hydrological regime, etc. Due to the illegal mining of amber, “lunar” landscapes are formed and the grass cover is destroyed. As a result of industrial pollution of soils and water objects, forests are under the influence of acid rain and ozone anomalies.