Morphometric analysis of the relief of the Rakhiv Mountains as a basis for the formation of an ecological network
Authors: Teslovych Mariana , Ivanov Yevhen 
Published: November 2022

The Rakhiv Mountains are part of the Maramoros massif of the Carpathians in the Transcarpathian region. The mountain massif plays an important cross-border role, as it is limited to the south by the Ukrainian-Romanian border. The main areas of development of the region are forestry and tourism. The specified types of activities contribute to the intensification of the development of dangerous exogenous processes within the slope geosystems of the region. The risk of their manifestation depends on the morphometric features of the relief of mountain geosystems.

A morphometric analysis of the relief forms of the Rakhiv Mountains was carried out and slope parameters were calculated by groups of their steepness and exposure. Groups of slopes were distinguished according to the level of potential risk of dangerous exogenous processes, and the areas and shares of the indicated groups and subgroups of slopes were calculated. The degree of protection of the region by the existing objects of the nature reserve fund was determined. A GIS model was created to assess the risk of the manifestation of dangerous exogenous processes on the slopes of the Rakhiv mountains and the state of their protection. On the basis of the Copernicus Global Land Service geodata, the shares of vegetation cover types within the zones of different levels of risk of the development of dangerous exogenous processes were calculated.

Steep and very steep slopes predominate within the mountain range (76.0%). As for the exposure of the slopes, the slopes of the northern (18.9%) and southern (15.4%) exposures dominate here. The highest and highest degree of risk of manifestation of slope processes is characteristic for the slopes located in the catchments of the tributaries of the Tysa River (Bily, Velikiy Potik, Kvasny) and in the interfluve of the Tysa and Kosivska rivers, which occupy 40.0%. About 42.6% of the slopes are characterized by a very high and high level of risk of dangerous exogenous processes and remain unprotected. At the same time, 78.4% of them are covered with solid forest vegetation, which can be affected by the use of solid forest felling.

A similar situation is typical for slopes that are classified as higher than average and average levels of potential development of dangerous exogenous processes (43.6% of the total area of the study area). Almost 53.6% of these slopes are not covered by nature conservation areas. At the same time, the share of forest cover within their borders is only 59.8%.

22 objects of the nature reserve fund have been created within the Rakhiv mountains. Among them, the largest is the Carpathian Biosphere Reserve, namely its Kuzii and Maramoros massifs. In addition to the nature reserve, there are two nature reserves and 19 natural monuments.

Environmental protection measures and the possibilities of their integration into the spatial planning system by determining the structural elements of the ecological network are proposed. Important measures to ensure the stability of the slope geosystems of the Rakhiv Mountains are the expansion of the Kuzii and Maramoro massifs of the Carpathian Biosphere Reserve due to the inclusion of forests that perform soil protection and anti-erosion functions. This will significantly contribute to the establishment of nature conservation management in the study area, and in the future these territories may become part of the Ukrainian-Romanian transboundary UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in the Maramoros Mountains.

It is necessary to provide conditions for the restoration of natural geosystems, especially forests on very steep and steep slopes of the region. Forest geosystems outside the territories and objects of the nature reserve fund require the implementation of approaches to forest management close to the environment. Among the approaches, it is worth noting the limitation of solid-forest felling and wood trawling. The development of the tourist infrastructure of the region should take into account the need to preserve the integrity of the local ecological network of the Rakhiv Mountains.

Keywords: Maramorosh, Rakhiv Mountains, ecological network, steepness of slopes, exposure of slopes, dangerous exogenous processes.