GIS-Based Study of Landscape Structure and Land Use Within the River Valleys in the Southern Tomsk Region: Spatial-Temporal Aspects

Abstract

The chapter is devoted to the study of landscape structure and its natural and anthropogenic changes within the river valleys in the southern Tomsk region. The study is based on field observations, remote sensing data, and GIS analysis. Geodatabase and digital elevation models were created. Changes in landscape structure as a result of different factors were considered. The process of mire geosystems formation on terraces has been studied. Anthropogenic changes in landscape structure in the vicinity of Tomsk were revealed. The key factors of the anthropogenic modification of geosystems in the study area are the increased industrial and agricultural activities since the middle twentieth century, such as sand and gravel extraction from the riverbed, draining, land reclamation, and plowing. Also, important factors of the anthropogenic modification of geosystems are transport construction and expansion of the urban and rural areas. Now, almost all geosystems within the river valleys near Tomsk are exposed to anthropogenic modifications to various degrees. The vector of the changes is directed towards considerable desiccation due to the lowering of the groundwater level, which occurred due to the overlapping of various anthropogenic factors.