Spatial-factorial analysis of background status of the Danube River basin state on the northeastern slops of the Ukrainian Carpathians

Abstract

The study solved the problem of analyzing the background spatial-factorial patterns of distribution of quantitative and qualitative indicators of groundwater sources and surface waters within the upper part of the Prut River that belongs to the Danube River basin. The studies have been conducted within the Carpathian National Nature Park, located on the northeastern slopes of the Ukrainian Carpathians. The basic regularities and peculiarities of the distribution of springs in the researched territory have been studied by means of factor analysis of the set of estimation parameters and the relationships between them. Patterns of changes in the concentrations of the natural components of the qualitative composition of the hydro-ecosystem have been found, depending on the altitude of the terrain. Similar data has been obtained in the analysis of the relationship between the average geometric components of the chemical composition of natural waters and the length of the river. Trend lines and equations have been obtained, which can be used to determine the background normative values of natural water components along the length of the stream and the altitude of the basin for individual seasons and phases of water. In this paper, for the first time, the functional natural pattern of hydro-ecosystems of the upper part of the Danube basin within the northeastern slopes of the Ukrainian Carpathians is shown to increase its qualitative potential with increasing absolute altitude above sea level for nature conservation territory.