The use of GIS for mapping and analysis of changes in the vegetation cover of Chornohora (Ukrainian Carpathians) under the influence of the pasture farming

Abstract

On the basis of the landscape approach, the location of the boundary of the highlands landscape tier within the Chornohora landscape of the Ukrainian Carpathians was identified. An analysis of the features of the placement and load of pasture farming on mountain geocomplexes was carried out, taking into account the area and specialization of polonynas, the number of livestock, etc. The impact of pasture farming on the structure and features of the vegetation cover of the high and mid-mountain landscape tiers of Chornohora, where the largest polonynas of the massif are concentrated, is characterized. The main result of the research is a compiled map of the current vegetation cover on the example of the section of “Sheshul-Petros”, which also reflects the location of the forest on the territory of the forest and the height position of the timberline. As a result of the research, more than 10 km2 of meadows and shrubs of secondary origin were identified and mapped, which in modern conditions of climate warming and reduction in the number of livestock are overgrown with shrubs and tree species.