About technogenic transformations of the river network on the Azov-Kuban Plain (Chelbas, Albashi rivers)

The article analyzes changes in steppe agricultural landscapes in the central part of the Azov-Kuban Plain over the period 2000–2020 using satellite imagery and DEM ASTER GDEM data. in terms of changing the structure of land use and hydrographic characteristics. Most of the agricultural land of the Krasnodar territory, occupying 61.4 % of the region’s territory, is located on the Azov-Kuban plain in the steppe river basins. The territory under consideration with an area of 6268 km², covering the basins of the Chelbas and Albashi rivers, according to its geographical characteristics, is typical from the standpoint of the modern dynamics of agrolandscapes and transformations of the river network. The transformation of agrolandscapes is accompanied by redevelopment and plowing of the territory, mass construction of dams on rivers, violation of the conditions of natural drainage, which leads to the restructuring of water exchange processes in river basins. 19 private river basins have been identified with the definition of land use types on the surface of the basins. In each of the private basins, a land use structure has been established that affects hydrographic indicators, a decrease in the length of watercourses and the density of the river network has been revealed. For 2000–2020 in private basins, the total length of watercourses, due to plowing and redevelopment of the surface, decreased by 1.51–33.14 %, and in general, in the analyzed section of the Azov-Kuban Plain, by 437 km or by 16.5 %. A widespread “die-off” of the upper sections of the river and ravine network was recorded, most noticeable in the peripheral watersheds.