Open AccessINTEGRATIVE ASSESSMENT OF THE HASKOVO REGION’S LANDS IN TERMS OF ENVIRONMENTALLY SENSITIVE TO DESERTIFICATION AREAS
Author(s) -
Daniela Avetisyan,
Roumen Nedkov,
Emiliya Velizarova
Publication year - 2017
Language(s) - English
DOI - 10.32006/eeep.2017.2.2030
Subject(s) - desertification , arid , land degradation , vegetation (pathology) , environmental science , land use , geography , limiting , ecosystem , environmental resource management , agroforestry , physical geography , environmental protection , ecology , biology , medicine , mechanical engineering , pathology , engineering
Desertification is the consequence of a set of important processes which are active in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid environments, where water is the main limiting factor of land use performance in ecosystems. Located in dry sub-humid environments of South-Eastern Bulgaria, Haskovo Region is distinguished with a significant lack of humidity in growing period reaching up to 700 mm. Landscapes in Haskovo Region exhibit different sensitivity to desertification for various reasons mainly determined by the characteristics of their components and how they react to changing environment. The various types of sensitive to desertification landscapes can be distinguished and mapped by using certain key indicators for assessment of the land capability to withstand further degradation. These factors can be divided into four broad categories defining the qualities of soil, climate, vegetation, and management (stressor indicators). The aim of the resent study is to identify main characteristics of landscape components and to delineate territories with lands resistance to degradation processes in terms of desertification. Remote sensing methods and GIS were used.