The Influence of Forest Conditions on the Formation of the Summer Flash Floods in Irkutsk Oblast in 2019: A Case Study of the Iya River Basin

— This article presents an analysis of the current forest conditions and their water-regulating effect on the development of flash flood events using the Iya river basin as an example, where a catastrophic flash flood occurred in June and July 2019, which resulted in great damage and fatalities in t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Geography and natural resources 2021-04, Vol.42 (2), p.156-163
Main Authors: Makarenko, E. L., Sofronov, A. P.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Age composition
Agricultural land
Arable land
Cartography
Catastrophic events
Clearcutting
Earth and Environmental Science
Economic Geography
Fire damage
Flash floods
Floods
Forest fires
Forests
Geography
Image analysis
Image processing
Insects
Landsat
Landsat satellites
Landscape/Regional and Urban Planning
Mathematical analysis
Reforestation
Regional Problems of Environmental Studies and Natural Resources Utilization
Remote sensing
River basins
Rivers
Satellite imagery
Spatial analysis
Statistical analysis
Vegetation
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Summary:— This article presents an analysis of the current forest conditions and their water-regulating effect on the development of flash flood events using the Iya river basin as an example, where a catastrophic flash flood occurred in June and July 2019, which resulted in great damage and fatalities in the Tulunskii district of Irkutsk oblast. The methods include spatial-temporal analogies, mathematical-statistical analysis, aerospace monitoring and field geobotanical interpretation, and cartographic modeling. The main indicators that reflect the water-regulating functions of the forest, such as forest cover, bonitet, degree of crowding, and the species and age composition of woody stands are considered in terms of their dynamics for 2008–2018. We examine the main factors that lead to impairment of the water-regulating functions of the forest, including fires, clear-cutting, and damage caused by pest insects and diseases. Results of the Landsat 7 and Landsat 8 image analysis and from field work were used to compile a map showing areas with primary and disturbed vegetation communities, as well as other artificially transformed territories (agricultural land, spoil tips, and other accumulated spoil, settlements, etc.). It was determined that the most disturbed communities are located in the plain and most developed subtaiga forest vegetation provinces are represented by secondary small-leaved stands with a significant inclusion of large-contour agricultural land (primarily, arable). The main conclusion of the study suggests that the considered forests are in satisfactory condition in terms of their quality characteristics and adequately fulfill their water-regulating functions. The existing degree of disturbance of the forests did not contribute to an increase in the flash flood, since the latter was determined by the abnormally heavy and long-lasting precipitation and orographic features of the watershed. The part of the area located in the subtaiga province, however, requires reforestation on unused agricultural land due to its lower forest cover and large-scale human activity.
ISSN:1875-3728
1875-371X
DOI:10.1134/S1875372821020062