Long-term dynamics of the area overgrown by helophytic vegetation in Lake Pskov

Abstract

This paper presents the results of a spatiotemporal analysis of the dynamics of the overgrowing of helophytes in the water area of Lake Pskov (Pikhva) for the period 1988 to 2017. Using the classification procedure for Landsat satellite images for different years, zones of overgrowing by helophytes in the coastal zone and islands of Lake Pskov were identified. During this period, no clear trend towards overgrowing of Lake Pskov by air and water vegetation was observed. Helophytes develop annually on the same sites. The po­sitive dynamics of overgrowing of individual areas is local, as shown by the example of the Talabsk Islands, where the zone of overgrowth between 2007 and 2017 increased by 7.5 ha. The composition of the dominants of the main communities of the coastal aquatic vegetation did not change significantly over the years. The average value of the area occupied by helophytes is 4.14%. The results obtained are fundamental for determining the overgrowth of Lake Pskov within the framework of the ongoing environmental monitoring of the Peipsi­Pikhva Lake Complex.

Keywords

• lake pskov
• helophytes
• overgrowing
• geographic information system (gis)
• satellite imagery
• landsat