Qualitative and quantitative parameters of the dynamics of the steering network of elementary watercourses in the northern forest-steppe in the XXI century (on the example of the catchment basin of the Ketarsha river, Privolzhskaya upland, Russia)

Abstract

The article presents the results of researching the dynamics of the length of the channel network of elementary watercourses in the north of the forest-steppe zone in the XXI century. The research was conducted on the territory of the catchment basin of the Ketarsha River of the Privolzhskaya Upland, characterized by a high degree of anthropogenic transformation. The research is based on the materials of the expedition work, carried out in the summer of 2023, the results of geoinformation analysis of remote sensing data, topographic maps and literary sources. The fact of reducing the length of the channel network of elementary watercourses in 2023 compared to 2001 has been established. During the expedition work in 2023, the current position of the sources of elementary watercourses was established, based on comparison with the data of topographic maps of 2001, the direction of the change in the length of their channels was established and its quantitative indicators in the XXI century were calculated. In the conditions of actively plowed landscapes on the researched territory, there is a reduction in the length of the channel network of elementary watercourses.