Using the landscape approach in determining the boundaries of the protected area of the Sintashty cluster of the Arkaim reserve, Russia

Abstract

Aim. To select the maximum variety of landscape structural units from the watershed to the Sintashta river. To determine the boundaries of the recommended specially protected area.Material and Methods. The Sintashta protected area is currently composed of tracts which only represent a small part of steppe landscape diversity: bushy tracts and forb-grass floodplain and part of the herb-grass steppe terraces. Based on field physical geography description and cartography using GIS systems, the maximum variety of tracts from the watershed to the river in the territory within which lies the Sintashta archaeological monument complex (the cluster section of the Arkaim reserve) was identified.Results. The course of separate tracts that characterise the steppe landscape from the watershed to the Sintashta River comprises: inclined-undulating banks with gullies and sagebrush-mixed grass steppe, lowland forb-fescue steppe with birch and pine groves, plains grass grassland bushed grassland, flat interfleuve with feather grass-forb steppe with pine and birch groves.Conclusion. The territory of the Sintashta site is unique in its natural and historical content. Preserving it in the future as a territorial system with its enclosing landscapes and cultural monuments will allow a comprehensive approach to the issues of reconstruction and preservation of the natural environment and the understanding of the economic structure of ancient societies. In ordere to preserve the historical and cultural complex in inseparable connection with the natural landscape, it is recommended that selected key tracts be incorporated in the protected area.