EVALUATION OF SENSITIVITY POTENTIAL OF LANDSCAPES IN SHAHDAGH NATIONAL PARK

Abstract

The use of landscape planning mechanisms and tools is a very important factor in the management and development of specially protected natural areas in our country. Identification of valuable and unique landscape resources, especially in national parks, where tourism is a priority area, should remain a prerequisite for setting comprehensive development goals for the territory. Assessment of sensitivity potential, one of the important stages of landscape planning, is understood as the ability of natural complexes to change their properties and dynamic characteristics under the influence of human activities. The article reveals the components of the natural landscape of the Shahdag National Park and adjacent territories and assesses them according to sensitivity categories. The main goal of the study is to assess and map the sensitivity of landscapes on a regional scale based on geographic information systems (GIS). When carrying out such an assessment, sensitivity levels were determined taking into account the characteristics of the response of various natural components to anthropogenic impacts. As a result, it was determined that 50.3% of the study area belong to high, 47.3% - to medium and 2.4% - to low sensitivity. The practical significance of the work lies in the fact that the conceptual approach developed within the framework of the study based on the methodology of landscape planning can be used to optimize the management system in terms of the territorial organization of nature management and socioecological development. The use of a new integrated approach in both existing and planned systems of management and environmental planning should be considered as one of the key factors in improving the efficiency of these systems and protecting the environment.