Abstract:
Varied tourist values of places increase the possibility of practicing various
forms of tourism. This study presents a landscape and ecological analysis of the Ural
delta, taking into account its potential for tourism development. The delta of the
described river is an important natural value due to its tourist values. It can be
classified in the geosites category as a valuable asset affecting the tourist potential of
the region. This scientific article discusses the methodology of landscape-ecological
analysis of the delta areas in consideration of anthropogenic transformation of
natural environmental components. We identified the main factors of anthropogenic
transformation of the soil and vegetative cover. By employing geographic
information technologies (software support and satellite data), up-to-date soil and
vegetation maps of the Ural delta were created. With the help of estimated geoecological figures, we produced a map displaying anthropogenic disturbance of
landscapes. The obtained results can be applied in territorial planning and
ecological-geographical studies for construction of large economic objects.
