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Development of the Informal Road Network and Its Impact on the Transformation of Taiga Geosystems in the North of Irkutsk Oblast

  • REGIONAL PROBLEMS OF ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES AND NATURAL RESOURCES UTILIZATION
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Abstract

We examine the impact of roads on geosystems in territories of new development, where the extraction of hydrocarbons motivates especially intensive improvement of the infrastructure. In this study, we consider motor roads beyond the official network, which have been informally constructed, maintained, or used by various organizations or individuals. We represent types of roads with different forms and regimes of management schematically. As the model area for studying the impact of roads on taiga geosystems, we selected a territory in the north of Irkutsk oblast, in the interfluve of the Kirenga and Khanda rivers; field investigations of the transformation of geosystems were carried out along the informal road from the Vershina Khandy village to the Magistral’nyi settlement. Particular attention was paid to the possible intensification of geomorphological processes as one of the crucial factors for changes in geosystems. A comprehensive analysis of geological, geomorphological, and landscape factors using remote sensing data and field studies made it possible to compile a geomorphological map with identification of dangerous exogenous processes along these roads. Major causes for landscape disturbances were identified, namely degradation and transformation of vegetation cover and changes in the temperature regime of permafrost, which lead to waterlogging and subsidence of soils and, consequently, to the formation of multiple tracks along the roadside and intensified linear erosion.

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Funding

This work was financially supported by the National Science Foundation (United States) within the framework of the Informal Roads: The Impact of Unofficial Transport Routes on Remote Arctic Communities project (174809).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Sochava Institute of Geography, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, 664033, Irkutsk, Russia

    I. N. Bilichenko, D. V. Kobylkin, V. V. Kuklina & V. N. Bogdanov

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  1. I. N. Bilichenko
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  2. D. V. Kobylkin
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  3. V. V. Kuklina
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  4. V. N. Bogdanov
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to I. N. Bilichenko, D. V. Kobylkin, V. V. Kuklina or V. N. Bogdanov.

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Translated by K. Lazarev

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Bilichenko, I.N., Kobylkin, D.V., Kuklina, V.V. et al. Development of the Informal Road Network and Its Impact on the Transformation of Taiga Geosystems in the North of Irkutsk Oblast. Geogr. Nat. Resour. 42, 148–155 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1875372821020037

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