Landscape Catenae of Sandy Valley Plains of the Vyatka-Kama Region

摘要

The article shows the results of researching landscape catenae of valley-outwash plains of the Vyatka-Kama Pre-Urals by the example of the natural sanctuary "Medvedsky Bor" in the valley of the low Vyatka (the Volga basin). The catenae analysis of "Medvedsky Bor" was fulfilled on the basis of complex field and laboratory-analytical research of over 120 landscape facies. They are situated on different geomorphological layers (terraces above the floodplain of the Vyatka) and mesorelief elements (within aeolian palaeo-dunes and palaeo-knobs, interdunal and inter-knob basins, karst conical depressions, and sub-horizontal surfaces). On the basis of the analysis of horizontal interrelations of valley-outwash landscapes of "Medvedsky Bor" three models of landscape catenae for ancient-aeolian, swamp, and karstic subtypes of locality were created. The borders of catenative sets are determined; their main peculiarities on outwash valleys of the region are found out. With the help of the original methods the analysis of the power of lateral landscape links between the sets within each catena model was carried out. As a result of the research carried out it was found out that in ancient-aeolian landscape horizontal redistribution of matter and energy is the least represented. Landscape catenae, as a rule, consist of 2 upper sets - eluvial and transit (normally of its transeluvial part). Transaccumulative part of the transit set is very seldom represented in lower positions of ancient-aeolian catenae in conditions of considerable lessening of the power of sand sediments or recurrent ground moistening. Swamp landscapes have the strongest horizontal interactions in their lower parts. Swamp landscape catenae, in case of connection with such complexes, can consist of 4 sets, such as eluvial, transit, superaqual, and subaqual. The sets considerably differ from each other as for their vegetation and soil content. Catenae of the karstic type of locality also consist of 4 sets, and strong links are characteristic not only for the upper, but also for the middle parts of this geosystem. The power of horizontal links and facies features of these catenae are strongly dependable on the evolution phase of the karst conical depression.