Tobratov S.A., Zheleznova O.S.

 

Geological and geomorphological conditions for occurrence and development of forest-turf fires in Meshchera Lowland. Pp. 184–213.

 

UDC 640.43(470.313)

DOI 10.37724/RSU.2026.90.1.019

 

Abstract. The present study addresses the geographical patterns of wildfires in the Polesye landscapes of the Meshchera Lowland — a region characterized by high pyrogenic potential. It establishes a stable topological spatial relationships between the primary ignition sites in the summer of year 2010 and the valleys of the buried pre-Jurassic erosion network (incisions into the roof of Carboniferous limestones). The geophysical premise of this regularity is the relatively high specific weight of limestones (1.4–1.8-times greater than that of other rock types prevalent in the research area), which determines the existence of associated local gravitational anomalies that influence landscape processes. It has been noted that the establishment of topological patterns of pyrogenesis was made possible solely through data obtained from satellite infrared monitoring of the Earth’s surface. The changes in the pyrogenic potential of landscapes under the influence of anthropogenic and biogenic relief forms (such as channels and beaver morphological complexes) and the associated alterations in vegetation cover have been examined, as well as the fire-resistant properties of local linear elevations in the terrain (vereyas). The optimal (regional norm) and pessimistic (anthropogenic over-drying that stimulates catastrophic fires) values of summer inter-melt water exchange are 0.05 and 0.40 l/s×sq.km, respectively. Using the example of pyrogenic events in 1936 (and the destruction of the village of Kursha-2), the paper defines the conditions for transition of local fires into catastrophic fires, including the orientation of natural and anthropogenic landforms that may accelerate the movement of fire, in accordance with the meteorological azimuths of surface and high-altitude prevailing atmospheric flows. The ash-coal horizon of one of the fires in 1936 is used as a reference point for assessing the current rates of biogenic sedimentation. It is established that these rates fall within the range of 0.20–0.25 mm/year, which is typical of the Meshchera natural province in the late Holocene.

 

Keywords: anthropogenic relief, vereyas, surface fires, Kursha-2, local anomalies of the gravitational field, Meshchera lowland, drainage reclamation, pyrogenesis, buried relief, vertical rate of peat growth, erosional valley bottom.

 

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