Environmental and socio-historical factors in shaping the traditional cultural landscapes of the Chechen and Ingush mid-mountain zone

Aim. To determine the role of natural and socio-historical determinants in shaping the structure and functioning patterns of cultural landscapes in the mid-mountainous regions of Chechnya and Ingushetia between the mid-19^th and mid-20^th centuries across different spatial levels.

Methodology. The research is based on a comprehensive analysis of historical regional studies, literary sources, statistical compendia, and cartographic materials from the Soviet period, as well as field expedition descriptions of the landscape structure and inherited ele­ments from the period of traditional economic development of cultural landscapes. The method of historical-cartographic reconstruction, carried out using GIS modeling, allowed for the identification of spatial patterns in the structure model and the quantitative assess­ment of the influence of natural factors on the land use of traditional cultural landscapes in the study area. The comparative-historical method was applied to identify the characteristic changes in traditional land use systems during their transformation.

Results. The research enabled a comprehensive assessment of the interaction between the natural environment and anthropogenic activity at multiple spatial scales. At the level of landscape-economic settlement areas, the key factors are the distance of agricultural lands from settlements and the morphometric factor (slope steepness, plan and profile curva­ture), which determine the selection of areas for agriculture and livestock farming. At the micro-regional level, i.e., at the level of the territories of rural communities in Chechnya and Ingushetia, significant factors include altitudinal zonation and slope aspect, which are responsible for the diversity of types and subtypes of landscape structure in the mid-moun­tain regions. These factors, in turn, determine various types of traditional land use: grain farming, haymaking, and seasonal transhumant pastoralism. However, at the regional level, encompassing the mid-mountain areas of the formerly unified (until 1993) Chechen-Ingush region, socio-historical factors play an important role. Due to the specific characteristics of the study area, these socio-historical factors conflict with natural determinism, leading to qualitative transformations in land use structure and the alteration of the traditional func­tioning of cultural landscapes.

Research implications. The study holds both theoretical and practical significance, contrib­uting to a more nuanced understanding of the adaptability of economic activities within the context of resource-constrained mountain landscapes. This is particularly pertinent to the North Caucasus, given the contemporary trend of re-utilizing abandoned mid-mountain ar­eas, and thus facilitates the formulation of effective rural development strategies and cultural landscape management plans.

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