Spatial organization and functional structure of the Ukok Plateau cultural landscapes

Abstract

The article is devoted to the analysis of the functional structure and identification of patterns of spatial and temporal organization of cultural landscapes of the Ukok plateau, which is located in the Southeastern Altai on the border of Russia, China, Mongolia and Kazakhstan. This territory is interesting because, despite the inaccessibility and absence of settlements with a permanent population, it has a long history of economic development, as well as important sacred significance for the indigenous population of Altai. Based on the analysis of literary sources, own field observations, as well as the results of interviews, the main types of cultural landscapes of the plateau: cattle-breeding, border, industrial, environmental-conservation, tourist-recreational, sacred. Each of them has its own internal structure with a characteristic set of elements and obvious spatial coherence. It was revealed that different types of cultural landscapes in their territorial organization are determined by different geographical and social factors – positional (border cultural landscapes), natural landscape (cattle breeding and environmental-conservation), natural resource (industrial), transport and landscape aesthetic (tourist-recreational), historical and religious-mythological (sacred). Modern trends in the dynamics of Ukok's cultural landscapes caused by climatic, socio-economic and institutional changes are also revealed. In particular, the geography of pasture lands and the mode of use of pastures have changed as a result of changes in snowfall, as well as the formalization of the rights of economic use of the territory. The development of tourism determines the diversification of the economic activities of local livestock breeders and the emergence of new elements in the cultural landscapes of Ukok. The borderline and environmental-conservation status of the plateau led to the actual elimination of previously existing hunting cultural landscapes, and the problem of transport accessibility and harsh working conditions became prerequisites for the collapse of the mining industry and the degradation of industrial cultural landscapes. The article contributes to the understanding of the processes of formation and development of cultural landscapes of underdeveloped peripheral territories with a predominance of traditional nature management. It is important to take this into account in the strategic planning of their development.

Keywords:

functional types of cultural landscapes, Ukok plateaus, Southeastern Altai, geocultural space, transformation, life cycle of social systems