The assessment of economic use of the catchment areas of different types of lakes in the Volyn region

In modern conditions, where many environmental problems are becoming global, studying the patterns of functioning of hierarchical systems is increasingly relevant. The concept of the hierarchical structure of natural objects is one of the most important aspects of developing the theory of lake ecosystems (limnosystems). In this regard, a clear example is the impact of the catchment area on the lake as a subsystem and element of the landscape. Typically, lake studies are limited to examining the largest lakes, while identifying general patterns requires obtaining as wide a range of variability in different parameters as possible. An important part of the landscapes and natural environment of the Volyn region of Ukraine are lakes. They have significant natural and economic value. They play a leading role in regulating and shaping river runoff, water self-purification processes, and the accumulation of biological and mineral substances. The water bodies and their shores serve as habitats for a rich and diverse fauna and flora, including species that require special protection. The lakes in the region hold large reserves of natural resources: water, biological, plant, animal, mineral, and recreational resources. The shores of the lakes are intensively used for recreation, settlement areas, and industrial and agricultural production, leading to anthropogenic impact and technological transformations of the water bodies. An important indicator of anthropogenic changes in lake catchments is the degree of economic development of the catchments or the types of use of lake catchments. An analysis of lake catchments of different types of lakes in the Volyn region, located in various physical-geographical regions, was conducted, examining their structure (water surface, forests, meadows, swamps, arable land for agricultural purposes, and built-up areas). The research reveals the presence of lakes with varying degrees of economic development of their catchments. Lakes differ in the direction and nature of the use of their catchments. Assessing the structure of lake catchments is a crucial characteristic necessary for determining the ecological status of water bodies, planning resource-conserving strategies and tactics for natural resource management and developing proposals for their rational use and a set of environmental protection measures.