Practical Implementation of the Theory of Geosystems in the Study of the Relief of Southern Siberia and Its Resistance to Anthropogenic Impact

The prospects for using the theoretical and methodological provisions of V.B. Sochava’s doctrine of geosystems in a systemic analysis of relief dynamics using the example of the island steppe belt of southern Siberia are provided. When identifying geomorphological systems of different hierarchical levels, the author relies on Sochava’s universal criterion, which is based on the circulation of matter corresponding to each rank of systems. To understand the temporal organization of relief formation, a method of experimental long-term observations of the elementary circulation of matter at the stationary sites of the Institute of Geography, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, is used. With its help, all the variable states of systems, represented by dynamic phases of their functioning cycles, subordinated to one invariant, are identified and ordered. In identifying the spatial organization of relief dynamics, we use a comparative-geographical analysis of geosystem functioning models within their corresponding series proposed by Sochava. The article devotes considerable attention to issues related to mapping relief dynamics for the purposes of geographical forecasting.