Assessment of the impact of recreation load on the development of responsible community tourism

The concept of sustainable development is based on the interdependence of three key aspects of development – environmental, economic and social. Tourism and recreational nature use are seen as effective tools for achieving financial self-sufficiency of local communities, development of private entrepreneurship, positive impact on the social sphere and minimizing the exploitation of natural resource. However, excessive recreational activity can lead to the degradation of natural complexes. In order to preserve biodiversity and sustainable development of territories, it is necessary to monitor the condition of zones with intensive recreational innovation to prevent their degradation and develop responsible tourism. To monitor the environmental condition, there are used modern methods of remote sensing of the Earth, which should be combined with field ecological studies. In the course of the research, there was proved the existence of interrelationships between the enzymatic activity of soils, soil density and the vegetation condition according to NDVI. Currently, there is an urgent issue of maintaining a balance between the population’s requests for recreation and the ability of natural resources to satisfy them. The given research method is able to provide information to ensure the responsible attitude of the community to nature-protected zones, to influence ecological awareness and to ensure the effective use of the ecosystem. Calculations were carried out on the example of complex slope ecosystems of the Barmakivske tract, which are subjected to a strong recreational load.


Introduction
In today's world, there is a growing need for a human to psychologically relax and have a rest, which is manifested in increased attention to recreation and tourism.It is worth emphasizing that recreational and tourist activities should be both socio-ecologically safe and economically profitable.With good planning, tourism can have a significant positive economic impact and contribute to the development of certain regions and local communities.However, excessive recreational activity can lead to the degradation of natural complexes.The triune concept of sustainable development is aimed at ensuring not only environmental safety, but also economic and social justice, in particular, it is planned to direct 2 investments to create jobs, develop innovative technologies, education, health care, etc. Tourism and recreational nature use are seen as effective tools for achieving financial self-sufficiency of local communities, development of private entrepreneurship, positive impact on social sphere and minimizing the exploitation of natural resources.
The data published in the Status of the World's Soil Resources (SWSR) [1] indicate that about 33% of the world's soils are in a state of moderate or severe degradation due to the application of irrational land management methods.
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development contains a number of interrelated goals, including those aimed at restoring degraded soils.The development of tourism increases the recreational load on the existing nature reserve complexes and escalates soil degradation.Despite the fact that the main purpose of protected areas is to serve as standards of nature for the study of natural processes with minimal anthropogenic influence, the natural complexes of the protected Barmakivske tract and the adjacent territories are currently subject to a strong recreational load both in summer and winter, since when enough snow falls in winter, there is a lot of skiing and sledding here.Among skiers, there is a widespread belief that snow protects the soil and winter skiing does not have a negative impact on the protected area.Therefore, we made a decision to investigate changes in soil properties and substantiate the impact of winter recreation.
The aim of the study is to assess the impact of recreational load on the example of the slope ecosystems of the Barmakivske tract for the development of responsible community tourism.The set tasks are: to propose a method of estimating the recreational load using indicators of biological activity of the soil of the standard slope and the slope subjected to recreational load; to establish changes in water-physical properties of soils under the influence of recreational load; to investigate the change in the vegetation condition on the slope under the influence of recreational load using GIS technologies and remote sensing of the Earth.

Material and methods
The processes of changing the condition of the slope ecosystems of the protected Barmakivske tract under the influence of recreational load (skiing in winter) became the object of the research, whereas the subject of the study embraced indicators of biological activity and water and physical properties of the slope soils, germination and germination energy of the seeds of the test plant on the soils of the slopes.The slopes of the protected tract were under study during 2020-2022.
For the study, there were chosen the northern exposure slope, which was used by skiers en masse in winter, and the standard slope of the northern exposure, which was not used for skiing.Changes in slope ecosystems were studied with the help of: 1) cellulolytic activity of the soil, which was determined by the application method; 2) catalytic activity of soils and plant roots; 3) determination of soil density by the cutting ring method and field humidity by the thermostat and weight method; 4) determining the germination and germination energy of the seeds of the test plant on compacted soils.
With the help of satellite images using the EO browser resource and the Q GIS program, the state of vegetation was assessed according to the vegetative index NDVI.
Based on the results of the research, there was made an analysis of the correlational relationships between indicators of the condition of the slope ecosystems and the development of vegetation.

Characteristics of the special features of the protected "Barmakivske" tract
The territory of the Barmakivske tract is located on the outskirts of the city of Rivne (Ukraine) and is a ravine, a part of which, with an area of 19.0 ha, was entered into the register of the Nature Reserve Fund of Ukraine in 1983 into the category of an entomological reserve with the status of local significance.In 2005, this territory was transferred to the category of a protected tract, and the area was increased to 22.4 ha.
In accordance with the Law of Ukraine "On the Nature Reserve Fund of Ukraine", forest, steppe, swamp and other isolated integral landscapes of important scientific, nature conservation and aesthetic value are declared to be protected tracts in order to preserve their natural condition [2].As for the protection regime, all types of felling, removal of clutter and other activities that disrupt the natural processes occurring in the natural complexes included in their composition are prohibited on the territory of protected tracts, in accordance with the requirements established for natural reserves [2].In other words, protected tracts have the same strict protection regime as nature reserves.
The main purpose of nature reserves is to serve as standards of nature, undisturbed by a human, a place to study natural processes that are characteristic of the landscapes of a given geographical region.
The Barmakivske tract is located in the forest and steppe zone on the Volyn Loess Plateau and has natural conditions typical of this region.On the territory of the tract, there is an area with meadow steppes that is rare for the western forest-steppe.These steppes are of great sociological value, as they have been preserved in small areas of Ukraine.The middle part of the ravine is overgrown with shrub and forest vegetation [3].
In general, the Barmakivske tract and its adjacent territories are of significant sociological, aesthetic, etc. value.However, uncontrolled mass recreation of the population can cause significant damage and disrupt natural processes in these ecosystems.

Recreational load as a factor influencing the study area
By its nature, recreational use of natural areas is a socially determined process.However, human needs for recreation are not balanced with the capabilities of ecosystems.As a result, negative changes in natural complexes are manifested in the most visited natural locations, which creates a risk of their degradation with the impossibility of recreation in the future.In other words, there is a rapid process of reduction of recreational natural resources.Therefore, it is necessary to draw the attention of the public to the nature protection aspects of recreation in order to form and develop ecological awareness.
Currently, during the war, a short-term vacation near the city is relevant.Therefore, the recreational areas located on the outskirts of cities are particularly attractive and subject to a greater recreational load.
There is a significant number of recreational zones within the Rivne region (Ukraine).However, the most problematic issue is related to the use of the territories of the nature reserve fund for recreational activities [3,4].In particular, the issue of the use of the White Lake shore (Rivne region, Ukraine), which is located on the territory of the Rivne nature reserve, is still not regulated by law.It is worth noting that the recreational load is a dynamic characteristic that can change, depending on the weather, climate changes, the economic situation in the country, and other factors [4].
Nature reserves should be used to study natural processes, experience minimal human influence, and serve as standards of nature.However, at present, the natural complexes of the protected Barmakivske tract are subjected to a strong recreational load [3].The slope of the northern exposure, which is mainly used for winter recreation, is not part of the protected tract, but next to it, and is a continuation of the lower part of the ravine.Therefore, winter skiing on a slope that is not a protected area has a direct negative impact on the territory of the entire protected tract, because recreationists use the entire protected area for their needs.
In summer, the ecosystems of the protected Barmakivske tract are under considerable recreational pressure.The hills with meadow-steppe vegetation, which offer a beautiful panorama, and the territory of the ravine itself with woody and shrubby vegetation suffer from an excessive number of recreationists.
The anthropogenic load on the tract is characterized by the following features: violation of the protection regime of the nature reserve; partial use of natural resources of the territory; cattle grazing; making fires and harvesting firewood, destruction of woody plants for arranging rest areas; car parking; chalk extraction; disturbance of soil cover and destruction of landscapes [4].
Throughout the territory of the protected tract, there are signs of recreational digression of varying degrees.So, human needs are nowadays not balanced with nature's capabilities.Recreational areas, regardless of their location, are exposed to the risk of negative effects of excessive recreational activities.The huge number of recreationists on the territory of the tract leads to a significant overload of its ecosystems, which is accompanied by a complex of negative effects and has a destructive effect on this territory.Therefore, maintaining a balance between the population's requests for recreation and the ability of natural resources to satisfy them is an urgent issue.In our opinion, real research as proof of the negative impact on the natural territory can increase the ecological awareness of the population and convince them of the need to treat nature with care.

Methods
The research was conducted from 2020 to 2022.Recreational load was assessed in winter, and soil cover condition was assessed each year during summer months June and July.Experiments are repeated in full every year.For the study, we chose a slope that was under strong anthropogenic pressure in winter (skiers) and a standard slope that was not used for skiing due to the occasional growth of a few young trees on the slope.Figure 1 depicts the locations of the experiment on the ski slope.Both slopes have a northern exposure, approximately the same steepness and length, and are located not far from each other.Since the study was aimed at evaluating the changes in the ecosystem of the studied slope relative to the standard slope in order to establish the consequences of skiing on the slope ecosystems, both the vegetation of the slopes and the soil cover were chosen for the study.
In our study, a field application method of determining the cellulolytic capacity of the soil was used, which is based on determining the intensity of decomposition of a piece of fabric (linen), which is placed in the soil for a certain period of time.The intensity of the cellulolytic activity of the soil was determined by the percentage of loss of a flap of linen fabric, which was placed along the soil profile according to a typical method.Loss in mass (in %) serves as an indicator of the cellulolytic activity of the soil.It is considered that the intensity of cellulose decomposition is very weak < 10%, weak 10-30%, medium 30-50%, strong 50-80%, and very strong >80%.The study presents averaged data for June and July 2020-2022.
In order to assess the change in the biological activity of the soil as a result of the influence of the recreational load, the activity of the catalase enzyme was also determined in laboratory conditions.The role of catalase in plants is that it destroys hydrogen peroxide, which is toxic to cells and which is formed during respiration, breaking it down into water and molecular oxygen.Catalase is not only an intracellular enzyme, it is actively released by microorganisms into the environment, has high stability and can accumulate and be stored in the soil for a long time.Therefore, the catalase activity of soil and plant roots can be considered as an indicator of the functional activity of microflora in various environmental conditions.Catalase activity is expressed in cm³ (ml) of oxygen released in 1 second from 1 kg of soil.
In this study, we determined field moisture and soil density.A Kaczyński drill with a cutting ring was used to take undisturbed soil samples.The height and diameter of the cutting ring determined the volume of soil that fit into this ring when a sample was taken from the slope in an undisturbed state.After drying the soil to a constant weight (absolutely dry state) in a drying cabinet at t=160 0C for 6 hours, the box with the soil was weighed and the necessary calculations were made.When determining the field moisture in the soil, the ratio of the water mass absorbed by the weight of the soil in the state of natural moisture to the total mass of completely dry soil after drying for 6 hours in a drying cabinet at t=160 0C was determined.The soil was collected in boxes, weighed, dried, then weighed in a dry state; and field moisture was determined based on the data obtained.
Among other indicators, there were evaluated the energy of germination and seed germination of the test crop (Lepidium sativum).Seed germination is the number of normally germinated seeds in the analysed sample, expressed as a percentage.Germination energy is the simultaneousness of seed germination after 3-4 days of dormancy and is also expressed as a percentage.Seed similarity is the number of normally germinated seeds in the analyzed sample, expressed as a percentage.
Assessment of the state of vegetation was conducted according to the NDVI index.In our work, we used the method of combining channels, which belongs to the group of thematic image processing methods.
One of the indicators for assessing the vegetation condition using aerial images is the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), which is a simple quantitative indicator of the amount of photosynthetically active biomass.The value of NDVI depends on the activity of plant biomass and chlorophyll, and is in the data range from −1 to +1.
The value of this index can be obtained using a combination of two spectral channels of satellite images: the near-infrared region of the spectrum; and the visible red region of the spectrum [6].
Red waves of the spectrum are absorbed only by chlorophyll, so the more a plant absorbs the waves of the red spectrum, the more active the chlorophyll is in its leaves and stems.Plant cells are filled with water, which acts like a mirror for the infrared wave spectrum: if the osmotic pressure in the plant cell is high, then most of the infrared spectrum is reflected.Thus, the more infrared spectrum is reflected by the plant, the better the health of the plant is.
Using the EO browser resource [5], data from satellite images and QGIS software, it is possible to evaluate the vegetation condition according to the NDVI index.QGIS allows visualizing, editing, analyzing data from satellites, creating a legend for the map, etc.

Results and Discussions
Ukrainian and foreign scientists highlighted the problems of researching the level of recreational load and regulating its impact on natural complexes in their studies.Many works are devoted to the recreational load on the territories of national natural parks, in particular, from skiing sports [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14].The authors [11][12][13][14] emphasized the importance of the landscape and ecological approach for assessing the level of recreational load on individual natural complexes and their components and substantiated the need to choose indicators of recreational influence for monitoring and assessing the ecological condition of ecosystems.Researchers [11] emphasize the connection between the recreational load on the landscapes of national natural parks and the degree of their degradation.
At the same time, the authors [15] emphasize the need to strengthen the standards of national policy, promote civic and corporate culture for deep transformations in the world system of values, in particular sustainability.R. Buckley [9] singled out the main types of impacts on the ecological condition of recreational areas and typified them: soil compaction and erosion, damage and destruction of vegetation, loss of certain types of flora, disappearance of vulnerable species of fauna, pollution of water bodies, increase in fires, noise pollution and vandalism, etc.
A. Watson [8] notes that the extent of damage to natural complexes extends to adjacent areas where there is no intensive recreation.On slopes of 15-29° disturbed by winter recreation, the length of the skiing path increased with slope gradient compared to undisturbed areas.The soil of recreational areas had less moisture and a lower content of organic matter.Kutiel, P., Zhevelev, Y. et al [10,14] emphasize on the decrease in resistance of plants to various types of diseases due to the influence of excessive recreational load, as well as the difference in the grass species composition in areas with recreationists and without recreational load.In all cases, with recreational loading, there is a significant decrease in floristic diversity, and species resistant to trampling spread and become dominant.The main consequences of recreational influence are compaction of soils and changes in their air and moisture permeability.V. Brusak [16] notes that the diagnostic features of the stages of recreational digression are the state of the soil and plant cover and its reaction to external influences.As a result of such load, there are changes in the structure of phytocenoses, projective coverage, changes in the structure and density of soils, deterioration of their air and water-physical properties [15,11].
The Winter Recreation Impacts Report [17] states that compaction of snow from skiing can lower soil temperatures and reduce the survival of plants and soil microorganisms.
Consequently, as a result of the recreational load, there is a change in the water-physical properties of soil, which is one of the main reasons for the disappearance of certain types of plants and the disintegration of the existing communities of the territory.As a result of the movement of a significant number of people, a violation of the soil structure is observed: it is compacted, which results in the decrease of soil porosity, the permeability to air, capillary moisture capacity, and in the changes of the thermal regime.Due to a decrease in water permeability, precipitation does not enter the lower layers inhabited by plant roots.If there is a lack of moisture, compacted soils dry out even more.As a result of the listed changes under the influence of recreational loads, degradation of soil and plant cover begins.Therefore, an important issue is the choice of methods for researching the quality and state of natural complexes that are subjected to recreational loads.
To assess the impact of recreational activities on the condition of the slope ecosystems of the Barmakivske tract, it is worth conducting an analysis of the activity of the catalase enzyme and an analysis of the cellulose-degrading (cellulolytic) ability of soils, which will help to compare the speed of metabolic processes in disturbed and undisturbed soils.We suggest evaluating the enzymatic activity of the soil cover by indicators of the cellulolytic and catalytic activity of the soil.Fig. 2 shows a graph with the average values of pulp decomposition for 3 years of research during the two-month period of June and July.Indicators of enzymatic activity of both the standard slope and the ski slope decrease from the foot to the top of the slopes: cellulolytic activity -from 11% to 50% on the standard slope and from 38% to 80% on the slope with recreational load.
The slope, which is subjected to recreational load, is characterized by lower indicators of soil enzymatic activity compared to the standard slope: according to the cellulolytic activity of the soil by 78% in the upper part, by 62%in the middle part, by 44% at the foot; according to the catalytic activity of the soil -by 10% in the upper part, by 1.5% in the midpoint and by 11% at the foot.We studied the change in the water-physical properties of the soil cover of the slopes of the Barmakivske tract and their influence on the germination of the seeds of the test crop Lepidium sativum.
Field soil moisture indicators are also higher on the standard slope, which is not suitable for winter skiing and thus does not suffer from its impact.
Collecting soil samples to study density was carried out with a Kaczyński drill along with collecting samples to study soil moisture.The results of average soil density values of the studied slopes are presented in Figure 5.The density of the slope soils under study increases from the lower part to the upper part of the slopes: by 12% for the reference slope, by 15% for the slope with recreational load.
In general, the influence of the recreational load leads to an increase in soil density from 1.38 to 1.51 g/cm³ (+9.4%) in the upper part, in the midpoint of the slope from 1.32 to 1.41 g/cm³ (+6, 8%) and from 1.21 to 1.28 g/cm³ (+5.8%) in the lower part of the slope.
Compaction of slope soils and a decrease in their enzymatic activity under the influence of recreational load lead to a decrease in germination of seeds of the test culture Lepidium sativum by 7.5% on the soil of the upper part of the slope, by 6.6% on the soil at the midpoint of the slope, and by 5.8% on the soil on the lower part of the slope.
To an even greater extent, soil compaction under the influence of recreational load affects the germination energy of the seeds of the test plant Lepidium sativum, reducing it relative to the soil of the standard slope (Figure 6).At the beginning of the study, a space image with the least cloudiness of the area under study was selected.With the help of Sentinel-2 space images with EO Browser [6] and using QGIS software, we obtained a map showing the vegetation of the protected tract according to the NDVI index for August 27, 2017 (Figure 8) and for August 26, 2022 (Figure 9), as well as the difference in layers between these indices over the years (Figure 10).Source: [5]. Figure 10 shows the areas in red where the vegetation index (NDVI) in 2022 was lower than in 2017.NDVI values range from -1 to 1 (black to dark green).Vegetation is displayed in shades of green (the shade depends on the intensity of vegetation development -dark green shows healthy vegetation with the highest biomass) and has mostly a value from 0.2 to 1. Based on the obtained maps, there was created Table 1.
The 2022 NDVI vegetation condition on the standard slope ranged from 0.79 at the foot of the slope to 0.52 at its top, which is 34% lower than at the foot of the slope.On the slope subjected to recreational load, the NDVI ranged from 0.59 at the foot of the slope to 0.25 at its top (-57% relative to the foot of the slope), which indicates a very high degree of impoverishment of the vegetation cover at the top of the slope, that undergoes recreational load.
Table 1.Results of research on the influence of recreational load on the vegetation condition on slope ecosystems of the protected Barmakivske tract.

Indicator value
The increase in the indicator relative to the upper part of the slope, % We analyzed the data of the maximum number of recreationists who were on the studied slope of the protected Barmakivske tract on a day-off with stable snow cover in the period 2020-2022 (163 people-hours/ha) and in 2017 (47 people-hours/ha) using the natural accounting of recreationists.It can be argued that the recreational load increased several times during this period, which could not but be reflected in the condition of the soil and vegetation cover of the slope.The corresponding change in the NDVI slope index with recreational load for the period from 2017 to 2022 was as follows: -3.8% at the foot of the slope, -7.8% in its midpoint, and -8.5% at its top.
If we look at the dynamics of the NDVI index on the standard slope from 2017 to 2022, we can see a decrease in NDVI: -7.7% at the foot of the slope, -16.6% in its midpoint, and -32.1% at its top.This may be caused by natural processes of soil erosion and successional changes in the vegetation cover, which are also related to the hydrothermal conditions of this long period.
In general, the comparison of indicators of the decrease of the NDVI index on the standard slope and the slope with recreational load indicates that the deterioration of the vegetation cover on the slope subjected to recreational load in the period from 2017 to 2022 is from 3.9% to 23.6% faster than on the standard slope.
Therefore, from the analysis of the NDVI index and previous indicators of the condition of the soil cover and the results of the germination of seeds of the test crop, it is possible to see the trends of inversely proportional relationships of the value of the NDVI index with the processes of soil compaction due to skiing and the trends of direct proportional relationships of the NDVI index with the enzymatic activity of the soil .
Compaction of slope soils and a decrease in their enzymatic activity under the influence of recreational load lead to a decrease in the germination of the seeds of the test culture Lepidium sativum by 7.5% on the soil of the upper part of the slope, by 6.6% on its midpoint, and by 5.8% on the soil of the slope bottom, which may be one of the main causes of the decrease in the development of vegetation on the slope with recreational load, which is estimated by the decrease of the NDVI index by 26-52% relative to the standard slope.
Periodic trips to the studied slopes during the winter thaw period confirmed that skiing on the slopes is the cause of the vegetation cover deterioration, which is confirmed by the change in the NDVI index relative to the standard slope not only due to soil over-compaction and a decrease in its biological activity, which is reflected in the conditions of the deterioration of young plants sprout development.We noticed that on the standard slope, the dry herbage remains in a vertical state for a long time; and in this herbage, a small but sufficient proportion of seeds is preserved until spring.On the other hand, on a ski slope, the entire herbage after the first skiing falls on the surface of the soil, all the seeds fall out and germinate during the first thaw; and if frosts follow, the sprouts of newly reproduced plants die.In addition, there are many mossy areas on the standard slope between the grass stands, which create ideal conditions for both seed storage and their germination and development in the most critical early spring period.Thus, skiing has a number of aspects of negative impact on the reproduction conditions of plant populations on the slopes.
The study of the slope ecosystems of the Barmakivske tract in 2020-2022, based on the comparison of the data of the standard slope and the studied slope, which was subjected to recreational loads in the form of skiing in winter, made it possible to conclude: Indicators of enzymatic activity of both the standard slope and the ski slope decrease from the foot to the top of the slopes: cellulolytic activity falls from 11% to 50% on the reference slope and from 38% to 80% on the slope with recreational load.The slope, which is subjected to recreational load, is characterized by lower indicators of soil enzymatic activity compared to the standard slope: according to the cellulolytic activity of the soil, by 78%in the upper part, by 62%in the middle part, by 44% at its foot, according to the catalytic activity of the soil, by 10% in the upper part, by 1.5% in the middle part, by 11% at its foot.The density of the soils of the slopes under study increases from the lower part to the upper part of the slopes: by 12% for the standard slope, by 15% for the slope subjected to recreational load.Compaction of slope soils and a decrease in their enzymatic activity under the influence of recreational load leads to a decrease in the germination of the seeds of the test crop Lepidium sativum by 7.5% on the soil of the upper part of the slope, by 6.6% on the soil of its midpoint, and by 5.8% on the soil of the lower part of the slope, which may be one of the main reasons for the decrease in the development of vegetation on the slope subjected to recreational load, which is estimated by the decrease of the NDVI index by 26-52% relative to the standard slope.
Therefore, in order to preserve the equilibrium state of the biodiversity of the vegetation cover of the slope ecosystems of the Barmakivske tract, it is necessary to regulate the degree of recreational load in such a way that the density of the soils at the top of the slope does not increase by more than 1.6 g/cm³.

Conclusion
To constantly monitor the recreational load, it is necessary to test the enzymatic activity and the change in the water-physical properties of the soil cover.The need for prior financing of such procedures inhibits their implementation and makes it impossible to develop responsible ecotourism on the basis of sustainable development.In order to preserve natural complexes, such as the protected Barmakivske tract in the Rivne region, concrete measures are needed to combine the actions of local authorities, territorial communities, and scientific institutions.The lack of information on the condition of the soil cover is a serious barrier to the protection and preservation of nature reserves.The method proposed for assessing the recreational load of slope ecosystems will make it possible to timely inform the community about the condition of the used territory, make socially responsible decisions and ensure the preservation of soils.Thus, the conducted research is a timely tool that will guide specialists and help provide support for the increase of natural complexes, on which sustainable management of soil resources is carried out.

Figure 1 .
Figure 1.Locations of the experiment on the territory of the protected Barmakivske tract.Source: [5].

Figure 2 .
Figure 2. Change in the cellulolytic activity of the soils of the studied slopes of the Barmakivske tract.

Figure 3
Figure 3 and 4 show a diagram with the average values of the catalytic activity of soils and plant roots of the standard slope and the slope under the influence of recreational load.

Figure 3 .
Figure 3. Change in the catalytic activity of the soils of the studied slopes of the Barmakivske tract.

Figure 4 .
Figure 4. Change in the catalytic activity of plant roots on the soils of the studied slopes of the Barmakivske tract.

Figure 5 .
Figure 5. Change in soil density of the studied slopes of the Barmakivske tract.

Figure 6 .
Figure 6.Change in germination energy of Lepidium sativum seeds on the soils of the studied slopes of the Barmakivske tract.Assessment of the state of vegetation of the Barmakivske tract according to the NDVI index We assessed the vegetation condition of the protected Barmakivske tract according to the NDVI index for 2022 relative to 2017 based on data from Sentinel-2 satellite images (Figure 7-11).

Figure 7 .
Figure 7. Fragment of a Sentinel-2 image of the territory of the Barmakivske tract on August 26, 2022, in artificial colours.Source: [5].

Figure 8 .
Figure 8. Representation of vegetation according to the NDVI index according to data from the Sentinel-2 satellite for August 27, 2017.Source: [5].

Figure 9 .
Figure 9. Representation of vegetation according to the NDVI index obtained by the Sentinel-2 satellite for August 26, 2022.

10 Figure 10 .
Figure 10.Display of the change in the state of vegetation according to the NDVI index obtained by the Sentinel-2 satellite for August 26, 2022.and August 27, 2017 in the Q Gis program.Source: [5].