Ecological and geographical characteristics of the coastal zone of the Black Sea

Abstract

The coastal zone of the Black Sea is viewed as marine terrestrial geosystem. Its sea and land parts are interconnected by intensive flows of matter, such as water run-off, aerial transfer of water vapour and salts, ingressions of sea water, mining of mineral resources and extraction of biotic resources, transportation of goods, etc. The zone includes the shelf and a belt of land within the boundaries of small coastal river basins. Specific combinations of various branches of the economy are typical for the coastal area in the whole and for its regional sections as well. This article largely treats the terrestrial part of the coastal zone of the Black Sea and provides information on the landscapes, the structure of land use and the ecological situation. The state of the coastal sea water and the entire water reservoir are dealt with in other articles of this issue of GeoJournal. © 1992 Kluwer Academic Publishers.