Journal of Agriculture & Life Sciences

Risks and Threats Emerging Due to Anthropogenic Transformations on the South- Eastern Slope of the Greater Caucasus
Afag Hajiyeva

Abstract
The south-eastern slope of the Greater Caucasus Mountains is an area within of Azerbaijan where catastrophic landslips periodically take place. The region is composed of mainly clay, clayey and lime, as well as sandstone. Clayey rocks of Neogene, Paleogene and Cretaceous periods which are considered to be landslip-sensitive. The territory bears risk of landslip whereas the unwise socioeconomic impacts are typically responsible for the intensification of landslips on slopes of the Greater Caucasus. Relevant damage is being experienced by villages and their population as well as highways, communication lines, vegetation areas and pastures. In the past 100 years, Nohurlar, Ahmadyurd, Tirjan, Bakhishli, Khalaj, YukhariFindighan, Tumarkhanli, Alichapan and other settlements were being destructed as a result of landslips while thousands of residents were obliged to settle to other places. As a more evident example, it is remarkable that in 2010 the Mughanli village was seriously destructed as a result of landslip and eventually, the settlement was completely moved to a new place. Landslips, taking place in the mentioned territory due to anthropogenic transformations and also relevant responsible factors were studied with computer programs ArcGis/ArcMap, on the basis of which electronic maps with 1:100000 of scale were created. The landscapes shown in these maps were grouped for the grade of threat.

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