SPATIAL ANALYSIS OF THE FLOODED LAND AREA OF THE KHERSON REGION NATURE RESERVE USING REMOTE SENSING DATA

Background. The ongoing war in Ukraine has become the largest armed conflict in the world in the last decade, causing unprecedented destruction and devastation of the country's natural landscapes. The disaster caused by the explosion at the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station inflicted irreparable damage to the ecologically important and valuable lands of the Kherson region natural reserve. The aim of the work was to study the flooded land areas of the natural reserve of the Kherson region, Ukraine, which were affected by the collapse of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station dam, using remote sensing data. Methods. The paper highlights the features of using remote sensing (RS) for geoinformation modeling of the impact of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station dam collapse on the lands of the Kherson region natural reserve. In addition, data from the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine, Open Street Map, and Landsat 8 satellite images were used for the work. The method of geoinformation modeling in the QGIS, Sentinel Hub, and ArcGIS environments was used for data processing. Results. The study found that more than 80 % of the area was flooded in half of the studied nature reserves (19). In this study, special attention was paid to the Nyzhniodniprovsky National Nature Park, which is the largest in area and is actually located on the front line. The area of flooding was 89 %, which indicates the extent of damage caused by the flooding. This paper describes the algorithm for processing geospatial data, Landsat. To analyze the changes that the park's landscapes have undergone, changes in vegetation indices were assessed. Сonclusions. The paper concludes that there is a pressing need for further monitoring and development of comprehensive measures for the rehabilitation of the affected areas. It is proposed to use the modeling results to plan measures for the protection and restoration of natural complexes affected by human-made disasters. These results will serve as the basis for further research, which will include studying the dynamics of changes in the state of the land areas of the nature reserve. This approach will allow a more accurate assessment of the consequences of the disaster event and the development of effective measures for the restoration and preservation of these lands.