Comprehensive study of the Tobias Creek valley following the development of the Krasnaya Polyana mountain resort

The impact of environmental management on water quality carried out in the Tobias Creek watershed area and that of geological processes occurring in the given geoecosystems have been studied. The survey based on a basin approach was performed at a watercourse located in a mountainous tourist area under recreational pressure, the latter has been significantly increasing recently due to increasing domestic tourism. The types of hazardous exogenous geological processes affecting the natural environment (including water sources) and economic activities have been identified: linear and planar erosion, landslides, creep, and mudflows. The “hotel complex” and “ski slopes combined with hiking tourist routes” had the greatest negative impact on the natural environment out of the eleven types of territorial environmental management identified by experts. The ecosystem components “flora” and “soil” were subject to the greatest anthropogenic impact. The environmental conditions deteriorated gradually from the creek source to its mouth as followed by bioindication and biotesting. A comparison of geological and anthropogenic factors and the processes occurring in the catchment area within the defined ecological zones allowed us to conclude that biological parameters reflecting processes in the aquatic ecosystems may be used as indicators of the state of the natural environment