UNIQUE RESERVED NATURAL COMPLEXES OF THE DNISTROVA VALLEY – CENTERS OF LANDSCAPE AND BIOTIC DIVERSITY OF THE WESTERN PODILIA: HISTORY OF STUDY, DEVELOPMENT AND FORMATION

Thus, eleven of the thirteen unique natural objects of the Dniester Valley, proposed by V. Gaevsky for further preservation, at certain times received the status of protected areas. For 30-40 years, these territories have had the status of protected areas, there has been a gradual strengthening of the protected area regime with a corresponding reorganization into a new category of protection, which has positive consequences for the preservation of the unique nature of the Dniester Valley. At the same time, today these natural monuments and reserves have become part of the protected area of the Dniester Canyon National Park - a nature conservation and recreational object of national importance, which poses the task of conducting comprehensive scientific research for the purpose of their further study and comparative analysis with the materials of surveys of the 30s of the last century. The conducted research allows us to state that the formation of the Dniester Canyon reserve network has gone through a difficult path of evolution - from the first scientific calls of the early 20th century to the creation of objects of national and international importance. Analysis of the historical retrospective showed that the fundamental scientific justifications of V. Gaevsky became the conceptual basis on which, thanks to the energy of M. P. Tchaikovsky, the modern system of nature protection of the region was built. The fact of granting reserve status to 11 of the 13 key "Dniester walls" is a significant achievement that ensured the preservation of the gene pool of rare rock-steppe groups. However, the current state of the NPF in the Dniester valley requires a rethinking of approaches to management. The transition from the status of a regional landscape park to a national nature park, despite increased legal protection, revealed serious problems of fragmentation of territories and social resistance from local communities. Prospects for further development of protected areas in the region are seen in expanding the boundaries of the Dniester Canyon National Park through integral landscape massifs and overcoming the "island" nature of protected areas. The scientific value of the research results lies in the possibility of conducting accurate comparative monitoring. Comparison of modern botanical descriptions with data from the 1930s and 1990s will allow identifying vectors of vegetation cover transformation under the influence of global climate change and anthropogenic load. This, in turn, will make it possible to develop measures to revitalize degraded areas, in particular by combating self-seeding of invasive species and the consequences of unsuccessful afforestation on steep slopes. The practical use of the research results is possible in several areas: For the Directorate of the Dniester Canyon National Park - when developing Projects for the organization of territories and biodiversity management plans. In the educational process - for training specialists in natural sciences and developing environmental awareness of the local population through the popularization of natural heritage. In the field of ecotourism - for the creation of scientifically based ecological trails that minimize pressure on vulnerable "walls". Further exploration should be aimed at a detailed study of faunal diversity and the development of GIS projects to visualize the dynamics of the canyon landscapes over the last century. This will allow turning the Dniester Canyon into a model object for studying sustainable development and biodiversity conservation within the Emerald Network of Europe. Keywords: Dniester walls, history of research, stages of protection, biodiversity.