At the end of February, the Ruderal team visited the Lezhbadini Quarry to get familiar with the context and the scale of the operation. Heidelberg operates along a reach of the Khrami river near Khanji-Gazlo, near the Georgia-Azerbaijani border. Quarry Manager Zviad introduced us to the different elements of the quarry landscape: the river, floodplain, riparian forest zones, and wetlands. He explained the mechanics of the gravel extraction process, which includes using excavators to create gravel bars to prevent flooding of extraction areas. Using our drone, we gathered aerial images of the finer details excavation and hydrological patterns.
Next, our team will create diagrams of the quarry operations, and draw a series of cross-sections of the river to understand the spatial and temporal actions on the landscape. We will return in late March to record the different types of emergent vegetation present in the floodplain and riparian forest.