Land use cover change in Russia: mapping and GIS

This research project, carried out in the framework of the INTAS/VEGETATION Programmes at the Faculty of Geography, Moscow State University, aims to a ssess and to map land use and land cover of Russia using a combination of r emote sensing, traditional maps and in-field survey of different spatial an d temporal resolutions as geographical indicators of environmental status a nd dynamics. Coarse -, medium - and high-resolution imagery (NOAA-AVHRR, RE SURS-01-3/MSU-SK, RESURS-F/MK-4) have been processed, interpreted and analy sed for the compilation of reference maps in a Geographical Information Sys tems database, which contains multiple information layers, including remote -sensing data, cartographic ancillary data layers, and statistics. A feasib ility study was undertaken to elaborate methodology for scale-dependent lan dscape applications and the study of land-cover dynamics in the changing la nd-use system in Russia. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved .