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 assess and to map land use and land cover of Russia using a combination of remote sensing, traditional maps and in-field survey of different spatial and temporal resolutions as geographical indicators of environmental status and dynamics. Coarse -, medium - and high-resolution imagery (NOAA-AVHRR, RESURS-01-3/MSU-SK, RESURS-F/MK-4) have been processed, interpreted and analysed for the compilation of reference maps in a Geographical Information Systems database, which contains multiple information layers, including remote-sensing data, cartographic ancillary data layers, and statistics. A feasibility study was undertaken to elaborate methodology for scale-dependent landscape applications and the study of land-cover dynamics in the changing land-use system in Russia