Monitoring of forest damage in the Kola Peninsula, Northern Russia due to smelting industry

The smelting Cu–Ni industry in the central Kola Peninsula, Northern Russia, has caused large-scale forest decline due to emissions of sulphur dioxide and heavy metals. The objective was to monitor the dynamics of the forest-damage area around the ‘Severonikel’ smelter between 1978 and 1996. Landsat-MSS and -TM summer images were used for the change-detection analysis. The method applied was histogram matching with subsequent subtraction. Unsupervised classification was used for mapping in 1996. The analysis was supported by ground truth data from summer 1996. A forest impact model predicted damage that had accumulated since 1960. Effects of topography and peak episodes were highlighted by 3D modelling. (i) An expansion of the forest-damage area was identified between 1978 and 1992 with subsequent stabilisation between 1992 and 1996. (ii) The exceptional forest damage in 1992 might be due to a peak episode or extreme climatic conditions. (iii) The sheltering role of mountains is shown. Frequent temperature inversions worsen the environmental situation.