EXPERIENCE IN COMPILING LARGE-SCALE MAPS OF EROSION-PRONE AREAS

Specific criteria used in the compilation of large-scale maps of erosion-prone areas are defined and evaluated for tracts of land representing a number of different agricultural cover types. Formulas are derived which facilitate the mapping of such areas based on such readily observable morphometric characteristics as slope length and steepness. Translated by Edward Torrey, Alexandria, VA 22308 from: Vestnik Moskovskogo Universiteta, geografiya, 1988, No. 5, pp. 25-31.     

SOME ASPECTS OF TOPOGRAPHIC MAPPING OF THE SHELF

Shortcomings in the representation of bottom relief features on topographic maps of the continental shelves are examined, with particular attention given to submarine ridges and related features, the symbolization of which on such maps has been entirely ineffective. Specific recommendations are given on the form and color of symbols which can be used in upgrading the graphic impact of maps depicting such relief forms. Translated by Edward Torrey, Alexandria, VA 22308 from: Geodeziya i kartografiya, 1989, No. 1, pp. 35–40.     

REMOTE SENSING METHODS IN THE STUDY AND MAPPING OF NATURE RESERVES

A Siberian geographer outlines the major aspects of a program to map the climatic and ecological state of ecosystems in the Lake Baykal region of southern East Siberia. A methodology for the classification of micro- and mesoclimates is outlined that is based on the structural characteristics of the underlying terrain surface, the character of air flows into the region, and extensive study of natural conditions in the region. Translated by Edward Torrey, Alexandria, Virginia from: Geografiya i prirodnyye resursy, 2000, No. 2, pp. 104-112.     

THE MULTIPLICITY PRINCIPLE IN MODERN REMOTE SENSING METHODS AND ITS APPLICATION TO AGRICULTURAL IMAGE INTERPRETATION

The authors elaborate upon the “multiplicity principle” in remote sensing, i.e., the need for repeated imaging at a variety of scales, spatial resolutions, spectral bands, and times of imaging in order to attain the maximum information possible. They then explore the ways it can be applied in agricultural research, through two different image comparison and interpretation strategies. A detailed example is presented of the use of a multitemporal imaging strategy for the recognition of several agricultural crops from false color composite imagery. Translated by Edward Torrey, Alexandria, VA 22308 from: G. V. Dobrovol'skiy and V. L. Andronikov, eds., Aerokosmicheskiye metody v pochvo-vedenii i ikh ispol'zovaniye v sel'skom khozyaystve: sbornik nauchnykh trudov [Remote Sensing Methods in Soil Science and Their Utilization in Agriculture: A Collection of Scientific Works]. Moscow: Nauka, 1990, pp. 47-55.     

DIGITAL PROCESSING OF REMOTE SENSING IMAGERY IN SOIL MAPPING

The authors describe strategies for the utilization of digital image processing in the compilation of soil maps at scales of 1:1,000,000 and 1:25,000 for the trans-Volga region of Russia. Particular attention is devoted to an exploration of the effects of variations in soil humus content, texture, and degree of erosion upon spectral brightness coefficients. Results of the mapping demonstrate the promise of digital image processing in the differentiation of a number of chernozem soil subtypes. Translated by Edward Torrey, Alexandria, VA 22308 from: Aerokosmicheskiye metody v pochvovedenii i ikh ispol'zovaniye v sel'skom khozyaystve: sbornik nauchnykh trudov [Remote Sensing Methods in Soil Science and Their Utilization in Agriculture: A Collection of Scientific Works]. Moscow: Nauka, 1990, pp. 214–225.     

COMPUTATION AND MAPPING OF THE ELEMENTS OF THE WATER-ICE BUDGET OF GLACIERS

Two general approaches for compiling maps of components of the water-ice budget in regions of glacier nourishment are compared and the resulting maps are analyzed. The compilation of raw data is based on field measurements rather than remote sensing information. Translated by Edward Torrey, Alexandria, VA 22308 from: Materialy glyatsiologicheskikh issledovaniy, 1991, No. 72, pp. 94-102.     

INDUSTRIAL IMPACTS ON VEGETATION IN THE MONCHEGORSK REGION FROM MULTISPECTRAL SPACE IMAGERY

Results are presented of analysis of Landsat MSS imagery for the purpose of assessing damage to northern taiga and tundra vegetation caused by emissions generated by nonferrous metallurgy on northwest Russia's Kola Peninsula. Unlike earlier studies, the present project attempts to provide spatially comprehensive coverage of vegetation impacts, according to a standardized methodology for their assessment. A reduction in the number of feature classes identifiable upon a change from visual interpretation to automated classification based on spectral brightness values made it necessary to test alternative classification procedures (based on brightness ratios and the normalized vegetation index).     

ECOLOGICAL-GEOGRAPHIC MAPPING: CONCEPTS,METHODS, AND TECHNOLOGY

Another paper in a series of articles on ecological-geographic mapping (see for example, Mapping Sciences and Remote Sensing, Vol. 31, No. 3, July-September 1994, pp. 185-220) focuses on outlining a concise typology of such maps and providing a brief history of their emergence during the 1970s and 1980s. A subsequent section is devoted to methods and technology used in the compilation of ecological-geographic maps, particularly the multiple variants of data organization, processing, and cartographic representation that can be factored into research design. Translated by Edward Torrey, Alexandria, VA 22308 from: Geografiya i prirodnyye resursy, 1995, No. 4, pp. 10-18.     

ECOSYSTEM MONITORING AND MAPPING IN A NATURE PRESERVE

Two specialists on the forest and wetland ecosystems of Siberia describe principles and measures employed in the establishment of a regular program of ecological mapping at Russia's Central Siberian Biosphere Preserve, as well as efforts to standardize remote-sensing-based monitoring efforts through improved procedures for selection of reference plots for ground truth determination. Issues addressed include the identification of principal ecological factors serving as landscape classification criteria, the need for better methods of interpreting an entire range of forest-wetland communities on remote sensing imagery, innovations in data gathering procedures in the field, selection of natural models [representative tracts] for monitoring in view of the technical infeasibility of monitoring the entire preserve, and selection of reference plots within each model for ground truth. Translated by Edward Torrey, Alexandria, VA 22308 from: Geografiya i prirodnyye resursy, 1996, No. 2, pp. 36-43.