GIS Based Analysis of Forest Cover Change in Belgorod Oblast, Russia: 1780-1990

Abstract

The authors studied spatial-temporal peculiarities of river network and forest cover in the territory of the Belgorod oblast in the periods 1780-90, 1870-90, 1980-90 years. The selection of each object studied on the old maps and the subsequent calculation of its contours and areas using GIS technology allows you to accurately reconstruct its quantitative and qualitative characteristics, as well as display them on the map for further analysis. One of the important advantages of the obtained maps is the reliability of the mapping of many geographical phenomena, including the quantitative assessment of spatiotemporal changes in the forest cover within the South of Central Russia for the 200-year period (from the late 18th to the late 20th centuries.). Additional studies with use of cosmic images of 1970 and 2014 made it possible to reveal spatiotemporal changes in the forest areas and squares during modern period.