Abstract: Landscape maps of Russia at various scales, including individual cartographic products, maps in scientific papers, and comprehensive scientific-reference atlases, as well as digital spatial data on landscapes, have been inventoried. A review of data sources for landscape-cartographic studies in the area of contemporary Russia from 1959 until now and the results of searching for landscape maps on the Internet are given. Taking the difficulties in searching for analog and digital landscape maps and sets of spatial data on landscapes in libraries, bibliographic publications, and databases into consideration, it is proposed to create a metadata base and provide free access to it on the Landscapes of Russia geoportal. It is aimed at disseminating existing Russian and foreign data sources and integrating geosciences data based on geoportal technologies and web mapping tools. The current status of landscape mapping of land and aquatic areas of Russia (Far East; southern Eastern Siberia; Altai; North Caucasus; and the north, northwest, and center of European Russia) is illustrated by some regional case studies (totaling approximately 60 names), which differ in the available cartographic data. The prospects of future landscape mapping include a further improvement of methods and technologies to obtain remote sensing data, as well as the identification of emergent properties of geosystems. The principles of compilation of landscape maps and of the structure of their analysis are formulated with regard for the system properties of the research object (a special subject of landscape science, which is not limited only to the synthesis of information from geology, geomorphology, pedology, botany, etc.), and for practical needs of nature management.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)211-224
Number of pages14
JournalGeography and Natural Resources
Volume42
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Jul 2021

    Research areas

  • emergent properties of geosystems, geoportals, landscape maps, metadata, web mapping services

ID: 114462629