?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Adc&rft.relation=https%3A%2F%2Fpure.iiasa.ac.at%2Fid%2Feprint%2F4469%2F&rft.title=The+LUC+Approach+to+Creating+a+Continental-Scale+Land-Cover+Database+for+Russia&rft.creator=Fischer%2C+G.&rft.creator=Stolbovoi%2C+V.&rft.creator=Savin%2C+I.Y.&rft.creator=Roshkov%2C+V.&rft.description=Land+cover+is+an+essential+surface+characteristic+of+the+Earth.+Yet+--+this+may+come+as+a+surprise+--+there+is+no+generally+accepted%2C+complete+and+universal+land-cover+product+for+Russia%2C+as+is+the+problem+in+many+other+parts+of+the+world.+A+review+of+global+land-cover+databases+concluded+that+one+of+the+most+pressing+problems+in+global+climate+and+ecosystem+studies+is+a+lack+of+adequate+land-cover+data.+This+may+explain+why+land-cover+mapping+often+leads+to+debate+over+classification+schemes%2C+use+of+class+descriptors+and+labels%2C+and+product+specifications.+Land-use+and+land-cover+information+is+required+in+various+forms+and+at+different+scales.+A+variety+of+techniques+are+in+current+use+to+collect+the+necessary+data%2C+ranging+from+census+studies%2C+ground+observations%2C+to+remotely+sensed+data.+The+methodological+plurality+has+also+resulted+in+a+widely+diverse+number+of+methods+to+store+and+present+these+data.+In+view+of+this+unsatisfactory+situation%2C+FAO+and+UNEP%2C+with+the+support+of+UNESCO+and+a+number+of+other+organizations%2C+have+launched+an+initiative+on+harmonizing+and+standardizing+land-use+and+land-cover+classification+systems.++%0D%0A%0D%0AAnother+major+effort+has+been+launched+by+the+International+Geosphere-Biosphere+Programme+(IGBP)%2C+to+serve+the+needs+of+the+global+environmental+change+research+community.+The+IGBP-DIS+Global+1+km+Land-cover+Project+is+currently+underway.+The+project+is+primarily+relying+on+NOAA+AVHRR+data+and+aims+to+develop+and+distribute+a+global+data-set+representing+land-cover+in+terms+of+seventeen+broad+classes.+%0D%0A%0D%0ABeing+aware+of+these+efforts%2C+and+aiming+to+be+consistent+with+and+useful+to+the+international+research+community%2C+the+Land-Use+Change+(LUC)+project+at+IIASA+decided+at+an+early+stage+to+be+in+active+contact+with+the+research+groups+charged+with+harmonizing+land-use+and+land-cover+classifications%2C+to+use+their+methods+and+standards+as+they+would+emerge.+Consequently%2C+as+regards+land-cover+database+development%2C+the+main+task+of+the+LUC+project+was+defined+as%3A+(i)+producing+a+complete+list+of+land-cover+categories+in+Europe+and++Northern+Asia+based+on+available+national-level+data+sources%2C+and+(ii)+which+would+correspond+to+the+diversity+of+land-use+and+land-cover+of+this+huge+territory.+Charged+with+this+task%2C+it+was+necessary+to+develop+a+framework+allowing+to+concentrate+the+project's+efforts+on+these+problems.+%0D%0A%0D%0AThe+objective+of+this+paper+is+to+present+an+outline+and+rationale+of+the+methodology+for+elaborating+the+project's+land-cover+database.+Comprising+the+major+portion+of+the+study+region%2C+the+approach+has+been+developed+on+the+basis+of+Russian+experience.&rft.publisher=WP-95-129&rft.date=1995-12&rft.type=Monograph&rft.type=NonPeerReviewed&rft.format=text&rft.language=en&rft.identifier=https%3A%2F%2Fpure.iiasa.ac.at%2Fid%2Feprint%2F4469%2F1%2FWP-95-129.pdf&rft.identifier=++Fischer%2C+G.+%3Chttps%3A%2F%2Fpure.iiasa.ac.at%2Fview%2Fiiasa%2F89.html%3E%2C+Stolbovoi%2C+V.+%3Chttps%3A%2F%2Fpure.iiasa.ac.at%2Fview%2Fiiasa%2F2618.html%3E%2C+Savin%2C+I.Y.+%3Chttps%3A%2F%2Fpure.iiasa.ac.at%2Fview%2Fiiasa%2F2620.html%3E%2C+%26+Roshkov%2C+V.++(1995).++The+LUC+Approach+to+Creating+a+Continental-Scale+Land-Cover+Database+for+Russia.+++IIASA+Working+Paper.+IIASA%2C+Laxenburg%2C+Austria%3A+WP-95-129+++++