IIASA RepositoryThe LUC Approach to Creating a Continental-Scale Land-Cover Database for RussiaG.FischerauthorV.StolbovoiauthorI.Y.SavinauthorV.RoshkovauthorLand cover is an essential surface characteristic of the Earth. Yet -- this may come as a surprise -- there is no generally accepted, complete and universal land-cover product for Russia, 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, use of class descriptors and labels, 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, ranging from census studies, ground observations, 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, FAO and UNEP, with the support of UNESCO and a number of other organizations, have launched an initiative on harmonizing and standardizing land-use and land-cover classification systems. Another major effort has been launched by the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP), 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. Being aware of these efforts, and aiming to be consistent with and useful to the international research community, 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, to use their methods and standards as they would emerge. Consequently, as regards land-cover database development, the main task of the LUC project was defined as: (i) producing a complete list of land-cover categories in Europe and Northern Asia based on available national-level data sources, and (ii) which would correspond to the diversity of land-use and land-cover of this huge territory. Charged with this task, it was necessary to develop a framework allowing to concentrate the project's efforts on these problems. The 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, the approach has been developed on the basis of Russian experience.1995-12WP-95-129Monograph

For work being deposited by its own author: In self-archiving this collection of files and associated bibliographic metadata, I grant IIASA Repository the right to store them and to make them permanently available publicly for free on-line. I declare that this material is my own intellectual property and I understand that IIASA Repository does not assume any responsibility if there is any breach of copyright in distributing these files or metadata. (All authors are urged to prominently assert their copyright on the title page of their work.)

For work being deposited by someone other than its author: I hereby declare that the collection of files and associated bibliographic metadata that I am archiving at IIASA Repository) is in the public domain. If this is not the case, I accept full responsibility for any breach of copyright that distributing these files or metadata may entail.

Clicking on the deposit button indicates your agreement to these terms.