MAPPING THE DYNAMICS OF DESERTIFICATION OF LANDS FROM REPEATED AERIAL AND SPACE IMAGES

Experience in regional mapping of the long-term dynamics of desertification and degradation of lands in the Kalmyk Republic on the basis of aerial photographs and space imagery for 1954-1984 and 1954-1993 is reviewed. Using the index of change in the area of moving sands and deflation surfaces measured from the photographs and images, isarithms measuring the growth in their area (at an interval of 100 hectares/year/pixel) are plotted. The use of such dynamic isarithmic maps makes it possible to compute the areas of intense, strong, moderate, and weak desertification, as well as the absence of desertification within the limits of the region. Translated by Edward Torrey, Alexandria, VA 22308 from: Izvestiya Akademii Nauk, seriya geograficheskaya, 1996, No. 2, pp. 131-140.