The analysis of protective afforestation factors using GIS methods (on example of the Belgorod region)

DOI: 10.35595/2414-9179-2025-2-31-442-456

View or download the article (Rus)

About the Authors

Roman S. Luzhkov

Lomonosov Moscow State University, Faculty of Geography,
1, Leninskie Gory, Moscow, 119991, Russia,
E-mail: roma.roman-luzhkov@yandex.ru

Alla A. Pakina

Lomonosov Moscow State University, Faculty of Geography,
1, Leninskie Gory, Moscow, 119991, Russia,
E-mail: allapa@yandex.ru

Abstract

Currently, protective afforestation is considered as one of the effective tools for land use management, primarily in old-developed regions with a high proportion of agricultural land. The creation of a system of protective forest plantations in accordance with the principles of adaptive landscape farming is an important condition for ensuring the ecological and food security of the country. The practical implementation of forest reclamation activities includes organizational, forestry and other measures for the cultivation, maintenance and exploitation of natural and artificial plantings that protect agricultural land from adverse natural phenomena and man-made impacts. Using the example of the Belgorod Region, where the Green Capital project has been implemented since 2010, the article examines the results of forest reclamation and analyzes the possibilities of its optimization using GIS methods. An analysis of the current state of forest plantations in model areas with an average survival rate, using visual decoding of satellite images and verification of the data obtained during field visits, makes it possible to determine the factors influencing forest reclamation in the study region. Using a digital relief model based on SRTM data, the paper analyzes the effect of morphometric relief characteristics (steepness and slope exposure) on the survival of woody plants. The highest survival rates of tree species are typical for areas of northern exposure and slope steepness in the range of 0–2°. The conducted research made it possible to determine the boundaries of the sites of protective forest plantations formed within the Starooskolsky and Gubkinsky urban districts and the Chernyansky District, as well as to identify the characteristics of the sites corresponding to favorable conditions for forest reclamation work.

Keywords

landscape-adaptive agriculture, protective afforestation, GIS methods, orographic factors, Belgorod Region

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For citation: Luzhkov R.S., Pakina A.A. The analysis of protective afforestation factors using GIS methods (on example of the Belgorod region). InterCarto. InterGIS. Moscow: MSU, Faculty of Geography, 2025. V. 31. Part 2. P. 442–456. DOI: 10.35595/2414-9179-2025-2-31-442-456 (in Russian)