The use of GIS for the medicinal flora analysis of Russian Regions (on the Perm Region example)

Abstract

There are many valuable species of medicinal plants growing in the Perm Region. Researchers in the field of medicinal resource studies identify more than 100 species of medicinal plants that grow in the Perm Region. It is necessary to have actual information about the available plant resources for the rational harvesting of medicinal plant raw materials. The purpose of the article is to monitor, evaluate and analyze promising types of medicinal plants in the Perm Region. This becomes possible by conducting resource research using geographic information systems. In this article 27 types of medicinal plants have been studied. The areas of species growth are determined and the main resource characteristics are calculated: the population area, the possible annual harvesting volume. Microsoft Excel software for Windows was used for calculations. As a result of an inventory resource study, the peculiarities of the growth and distribution of 27 types of medicinal plants in the Perm Region were studied and the most promising areas for harvesting medicinal plant raw materials were identified. Population passports have been developed, and thematic maps of the growth of the studied medicinal plants have been created to visualize information. Electronic maps were built in the ArcView GIS 3.2 program using remote sensing data from the GeoMixer web information platform. Thus, our own resource studies in combination with GIS capabilities made it possible to visualize the obtained resource data clearly and easily. The developed thematic maps are a convenient tool for further research and identification of prospects for medicinal plant raw materials harvesting in the Perm Region.