Information resources for assessing the environmental potential of geosystems (on the example of the territory of the Yenisei North)

Abstract

The experience of using open data to create thematic maps for the territory of the Yenisey Siberia on the most important components of the ecological assessment of landscapes is considered. An assessment of the ecologically significant properties of landscapes, revealing their environmental role, is the basis for substantiating the protection of nature and ethnoecosystems in the face of increasing anthropogenic impact. In this regard, the possibilities of using geospatial data for solving problems of this type in the boreal cryolithozone (on the example of the territory of the Yenisei Siberia) are discussed. To achieve this goal, taking into account the availability of open data, the most informative indicators (continuity and temperature of permafrost, net primary production, latent heat flux, uniformity of the habitat of plants and animals) characterizing the ecologically significant properties of the landscape were selected. The permafrost continuity characteristics determine not only the inertia of the state of permafrost landscapes under external influences, but also the potential for the activity of cryogenic processes. The temperature of frozen rocks diagnoses the nature of the response of permafrost geosystems to climatic influences. The environmental protection potential of landscapes is estimated using the combined accounting of net primary production and latent heat flux. Bioproduction characteristics make it possible to compare territories in terms of their vulnerability to external influences and their ability to recover. The calculated values of the latent heat flux largely indicate the homeostatic function of forests. The homogeneity of the habitat of plants and animals is considered as an indirect indicator of the diversity of natural resource conditions for traditional nature management. Mapping of geocryological conditions was made using vector data presented in the information system “Land Resources of Russia”. Processed data from the MODIS spectroradiometer were used to create maps of net primary production and latent heat fluxes. Mapping of the homogeneity of biogeocenotic conditions was made based on the results of calculating statistical patterns in the distribution of the improved vegetation index (EVI) from the Global Habitat Heterogeneity database. The results of comparing the homogeneity of biogeocenotic conditions with the geomorphological features of the region under study are considered. The inconsistency of the conclusions obtained solely on the basis of the analysis of geospatial data without involving the results of field studies is shown. The difficulties of using geospatial data for landscape-ecological analysis of territories with a layered relief structure (the Central Siberian Plateau, the Yenisei Ridge, etc.) are discussed.