Аннотация:The Russian Federation possesses vast forested areas, containing about 23% of the
world’s closed forests. A significant part of these forestlands is neither managed nor
regularly monitored. This is due in part to the absence of developed infrastructure in the
remote northern regions, which hampers the collection of data on forest inventory and
monitoring in all areas by precise and expensive on-ground methods. As a result, the
former Soviet Union conducted intensive research on remote sensing during the last few
decades, resulting in significant achievements. However, there has been a noticeable
decline in remote sensing research and applications in the Russian forest sector from
1990–1998.
Russia needs a new system of forest inventory and monitoring capable of providing
reliable, practical information for sustainable forest management. Such a system should
take into account current national demands on the Russian forest sector as well as the
international obligations of the country. Remote sensing methods are an indispensable
part of such a system. These methods will play a crucial role in critical applications
such as ensuring the sustainability of forest management, protecting threatened forests,
fulfilling the country’s Kyoto Protocol obligations, and others.
This paper presents an overview of past and current remote sensing methods in the
Russian forest sector, including both practical and scientific applications. Based on this
overview, relevant applications of remote sensing methods in the Russian forest sector
are discussed. This discussion considers current Russian economic conditions and the
direction of political and social development of the country