Dynamics of the area of tree cover in the Moscow region for the years 2000-2013 (in Russian)

A number of modern products of remote sensing demonstrate significant changes in the forest cover in the Moscow region since the beginning of the current century. We have set a goal to test how the system works in both urban and suburban ecosystems, and to identify the main reasons and effects of changes in the forest cover area within the boundaries of one region. The estimation included not only forest plantations but gardens, parks and other areas covered with woody vegetation with the crown density percentage of above 30 %. The instrument to do it was the internet portal Geo-Wiki, which provides highresolution photos from Google Earth and the means for them to visual interpretation. In addition to automatic description of the state of the sector in different years, the network for spot checks by a team of image interpreters has been set up. We have examined the changes of tree plantations in Moscow, in the Moscow region as a whole, and in the Moscow educational and experimental forestry. Our special attention has been paid to the comparison of the obtained data with the official statistics taken from the forest plan of the Moscow region. The total loss of tree cover was streamlined into such groups as: logging, lost plantations (due to forest fires and outbreaks of pests or diseases), transfer of land to the other types of use (e.g. infrastructure projects or arable and agricultural lands). The areas of newly emerged tree plantations have been divided into reforestation and afforestation. The conclusions concerning the loss of areas covered with tree plantations have been formulated, and the possible reasons, which caused it, have been identified.