Mapping of protective forest coverage of territories and assessment of its optimality

Protective forest plantations are an integral part of agroforestry landscapes that serve as an ecological frame and contribute to the expanded reproduction of soil fertility. The problem of assessing the actual protective forest cover of territories is relevant. The solution of this issue allows you to identify the need, sequence and volume of forest reclamation work. The problem of mapping and assessing the protective forest cover of territories is closely related to the tasks of identifying the optimal forest cover of territories and substantiating approaches to the allocation of spatial-territorial complexes. The boundaries of the identified contours directly affect the values of specific indicators, which are the basis for the gradation of the need for forest reclamation work. The conducted studies demonstrate the possibilities of using the QGIS software package for the purpose of assessing the protective forest cover of the territory. The interpretation and creation of a cartographic model of protective forest plantations of the study area was carried out using QuickBird satellite images. The assessment was made on the basis of the calculation of specific indicators within the boundaries of landscapes for the territory of the Ilovlinsky District of the Volgograd region. As a standard for comparing the studied indicators, indicators of the protective forest cover of the “Kachalino” pilot farm were used. The application of the landscape-typological approach to the identification of territorial complexes made it possible to approach the issue of assessing the protective forest cover of territories in a more differentiated way than when using administrative boundaries. As a result of the study, landscape areas were identified, the protective forest cover of which is close to the normative, as well as those areas that need agroforestry measures. Cartographic work carried out in the QGIS software package confirms its effectiveness and allows us to recommend its use in agroforestry research related to the parallel application of various approaches to the allocation of territorial complexes.