Identification of different age fallows on erosion-hazardous territories of the south of Western Siberia using geo-information technologies

Abstract

Rational use of the country's soil potential is the basis of its well-being, and therefore the organization of land monitoring is the primary task of state land management. The most important monitoring tool is the use of Earth remote sensing data. Currently, the identification and accounting of lands that are in conditions of fallows are of particular importance. In this paper, various methods for processing satellite images are analyzed in order to identify fallows and determine their age, such as: visual decoding of satellite images aimed at identifying the main and additional interpretation characteristics; synthesis of various spectral channels; calculation of the vegetation index (NDVI). Different age fallows of erosion-hazardous territories of Western Siberia located in the Toguchin and Iskitim districts of the Novosibirsk Region were studied. It was revealed that satellite images Landsat-8 with a resolution of 30 m are not suitable for such research, because the areas of fallow lands are often too small. A comparative analysis of various combinations of channels (Color Infrared, Agriculture, Vegetation Analysis, Healthy Vegetation, Shortwave Infrared) showed that none of them provides sufficient information for identification of fallow lands and their age. Using NDVI made it possible to identify the unique characteristics of different age fallows, virgin lands and tilled fields and to propose a scale for determining the age of fallows. This scale can be used at the initial stage of work with remote sensing data and cartographic material, as well as for monitoring the targeted use of land in cadastral registration.