Laxenburg, Austria: International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, WP-96-111, October 1996. — 62 р.This is the time Siberia's forest sector has recently gained considerable international interest. IIASA, the Russian Academy of Sciences, and the Russian Federal Forest Service, in agreement with the Russian Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources, signed agreements in 1992 and 1994 to carry out a large-scale study on the Siberian forest sector. The overall objective of the study is to focus on policy options that would encourage sustainable development of the sector. The goals are to assess Siberia's forest resources, forest industries, and infrastructure; to examine the forests' economic, social, and biospeheric functions; with these functions in mind, to identify possible pathways' for their sustainable development; and to translate these pathways into policy options for Russian and international agencies. The first phase of the study concentrated on the generation of extensive and consistent databases for the total forest sector of Siberia and Russia. The study has moved into its second phase, which encompasses assessment studies of the greenhouse gas balances, forest resources and forest utilization, biodiversity and landscapes, non-wood products and functions, environmental status, transportation infrastructure, forest industry and markets, and socio-economic problems. The work underlying this report has been carried out by a team under the leadership of Prof. V. Roshkov from the Dokuchaev Soil Institute in Moscow. The report presents the results from this work with bearing on the assessment studies of biodiversity and landscapes mentioned above and is produced by Prof. V. Rashkov and Dr. V. Wagner of the Dokuchaev Soil Institue in Moscow, Dr. D. Efremov Far East Forestry Research Institute, Khabarovsk, Dr. V. Sokolov Sukachev Institute of Forestry, Krasnoyarsk, Professor V. Sedych, Dept. of Forest Dynamics, Novosibirsk Forestry Branch, Novosibirsk and Professors S. Nilsson and A. Shvidenko from the study's core team at IIASA.Background.
Analytical review.
The Russian Landscape Concept.
Some Definitions and Concepts.
Database for a Landscape Classification.
Formal Design and Methods for Landscape Classification.
General Definitions.
Attribute Scales.
Formalisation of Landscape Description.
Formalisation of Relationships Between Objects and Classes.
nformativity of Features.
Diagnostic Classification.
Programmes for Data Processing.
Cartographic Approach.
Resulting Map and Numerical Classification of Siberian Landscapes.
Design of the Landscape Map.
Numerical Classification-Hierarchical Models.
Choice of Informative Attributes.
Cartographic Representation of Classifications.
Conclusion.
References.
Appendices.
