MONITORING HUMAN DEGRADATION OF FORESTS AT A TAIGA-TUNDRA ECOTONE BASED ON SPACE IMAGERY

Abstract

The condition of forests at the far northern edge of the Siberian taiga, in the zone of negative environmental impacts from emissions of the Noril'sk Mining and Metallurgical Combine, was studied using images from Meteor and Priroda satellites. A considerable increase in the rate of tree stand damage was discovered in the late 1970s-early 1980s, attributable to an increase in SO2 emissions. The zone of forest degradation zone now extends for up to 200 km leeward of the major emissions sources and tree stands have been killed at distances of up to 80 to 100 km.