Application of GIS and remote sensing methods to soil and permafrost mapping in the East European Russian Arctic

Galina Mazhitova & Olga Shakhtarova

Approaches to digital soil mapping digitizing wall soil maps compiling vector soil maps with the use of satellite imagery attempts to produce raster soil maps

Problem: genetic soil type can not be remote sensed more or less directly

Soil mapping for the purpose of assessing soil carbon stocksEC funded TUNDRA project (TUNdra Degradation in the Russian Arctic).The Usa is the largest tributary of the Pechora with the basin area 93,500 km2.Near-surface permafrost occurs in 36% of the basin area.

Soil map of the Usa river basinKuhry et al., 2002Mazhitova et al., 2003

Vegetation classes show only slightly higher inner variance in soil carbon densities as compared to soil classes, however, a widely distributed shrub-moss tundra vegetation class proved to be irrelevant to soil carbon

Vegetation classSD, % in Meann30 cmtotalSpruce forest294723Mixed forest505931Willow complex574315Shrub-moss tundra8811339Dwarf-birch heath414630Lichen-moss tundra666013

Soil classSD, % in Meann30 cmtotalHaplic Podzols41418Stagnic Cambisols464663Stagni-Gelic Cambisols555423Turbi-Histic Cryosols404115Histic Gleysols284814Leptic/Skeletic Cambisols364630

Usa basin: comparison of upscaling methods

Vegetation/landscape classes based on Landsat 5 TM images (pixel size 30m x 30 m).Carbon stock 1001 Tg C (upper 30 cm layer) and 2914 Tg C (total).

Soil classes based on State Soil Map of the USSR, 1: 1 mln, average polygon size 144 km2.Carbon stock 1090 Tg C (upper 30 cm layer) and 2781 Tg C (total).

Landsat images used for the 1:25,000 field soil survey

Example of soil GIS layers (1:25000 field survey)satellite imageFAO/WRB soil classestexture/parent materialdepths of seasonal thaw

GIS theme of active layer depths Thaw depth > 2 m Thaw depth 1-2 m and > 2 m Thaw depth 1-2 m Thaw depth 1-2 m and < 1 m Thaw depth < 1m

Permafrost distribution and temperaturesThe original map was generalized for the demonstration purposes.Oberman, Mazhitova, 2003Mazhitova, Oberman, 2004

Using the permafrost digital map for the assessing risk levels for infrastructure under climate warming and permafrost melting Estimated were:

Total length and percentage of different types of infrastructure on high risk permafrostand on high risk permafrost in peaty soil in the Usa Basin.

Infrastructure types considered were: RoadsRailroadsPipelinesPowerlinesSettlementsMazhitova et al., 2004

Mean ground temperature data downscaled to 1 km grid for the purpose of treeline dynamics analysisT. Virtanen,K. Mikkola,A. Nikula,J. H. Christensen,G.G. Mazhitova,N.G. Oberman, andP. Kuhry

Modeling the Location of the Forest Line in Northeast European Russia withRemotely Sensed Vegetation and GIS-Based Climate and Terrain Data.

Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research, Vol. 36, No. 3, 2004.

Quantifying the carbon budget in Northern Russia:past, present and futureCARBO-North

The 6th FrameworkProgram of the European Commission Sub-Priority 6.3: Global Change and Ecosystems

topic I.1.1. 'Regional carbon and greenhouse gas budgets' The location map of study sites

Mesoscale and detailed geocryological mapping as a basis for carbon budget assessment Together with the geological prospecting company Fundamentproekt (Moscow) we are producing maps where landscape classes, permafrost and soils will be showed in the framework of the same polygonal system.Rivkin et al., in print

Fragment of the map legend (Rivkin et al., in print)

Geomorpho-logical levelGeological-genetic complex of depositsCryolithological sectionRogovskaya ice-marine plainBog-lacustrineLate Pleistocene-Holocenelb III-IVOne-to-three meters of peat underlain by loamy sand and sand. Ground id either thawed, or permanently frozen. Ice content in the frozen ground is medium or high in the upper 2-4-meter layer and low in the deeper layers. Middle Pleistocengm II 2-4Loam with layers and lenses of sand and loamy sand. Ground is either thawed, or frozen with low ice content.Dozmer lacustrine-alluvial plainIce-marineLate Pleistocene-Holocenelb III-IVTwo-to-four meters of peat underlain by the interbedded loam, sandy loam and sand. Ground is either thawed, or permanently frozen. Ice content in the frozen ground is medium or high in the upper 3-7-meter layer and low in the deeper layers. Bog-lacustrineMiddle Pleistocene4Loam with layers and lenses of sand and loamy sand partly overlain by a peat layer up to . Ground is either thawed, or permanently frozen with medium or low ice content.Geomorpho-logical levelGeological-genetic complex of depositsCryolithological section

The raster map results from the processing of satellite imagesUnsupervized classification

The images have been classified in ERDAS IMAGINE v.9.1 program according to the landscape class

Thank you