Author
 |
Greene, Stephanie |
|
Submitted to: Crop Production and Protection Conference Proceedings
Publication Type: Proceedings Publication Acceptance Date: 5/21/2005 Publication Date: 5/31/2005 Citation: Afonin, A.N., Greene, S.L., Frolov, A.N., Dzyubenko, N.I., Levitin, M.M., Grichanov, I.Ya., Luneva, N.N., Saulich, M.I. 2005. A GIS-based interactive agricultural atlas of the Former Soviet Union with special reference to ranges of agricultural pest organisms. In: Crop Protection Conference - Management aspects of crop protection and sustainable agriculture: Research, development and information systems, p. 5-7. St.Petersburg - Pushkin, May 31-June 3, 2005, St.Petersburg - Pushkin Interpretive Summary: In 2003, collaborators from St. Petersburg State University, the All Russian Institute for Plant Protection, and the N.I. Vavilov All-Russian Institute for Plant Industry, in close cooperation with the USDA, ARS began compiling an Agricultural Atlas of the former Soviet Union (FSU). This project is supported by the U.S.- FSU Scientific Cooperative Program, which is managed by the ARS Office of International Research Programs, U.S. State Department of Proliferation Threat Reduction and the International Scientific and Technical Center (ISTC). The Atlas consists of maps and associated metadata, biological descriptions, including photographs, and GIS exploratory software. Maps represent the distribution of major and minor crops cultivated in the FSU and the incidence of diseases, pests, and weeds. The Atlas also contains maps representing the distribution of wild crop relatives that are indigenous to the FSU, as well as agroecological maps of major climatic parameters that influence agricultural production. The Atlas, which is being published as a CD, will have built-in GIS tools that will allow users to combine maps in an interactive and dynamic fashion. This bilingual work is the most comprehensive Atlas ever developed for Russia and the NIS, and represents an important reference for Russian and Non-Russian speaking agricultural workers. Technical Abstract: Today’s geographic information system (GIS) tools allow spatially explicit data to be assembled, digitized, georeferenced and placed into a framework that can be accessed by a wide audience. In 2003, collaborators from St. Petersburg State University, the All Russian Institute for Plant Protection, and the N.I. Vavilov All-Russian Institute for Plant Industry, in close cooperation with the USDA, ARS started an ambitious project to compile an Agricultural Atlas of Russia and the newly independent states (NIS) which comprised the former Soviet Union (FSU). This project is supported by the U.S.- FSU Scientific Cooperative Program, which is managed by the ARS Office of International Research Programs, U.S. State Department of Proliferation Threat Reduction and the International Scientific and Technical Center (ISTC). The Atlas consists of maps and associated metadata, biological descriptions, including photographs, and GIS exploratory software. It represents the distribution of major and minor crops cultivated in the FSU and the incidence of diseases, pests, and weeds. The Atlas also contains maps representing the distribution of wild crop relatives that are indigenous to the FSU, as well as agroecological maps of major climatic parameters that influence agricultural production. The data are based on an extensive review of historic literature and herbarium specimens compiled by scientific specialists of the relevant disciplines. The GIS exploratory software, which is included on the CD-ROM, allows users to carry out simple GIS functions such as map algebra and reclassifcation. This work is the most comprehensive, interactive Atlas ever developed for Russia and the NIS, and represents an important reference for agricultural workers in Russia and the NIS. Because the Atlas is written in both Russian and English, it provides valuable information to an international audience. |
