Forest reclamation of road landscapes using GIS technology

The road landscapes is the most significant type of anthropogenic landscapes. In this paper we pay much attention to the road-side landscapes, and their structural component - natural and anthrop ogenic ones. The said type of a landscape represents positive (barrows) and negative (excavations, ditches) forms of relief. The functioning of the auto transport complex is effective only if the necessary protection of automobile roadways and transport means is provided, that controls the unfavourable nature conditions, primarily, the drift of the roadway with snow and the lateral pressure upon the moving automobiles by strong gust of wind. The most effective measure for the development of the given problem is the arrangement of roadside windbreaks, which should represent a forestation of rational composition and proper construction of trees and shrubs for the functioning as wind- and snow-protective, and decorative plantations. The thickness of snow-deposit depends on the vertical density of forest belt. According to this characteristic the forest belts can be pen etrable by wind, porous, and not penetrable by wind. The forest belts penetrable by wind have large clear spaces in lower part, while the crowns in upper part are rather dense. The forest belts of porous construction have even significant vertical clear spaces. The forest belts not penetrable by wind are of a high density all over the profile due to great number of shrubs and low-growing trees. In this regard, the urgent problem is the development of the methods for analysis of the information, and development of actual mapping layers, and, as a result, GIS technologies for mapping of road-side landscapes.