THE RATIONALE FOR THE SELECTION OF EARTH REMOTE SENSING DATA FOR DIGITAL RELIEF MODELING OF THE AGROLANDSCAPES

Abstract

Stavropol Territory is one of the leading agrarian regions of Russia. The high intensification of agricultural production against the background of the climate change leads to agricultural lands degradation. The farming system used in the Stavropol Territory has objective shortcomings that need to be corrected as part of the transition to adaptive landscape farming systems, for the developing of which it is necessary to carry out agroecological typification of the agrolandscapes. This article presents the scientific rationale for the choice of stereoscopic optical and interferometric radar satellite survey, as well as geographic information technologies for digital modeling relief of the agrolandscapes. Modern digital relief models (World DEM, NextMap World 10, ALOS AW3D, SRTM and ASTER) have different characteristics, a comparison of which will allow you to choose the most suitable one for modeling the relief of agrolandscapes. The most optimal of the presented models are ASTER and SRTM, which are distributed under a free license. So, for a example, the calculation of the arable land average slope in the Trynovsky district according to the ASTER model was 7,48 °, and according to the SRTM model it was 0,68 °. The results obtained indicate a higher reliability of the relief model obtained according to the SRTM model, despite its average spatial resolution (90 m). It was found that the exposure of the slope is not indicative for estimate of the model accuracy. Digital terrain models with high spatial resolution can be used to characterize the relief of agrolandscapes taking into account the spatial position of the forest shelterbelts, since they are identified as local elevations and must be eliminated by using correction factors.