THE USE OF SATELLITE IMAGES IN THE STUDY OF ETHNOCULTURAL LANDSCAPES: THE CASE OF AGRO-LANDSCAPES OF THE FOREST ZONE

Abstract

The article proposes and tests a method for identifying and analyzing elements of ethnocultural landscapethrough the example of the territory of the Mari people’s localized residence in the Sylvensky district (Perm region). Theresearch was carried out with the use of satellite images (Google Earth Pro). While conducting a multi-level spatial differentiation of agro-landscapes of the forest zone, it is proposed to use a set of indicators characterizing the morphological structure and morphometric characteristics of natural and economic objects. The zoning of the territory involved the allocation of several zones with a settlement in the center: a residential zone, a zone of predominantly agricultural land, and a zone of episodic economic impact (forests, commercial lands, remote hayfields and pastures). The number and location of settlements (cores) in the landscape-and-economic area were chosen as a a characteristic indicating the planning type of such an area (settlement, arable land, hayfields). It is proposed to use the share (%) of single-core settlements, dual-core settlements and three-core settlements as the analyzed indicator. Metric relations between the elements of artifacts and physiofacts captured on topographic maps and satellite images were used as indicators of the ethnocultural differentiation of the studied territory. Among other quantitative indicators characterizing the heterogeneity of the territory, the proportion (%) of settlements located in a certain type of area and the proportion (%) of settlements of a certain planning type were considered. The coefficient of group density was used as an indicator characterizing the position of settlements in the group. As the method of remote study of an ethnic group’s residence territory develops, the list of indicators of ethnocultural differentiation of ethnocultural landscapes may change (increase, decrease).