Updating the Geoinformation Database for Agricultural Lands

Updating the geographic information database on agricultural land in the Moscow Region to provide staff of the Moscow Region Ministry of Agriculture and Food with information on agricultural land in the Moscow Region.

To achieve the stated objective, the following services must be provided:

• Update of the geospatial database with refined boundaries of agricultural land;
• Refinement of the boundaries of agricultural land showing signs of non-use based on Earth observation data for the period from 01.10.2019 to 01.10.2020;
• Determination of the boundaries of field contours used for cultivating individual crops in 2020;
• Refinement of the boundaries of agricultural land not registered in the cadastral system as of 01.10.2020;
• Determination of the boundaries of agricultural land unsuitable for agricultural use;
• Preparation of geospatial datasets for import into the Unified Federal Information System for Agricultural Lands (EFIS ZSN).

Earth observation data are required to perform the work. Satellite imagery with a spatial resolution of 0.2–3 m was used, including data from the Chinese Gaofen-1 satellite, which has a 2 m panchromatic band and four 8 m multispectral bands.

To eliminate distortions and improve georeferencing accuracy, all satellite images underwent orthorectification using rational polynomial coefficients (RPCs). As a result of geometric correction, georeferencing accuracy improved from 10–20 m to 2–3 m.

The results of the services provided under the State Contract “Updating the Geospatial Database of Agricultural Lands of the Moscow Region” make it possible to draw the following main conclusions.

1. The database was updated with refined boundaries of agricultural lands. In addition, land plots with an area of less than 2 hectares were extracted from the dataset.

2. Based on the acquired Gaofen-1 satellite imagery, which underwent pansharpening to a spatial resolution of 2 m, a layer of refined agricultural land boundaries showing signs of non-use was created through expert visual interpretation and NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) analysis for each object in the agricultural land layer.

3. The boundaries of agricultural lands not registered in the cadastral system as of 01.10.2020 were refined by reviewing areas where no information was available on the Public Cadastral Map, while corresponding objects were present in the agricultural land layer.

4. The boundaries of agricultural lands unsuitable for agricultural activities were identified through expert visual interpretation based on Gaofen-1 satellite imagery and the SRTM DEM. The digital elevation model was used to identify very steep ravines, gullies, and river valleys.

5. Geospatial datasets were prepared for import into the Unified Federal Information System for Agricultural Lands (EFIS ZSN).