Original Russian Text © 2020 A.S. Plotnikova, A.O. Kharitonova Published in Forest Science Issues Vol

ORIGINAL______RESEARCH FOREST SCIENCE ISSUES, Vol. 4 (1), 2021

DOI 10.31509/2658-607x-202141a8

WEB-BASED GIS FOR MAPPING FIRE REGIMES OF PECHORO-ILYCH RESERVE AND ITS ENVIRONS A.S. Plotnikova*, A.O. Kharitonova

Center for Forest Ecology and Productivity of the RAS, Profsoyuznaya st. 84/32 bldg. 14, Moscow 117997, Russian Federation

*E-mail: [email protected] Received 04.09.2020 Accepted 17.11.2020

The article is devoted to the description of the web-GIS for mapping fire regimes in the Pechora-Ilych reserve and its environs. The main purpose of the resource is to provide the results of mapping fire regimes in the designated area to a wide range of researchers in an accessible form. Web-GIS allows organizing and storing the received thematic spatial data. The resource performs research and educational functions. The structure of the web-GIS includes the following sections: the study area, fire frequency indicators, fire regimes, fire regime condition class, and fire cycles. The web GIS was created using the ArcGIS StoryMaps tool on the ArcGIS Online platform. All sections use data from the ArcGIS Living Atlas of the World. Web-GIS allows receiving reference information about the indicators of fire frequency, fire cycles and regimes, as well as their deviations within the boundaries of the Pechora-Ilych nature reserve, district forestries, and spatial units. In particular, the results of a retrospective statistical analysis of forest fire indicators within spatial units (fire frequency, mean fire interval, etc.) are available for users. Key words: web-GIS, fire regime, Pechora-Ilych nature reserve, ArcGIS Online, ArcGIS StoryMaps.

At the Center for Forest Ecology and terrestrial ecosystems based on Landsat Productivity (CEPF RAS), studies of fire satellite data, fire cycles, historical and regimes (Barrett et al., 2010) of Russian current fire regimes. forests are conducted at all levels – from the The purpose of this study was to create a national (Plotnikova et al., 2019) to the local web-GIS for providing the results of mapping (Kharitonova et al., 2019). Local projects the fire regimes of the Pechora-Ilych Reserve include RFBR project No. 17-05-00300 and its environs to a wide range of researchers “Development of a methodology for dynamic in an accessible form. We solved the mapping of fire regimes of forest ecosystems following tasks: studying the functionality of at the local level” (hereinafter referred to as web-GIS; creating the structure of the system, the Project). The Pechora-Ilych Biosphere choosing the optimal composition and content Reserve and its environs – Kuryinskoye and of its sections, determining the means for Yakshinskoye forestry subunits – were chosen displaying spatial data; selecting a as the study area. In the framework of the technological platform for implementing the Project, we developed a method for mapping web-GIS structure. historical and current fire regimes at the local In the framework of our research, we level. To describe the study area, we studied the functionality of web-GIS. This is a generated a number of thematic maps of distributed geoinformation system that

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ORIGINAL______RESEARCH FOREST SCIENCE ISSUES, Vol. 4 (1), 2021 consists of two parts – a GIS server and a /display?panel=layers). It presents a set of layers: client (web browser, desktop or mobile border of the protected areas (border of the application) (Katsko, 2006). Web technology reserve and the buffer zone), zoning of the is used to establish communication between protected areas (forest districs of the reserve), the server and the client. Web-GIS has many infrastructure, topography (isohypses, swamps, important features and functions: global hydrography), ecological routes and attractions coverage and ensuring simultaneous work of (ecological routes, weathering pillars of Man- many users located anywhere in the world; Pupunyor, photographs). Thus, at present, web- cross-platform compatibility and a single GIS lacks thematic spatial data. The user has update mechanism, no fees and no need to access to the functions of scaling, measuring purchase specialized software; provision of distance, and area on the map, and the vertical easy access to the resource for non-specialists; shutter tool. The OpenStreetMap resource is used as a cartographic basis publicly available spatial basis; data scaling (https://www.openstreetmap.org). option (Shokin, Potapov, 2015; Alekseenko et Among the publicly available web-GIS al., 2019). reserves, we note the developments of the A detailed analysis of Russian scientific Data East company. The company has created and educational geoportals of protected areas interactive maps to provide travelers with the is given in the article (Alekseenko et al., necessary information about recreation sites, 2019). Authors divided interstate, national, transport infrastructure, hydrography, tourist and regional network resources with data on routes, and natural attractions protected areas into three groups: inventory, (https://carrymap.com/ru/gallery/maps-for- multipurpose, and own geoportals. Also they outdoor-activity/). In Russia, digital maps considered the cases of using web-GIS in the were generated for reserves such as the following reserves: the Taimyrsky, the Russian Arctic National Park in the Dagestansky, the Stolby, and the Belogorye. Arkhangelsk Region, the Kuril Nature The analysis showed that most of the Russian Reserve in the Sakhalin Region, the web-GISs use open-source software. The Kandalaksha Nature Reserve in the commercial platforms use Esri and GeoMixer Murmansk Region, and others. In the USA, products. In terms of functionality, only maps were generated for the Glacier, Sequoia, visualization of spatial data is usually and Zion National Parks. Resources are implemented. There is a lack of digital and accessed via the free CarryMap app cartographic information. (https://carrymap.com/en/support/ carrymap- The provision of free or differentiated for-windows/), which allows using them access to the reserve’s web-GIS is determined without an internet connection. by the goals of its creation. Publicly For example, the map of the Kuril Nature accessible geoportals (i.e., the Dagestan and Reserve includes the marks of the main Pechora-Ilych reserves) are developed for attractions and infrastructure (parking lots for tourists, students of specialized universities, tourists, ports, shops, pharmacies, hospitals, and employees of scientific organizations, and post offices) and descriptions of natural objects specialists in the field of environmental (capes, bays, mountain peaks, and notches) protection. Access can be restricted, in (https://carrymap.com/ru/gallery/mapgallerylibrar particular, when developing a system for y/maps-for-outdoor-activities/kurils-nature- combining the scientific work of employees reserve-kunashir-island/). To create the base of different profiles of one reserve on an map, we used an up-to-date topographic map Internet platform (Alekseenko, Samoletova, at a scale of 1:100,000. 2017). An example of differentiated access is Analysis of the web-GIS’s functions and the web-GIS of the Belogorye reserve examples of their implementation showed that (http://belogorie.maps.arcgis.com/home/index it is feasible to use this technology to achieve .html). the goal set in the study. The indicated lack of digital data is noted in the Pechora-Ilych Reserve’s web-GIS, MATERIAL AND METHODS which was created by the NextGIS company As noted above, the choice of the type of (http://pechora-reserve.nextgis.com/resource/108 web-GIS is largely determined by the goals of

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ORIGINAL______RESEARCH FOREST SCIENCE ISSUES, Vol. 4 (1), 2021 its creation. Web-GIS of fire regimes should fire indicators, and natural conditions. In perform research and educational functions. It addition, the system should provide the ability is also designed to solve problems such as to assess the deviations of fire regimes from notification of the scientific community about their historical values. Deviations lead to the new results in the study area, systematization transformation of key components of and storage of the received thematic spatial ecosystems and changes in the frequency and data, and viewing materials by non-GIS severity of fires. It requires a section that specialists. would contain one of the important When creating a web-GIS structure, the characteristics of the fire regime – the fire main criteria were the simplicity and clarity of cycle, which estimates the time required to the resource for the user as well as the burn out forest area equal to the area of the provision of him/her with the necessary spatial unit of damage analysis (Frech et al., information content. The composition and 1999). Thus, the web-GIS includes the content of the system’s sections should be following sections: study area, fire indicators, sufficient to determine the fire regimes in the fire regimes, fire regime condition class, fire study area, spatial study of the most important cycles (Fig. 1).

Figure 1. The web-GIS structure of fire regimes of the Pechora-Ilych nature reserve and its environs

The Study Area section contains data obtaining numerical and graphical obtained in the study of the physical and information about the ratio of vegetation geographical conditions and vegetation cover cover classes in the total area of a spatial unit. of the region under study (Gavrilyuk et al., The Fire Indicators section presents 2018). The section contains cartographic statistical data on the number and average layers with the boundaries: Pechora-Ilych area of fires, the share of the area covered by nature reserve, Kurinsky and Yakshinsky fire within the boundaries of spatial units. The district forestries, river basins, and spatial “pop-up window” also provides information units. The interactive use of the map suggests on the fire indicators within the boundaries of the use of a “pop-up window”, which allows the reserve and forestry areas, indicating the

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ORIGINAL______RESEARCH FOREST SCIENCE ISSUES, Vol. 4 (1), 2021 data source (aviation, historical). The results data integration (http://geomixer.ru). To of mapping historical and current fire regimes create a web-GIS on the GeoMixer platform, are reflected in the Fire Regimes section. it is necessary to pre-install a number of Interactive work with the map allows software components – Microsoft IIS web receiving information about the type of fire server, Microsoft.NET Framework, regime for each spatial unit. For the reserve PostgreSQL DBMS, or MS SQL Server. In and forestry, information is provided on the addition, there are requirements for minimum ratio of areas of different classes of fire recommended hardware configuration regimes. The section Fire Regime Condition including restrictions on bit capacity of a Class is included in the web-GIS to represent multi-core processor, size of the RAM and the classes of the state of the fire regime. The redundant array of independent disks (RAID). Fire Cycles section contains maps of fire Unlike GeoMixer, MapBox cycles for the main part of the Pechora-Ilych (https://www.mapbox.com), Mangomap Reserve for four time periods: 1850–1899, (https://mangomap.com), and Azimap 1900–1951, 1952–1999, and 2000–2014. (https://www.azimap.com) platforms allow Additional indicators used in calculating generating interactive web maps without cycles include area covered by fire, forest installing additional software. The platforms area, and study period. include the functions of visualization and According to the work of N.A. Alekseenko analysis of spatial data, generation and (2014) when creating a geoportal for any thematic design of web maps. Open Street reserve, it is advisable to use a map of natural Map data is used as a cartographic basis. boundaries to combine various information. ESRI’s ArcGIS Online platform is one of Thus, all the sections of the web-GIS of fire the world leaders in geographic information regimes contain a map of spatial units based systems (https://www.esri-cis.ru/). It allows on the boundaries of river basins (Plotnikova, creating, storing, and managing web maps, Kharitonova, 2018). Mapping of fire regimes applications, and other spatial data. The and cycles was conducted within the boun- platform was chosen to create a web-GIS of daries of spatial units; we collected statistical fire regimes because it allows for free creation information on groups of tree species, class of of a cartographic resource for the research fire regime, and fire indicators. project. In addition, ArcGIS Online allows When choosing a technological platform using data and maps from the ArcGIS Living for implementing the structure of web-GIS Atlas of the World. It is the most complete fire regimes we took into account the need to collection of global geographic information develop a simple, intuitive, and convenient available today (base maps, satellite images, interface. This requirement is preconditioned statistical information, etc.). by the wide target audience of the system, which do not necessarily have the skills to RESULTS AND DISCUSSION work with spatial data in professional Our web-GIS of fire regimes geographic information systems. During the (http://cepl.rssi.ru/fire-regime-pechora-reserve/) study, we considered modern technological allows visualizing and analyzing the spatial platforms such as GeoMixer, MapBox, data created within the framework of the Mangomap, Azimap, and ArcGIS Online. In Project without the use of specialized addition to ease of use and free access, the professional full-featured geographic possibility of publishing spatial data on a information systems. Thus, the resource basic interactive map was taken into account. provides the obtained cartographic results in a GeoMixer is a web-based geoinformation form accessible to a wide range of researchers platform used to solve a wide range of tasks (Fig. 2). for visualization, analysis, organization, and

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Figure 2. The Web-GIS interface of the study area fire regimes

Using the ArcGIS StoryMaps tool on the fire cycles, and regimes, as well as fire regime ArcGIS Online platform, we generated condition class within the boundaries of the interactive thematic maps showing study area, Pechora-Ilych nature reserve, district fire indicators, fire regimes, fire regime forestries, and spatial units. In particular, we condition class, and fire cycles (Fig. 3). The dispose of the results of a retrospective ArcGIS Living Atlas of the World statistical analysis of fire indicators within (https://livingatlas.arcgis.com/en/home/) was spatial units (fire frequency, mean fire used as a cartographic basis for visualizing interval, and others). the spatial data of the Project. It is a collection Research in the territory of the Pechora- of shape maps, geodata layers, images, and Ilych Reserve is conducted in various applications. In addition, the Living Atlas scientific areas (Smirnova et al., 2011; provides a regularly updated public basemap Shevchenko, 2015; Geraskina, 2016; etc. of high and ultrahigh resolution space images However, it is difficult to find works that for the territory of Russia. We have chosen a graphically represent the obtained spatial base containing hydrographic objects, results with the possibility of interactive settlements, relief, and administrative access. Thanks to this study, the results of boundaries of the constituent entities of the mapping the fire regimes of the reserve and its Russian Federation for all interactive maps. environs became available to a wide range of Web-GIS allows to obtain the reference specialists. (attributive) information about fire indicators,

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a) b)

с) d) Figure 3. The web-GIS sections: a) burnability indicators, b) fire cycles, c) fire regimes, d) fire regime condition class

CONCLUSION of a technological platform for the The study resulted in designing a web-GIS implementation of a geographic information of fire regimes in the Pechora-Ilych reserve system in the Internet. and its environs. Thanks to our resource, various characteristics of the fire regimes of ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS the study area are available to a wide range of The study was conducted with the financial researchers involved in geoecology, forest support of the Russian Foundation for Basic management, climatology, pyrology, and Research (project No. 17-05-00300) and related scientific fields. within the framework of the state assignment We indicated the functions performed by AAAA-A18-118052400130-7 the web-GIS and the tasks to be solved. We “Methodological approaches to assessing the determined the structure of the web-GIS and structural organization and functioning of developed the composition and content of the forest ecosystems”. system sections. We substantiated the choice

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Reviewer: Ph.D. in biology, Director of the Center for Forest Pyrology R.V. Kotelnikov

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