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Based on the geographical approach and concept of cross-border geosystems integrating heterogeneous spatial data, the role of thematic cartography in the formation of a single transboundary geographic information space of the South Far East and Northeast China is considered. The methodology of creation and integration of digital thematic layers was demonstrated, including maps of modern land use and its dynamics (2000 - 2024) and a map of geoecological tensions in the research area. It used GIS technology (ArcGIS), remote sensing data (Landsat), open global data sets (Global Forest Change, Global Surface Water, LandScan Population Database, OpenStreetMap, VIIRS Nighttime Lights), national statistics of the Russian Federation and PRC. The key results show that over the study period, 12 % of the area experienced land-use changes, the most significant of which were deforestation and reforestation, and agricultural land expansion. Significant differences were identified between the Russian and Chinese parts of the geosystems: in the Chinese territory there is a higher proportion of land with medium and high geoecological stress, which is related to intensive agricultural use and high population density. It is shown that the thematic maps created during the study not only visualize spatial data, but also become an analytical basis for monitoring, forecasting and management decisions in the field of sustainable development of border areas. The work confirms that thematic mapping within the framework of the creation of a transboundary geoinformation space allows to overcome methodological fragmentation of approaches, heterogeneity and fragmentation of data, ensuring consistent analysis on both sides of the border.

By synthesizing and interpreting the data collected over many decades by a large number of teams from the Melnikov Permafrost Institute, a mapping methodology was developed and a geocryological map was compiled for the entire territory of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) at a scale of 1:1 500 000. The geocryological map is of great scientific and practical significance for several reasons. It covers a vast territory of Yakutia where permafrost underlies over 90 % of the land resulting in particularly severe environmental conditions, incomparable to any other region of Russia. For areas with no or little previous research, the map is the only tool for preliminary assessment of geocryological conditions, as well as for formulation of research tasks for development projects. The detailed geocryological map also provides a useful basis for environmental assessment and monitoring, geocryological prediction, and resource management. The new geocryological map of Yakutia is a comprehensive summary of current knowledge on the differentiation of geological and permafrost characteristics which are depicted as separate layers (ground ice content, permafrost temperature, active layer thickness, geocryological processes). The map legend shows 18 lithology classes, 11 mean annual ground temperature/active layer thickness ratios and 4 ice-content classes, as well as typical geocryological processes.

The article considers methodological issues and results of mapping complex physical and geographical studies of the south of Central Siberia at a scale of 1:1 000 000. Physical and geographical studies include a set of cartographic methods of study (landscape, physical and geographical, modern agricultural land use, agro-landscape and assessment of agro-natural potential). To display the research results, a methodology based on the synthesis of methods for mapping natural geosystems and agro-landscapes was used. The methodological basis was the principles of the doctrine of geosystems by V.B. Sochava. Landscape mapping was based on the principles of constructing a hierarchical structure of geomers. Based on the synthesis of the contour grid of the typological map of geosystems, a scheme of physical and geographical zoning of the study area was developed. As a result of landscape mapping and physical and geographical zoning, agro-landscape studies were carried out. Their methodology was compiled in accordance with the specifics of the work aimed at studying agro-landscapes and analyzing agro-natural potential. The initial stage of agro-landscape research was an assessment of the current state, nature and level of use of land resources, where, along with natural geosystems, agro-landscapes are reflected. The final stage, based on previous maps, was an assessment and mapping of the agro-natural potential of geosystems, with an exit to the development of recommendations and justification of ways to optimize the use of the agro-natural potential of the south of Central Siberia.

The article notes that one of the serious environmental problems in the south of Siberia is associated with the widespread processes of soil erosion, causing a decrease in soil fertility and a reduction in the area of arable land. Its solution is possible through the introduction of zonal systems of anti-erosion agriculture based on the knowledge of the mechanisms of erosion processes, their intensity and territorial distribution. The source of such information is soil erosion maps. They assess the scale of the modern development of soil erosion and deflation processes, provide quantitative information on the average annual losses from erosion (t/ha per year). The basic foundation of modern mapping of erosion-hazardous lands are quantitative models of erosion processes. The possibility of using models for the territory under consideration has been verified by data from field experimental studies, which have shown a high correlation coefficient of measured and calculated values. The authors have compiled maps of the distribution of zones with different intensities of rain and melt washout, gully erosion and soil deflation in the main agricultural enclaves of Eastern Siberia. The maps serve as a basis for choosing a land use policy. They can be used to assess the sustainability of landscapes and to solve various environmental problems. Currently, the role of agricultural erosion is increasing as a factor in the redistribution of matter on the earth’s surface and the main supplier of sediments and chemical elements to rivers and reservoirs. Therefore, ecological-erosion maps are supplemented by mapping of litho-catchment basins. Such work is carried out by the V.B. Sochava Institute of Geography of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences and they have a great future.

Socio-economic and natural processes and phenomena, such as the existing land use and resource management system, existing biological diversity, dynamic natural processes, interaction of various socio-economic factors, investment efficiency and the current environmental situation stimulate the emergence of various economic activities, influence the functional distribution of land and in the future on regional economic and environmental policy formation. These features, taking into account the identified factors, are considered on the basis of an integrated (quantitative and qualitative) assessment of their relationship with the subsequent identification of socio-economic situations, calculation of investment performance indicators and mapping of regional and intraregional differences. The task of sharing, generating and cartographic interpretation of regional socio-economic statistics and data with spatial distribution not related to administrative boundaries is addressed. The Baikal region has been chosen as the model territory. Methods of geoinformation modelling, mathematical and comparative analysis of geographical and statistical spatial and temporal data and interpretation mapping are used. Areas with different types of environmental land use policies (legal environmental, natural and resource factors of environmental policy) are identified, which are then compared with the identified regional socio-economic features of the territory development, shown in the example of investment efficiency. As a result, a map-scheme of development of the regional environmental policy of land use in the Baikal region has been drawn up, which is part of the future atlas of Asian Russia.

An assessment of the spatiotemporal dynamics of air temperature over the territory of the Tyva Republic was carried out for a 64-year period (1961-2024). The data used were ERA5 reanalysis data with a spatial resolution of 0,25×0,25°. The maximum temperature increase rate of 1 °C per 10 years was observed in autumn (September-October). The highest warming intensity of 0,6 °C per 10 years was recorded at elevations of 500-1000 m a. s. l. At elevations of 2200 m and higher, the maximum winter temperature anomaly of 1.28 °C was recorded on northeastern slopes in the Verkhne-Khemchiksky District. Maps of winter and summer temperatures across forest-growing (natural) districts, considering elevation levels, were created using Google Earth Engine.

In Russia, the basis for implementing water management measures are the Schemes of Integrated Use and Protection of Water Bodies (SIUPW), involving the systematized materials on the state of water bodies and their use within the boundaries of river basins. In the framework of SIUPW, a set of situation, evaluation, executive and forecasting maps (scales: 1:1 000 000-1:100 000), generally complying with the methodology of the Atlas of Asian Russia, is developed. In 2025, the series of SIUPW evaluation maps for the Ob, Irtysh, Yenisei, Angara, Khatanga, Pyasina and Nizhnyaya Taimyr river basins was updated via using the integrated methodology. Based on cartographic analysis, these maps allow to identify the areas with specific water use problems and determine the causes of their origin and severity, and, as a result, to develop a prioritized list of address water management and water protection measures.

The article is of a scientific and methodological nature. It outlines the currently applied principles for mapping the thermal regime characteristics of rivers. The paper enumerates and analyzes the problems associated with the data from stationary monitoring used in mapping, proposes solutions to address these issues, and suggests methods for identifying the most up-to-date data under current climatic conditions. Additionally, it examines visualization techniques for thermal regime characteristics, existing challenges in drawing isolines and delineating thermally homogeneous zones, and offers various methods to improve the accuracy of such mapping. The discussion separately covers techniques for verifying the reliability of the resulting cartographic materials. As an example of the successful implementation of the authors’ proposed ideas - based on experience in constructing river thermal regime maps - new maps of mean monthly water temperatures and heat flux modulus are presented. These maps can serve as tools for estimating mean monthly water temperatures and assessing heat flux in hydrologically unstudied rivers.

Water management mapping, as an independent direction in cartography, is being currently developed. The analysis of the related cartographic materials demonstrates a variety of the displayed information, its demand and relevance. Modern technical and technological means ensure the productive and high-quality implementation of geoinformation and cartographic modeling at different hierarchical levels (macroregional, regional and subregional) of water management organization when solving fundamental scientific and scientific-practical problems. In the article, the peculiarities of calculating and mapping the estimates of potential and actual water availability, anthropogenic load and inventory of water pollution sources are considered by the examples of macroregional and regional levels, i.e. the Ob-Irtysh basin and Kuzbass of the Kemerovo Region. Brief descriptions of building the cartographic models and structuring the thematic databases and initial information, as well as rating categories for decision-makers are presented.

This paper examines a methodology for creating a map of average water suspended sediment concentration (SSC) using rivers in the Lena River basin as an example. This method combines actual observation data from gauges, their spatial interpolation, and multivariate relationships with 69 catchment areas. The paper presents the results of a detailed analysis of the initial sediment runoff data, their consistency with long-term fluctuations in river water content, their reliability and completeness, anthropogenic disturbances in the homogeneity of the series, and other factors that affect the reliability of mapping, as well as the choice of the averaging period. In total, the Lena River basin has 96 stations with sediment runoff data for at least one year. Average water SSC characteristics are presented (on a traditional map) as point data in nine gradations. The modeled water SSC map is based on statistical relationships between average water SSC at 53 stations for the period 1978-2021 and 69 factors of its formation, assessed for their catchments in a GIS environment. Generalized for 697 small and medium-sized river catchments and based on six areal gradations of water SSC, the map represents a qualitatively new approach to water SSC mapping in terms of spatial detail. The maps reveal the main spatial patterns of average water SSC distribution and its key factors in the Lena River basin (mountainous areas and mining activities) and characterize the decrease in river SSC compared to maps from the second half of the 20th century.