Post-Soviet forest fragmentation and loss in the Green Belt around Moscow, Russia (1991–2001): a remote sensing perspective

Recent changes in the post-Soviet Russia suggest rapid privatization of previously protected green space around many metropolitan areas. Nowhere is the trend more apparent than near the capital Moscow. Since 1992, formerly protected forests of the Green Belt have been heavily pursued for elite suburban housing development. With the help of two Landsat images (1991 and 2002) and some on-theground analysis, we investigate areas that have experienced the most mature forest loss. We also examine the spatial pattern of this change, as measured objectively by landscape metrics. Within 20 km from the beltline, about 14.6% of the forested land was converted to suburban residential and commercial uses in the 10-year period. The amount of mature forest loss ranged from 14 to 35% per district, but was partially compensated by some new tree plantings and reforestation for a combined tree cover loss of 14.6% for the entire area, including the city of Moscow. If the city proper is excluded, the loss in the suburban green belt was 12.4%. While this is a moderate decrease, it still represents a trend towards less tree cover and more suburban development in the immediate vicinity of a large city, which is likely to result in worsening air quality and negative impacts on wildlife and opportunities for public recreation in suburban forests in the near future.