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«IZVESTIYA IRKUTSKOGO GOSUDARSTVENNOGO UNIVERSITETA». SERIYA «NAUKI O ZEMLE»
«THE BULLETIN OF IRKUTSK STATE UNIVERSITY». SERIES «EARTH SCIENCES»
ISSN 2073-3402 (Print)

List of issues > Series «Earth Sciences». 2026. Vol 57

GIS Land Suitability Assessment of Agricultural Landscapes in the Lena-Amga Interfluve (Central Yakutia)

Author(s)

M. I. Zakharov1, A. V. Khaldeev1, M. M. Cherosov2

1 M. K. Ammosov North-Eastern Federal University, Yakutsk, Russian Federation

2 Yakutsk Research Institute of Agriculture, FRC YSC SB RAS, Yakutsk, Russian Federation

Abstract
Land suitability assessment is the foundation for the rational use of agricultural landscapes and for making land use management decisions in agricultural land use. In Central Yakutia, where agriculture is practiced under conditions of permafrost extent, extreme continental climate, and active cryogenic processes, such an assessment becomes a necessary basis for management. The aim of the study is to geoinformation assess the suitability of agricultural landscapes in the Lena-Amga interfluve of Central Yakutia based on the integration of remote sensing data, climate reanalysis, and cadastral information. The Land Suitability Index (LSI), calculated using normalized climatic (accumulated active temperatures, Selyaninov hydrothermal coefficient, duration of the period with temperatures above 0°C), geomorphological (elevation, slope, aspect), bioproduction (maximum NDVI, NDVI amplitude), and landscape (ESA WorldCover land cover class) parameters, was used as an integral indicator. Factor weights were determined using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). Calculations were performed for 20,262 agricultural land polygons. Based on the number of polygons, 22.27% were classified as highly suitable, 69.36% as suitable, 8.22% as moderately suitable, and 0.14% as marginally suitable. The highest LSI values are characteristic of floodplain landscapes (average index of 80.18 points). Alas and small-valley landscapes are mostly classified as suitable, while inter-alas areas exhibit more pronounced limitations. It was established that the overall suitability is determined by the combined effect of current land cover (r = 0.781), vegetation activity (r = 0.518), and climatic conditions (r = 0.432). The obtained results can be used for agroecological zoning, planning the return of fallow lands into agricultural use, selecting reclamation measures, and optimizing the structure of agricultural lands in the Central Yakutia.
About the Authors

Zakharov Moisei Ivanovich  

Candidate of Sciences (Geography),  

Associate Professor  

M. K. Ammosov North-Eastern Federal  

University  

50, Belinsky st., Yakutsk, 677000,  

Russian Federation  

e-mail: mplusz@inbox.ru


Khaldeev Aidyn Vasilievich  

Postgraduate  

M. K. Ammosov North-Eastern Federal  

University,  

50, Belinsky st., Yakutsk, 677000,  

Russian Federation  

e-mail: a.v.haldeev@svfu.ru


Cherosov Mikhail Mikhailovich  

Doctor of Sciences (Biology), Director  

Yakutsk Research Institute of Agriculture FRC  

YSC SB RAS  

23/1, Bestuzhev-Marlinsky st., Yakutsk, 677001,  

Russian Federation  

e-mail: agronii@mail.ru

For citation
Zakharov M.I., Khaldeev A.V., Cherosov M.M. GIS Land Suitability Assessment of Agricultural Landscapes in the Lena-Amga Interfluve (Central Yakutia). The Bulletin of Irkutsk State University. Series Earth Sciences, 2026, vol. 57, pp. 45-63. https://doi.org/10.26516/2073-3402.2026.57.45 (in Russian)
Keywords
agricultural landscapes, land suitability, LSI, Lena-Amga interfluve, Central Yakutia, ERA5-Land, NDVI, ESA WorldCover.
UDC
911.6:63(571.56)
DOI
https://doi.org/10.26516/2073-3402.2026.57.45
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