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The IIASA/LUC georeferenced database for the former USSR (in part only for Russia), was created within the framework of the project Modeling of Land Use and Land Cover Changes in Europe and Northern Asia (LUC). For Russia, essential information on relief, soil, vegetation, land cover and use, etc. for routine environmental analysis was lacking when the LUC project first started developing the database. In addition, the environmental data on the former USSR which was available occurred in formats (papers, tables, etc.) that in general could not be used with modern information technology, and in particular in model building. In creating the LUC project database, we have established a threefold task: (1) to obtain the relevant information for the LUC project modeling exercises; (2) to develop data which is applicable to modern information technology; (3) to contribute a series of digital databases which could be applied for a number of other specific analysis by the national and international scientific community. In defining the tasks it was agreed to create a set of digital databases which could be handled by a geographic information systems (GIS). This required that the data had to be georeferenced. The complete set of georeferenced digital databases was combined into the LUC project's GIS, using ARC/INFO. However, each individual item (physiography, soil, vegetation, etc.) was created as an unique specific digital database, allowing to be used separately, depending on user's needs. The complete series of the unique georeferenced digital databases is described in several IIASA/LUC volumes: Volume 1 -- Physiography (land forms, slope conditions, elevations); Volume 2 -- Soil; Volume 3 -- Soil degradation status (Russia); Volume 4 -- Vegetation; Volume 5 -- Land categories; Volume 6 -- Agricultural regionalization.

The IIASA/LUC georeferenced database for the former U.S.S.R. was created within theframework of the project "Modeling Land-Use and Land Cover Changes in Europe andNorthern Asia" (LUC). For Russia, essential information on relief, soil, vegetation, landcover and use, etc. for routine environmental analysis was lacking when the LUCproject started developing the database. In addition, the environmental data on theformer U.S.S.R. which was available occurred in formats (papers, tables, etc.)...