Organization of retrospective monitoring of the soil cover in Azov district of Rostov oblast

Retrospective monitoring of the state of soils and lands is based on the principles of actualization of their identification features based on the available materials of remote sensing (RS). The characteristics of RS materials and topographic maps applied for this purpose are discussed. It is argued that temporal changes in the state of soils and lands can be inferred from three types of RS materials covering the entire agricultural territory of Russia. Information about the availability of these materials is given. The methodology of retrospective monitoring of the state of soils and lands is realized with the use of GIS technologies. Classification schemes of the types of land use and their dynamics for the considered region are suggested.