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Abstract. It is possible to increase the accuracy and objectivity of monitoring the state of natural grass stands, the vegetation features of grassy vegetation of the steppe phytocenoses, and their feed potential using remote sensing data from the Earth. The purpose of the work is to obtain data on the state of natural phytocenoses, the characteristics of vegetation of wild vegetation in various soil and climatic conditions using data from remote sensing of the Earth. Methods. Geobotanical studies were carried out at registration sites (landfills) measuring 10×10 m, in accordance with the requirements of methods and state standards generally accepted in phytocenology. Description of vegetation was carried out according to the system of O. Drude, with a mark of the abundance of the species, projective cover, and height of the grass stand. Assessment of the state of vegetation was analyzed by the values of the normalized relative vegetation index (NDVI), which was obtained using the service “Vega” IKI RAS. The objects of study are the natural communities of wild-growing flora located in the arid zone (ZZ) and the zone of unstable moisture (ZNU) of the Stavropol territory. Results. The current ecological state and composition of the steppe vegetation of the studied zones has been established. Both the anthropogenic factor and the climatic conditions in which natural grass stands grow strongly influence the vegetation features, species composition, productivity and quality of feed. The analysis showed that the heat supply of the vegetation period of the arid zone is 5 % higher than the zones of unstable humidification of the Stavropol territory, and the annual rainfall in PYE is 32 % higher than in the western zone. All this affects the course of vegetation of natural forage land in these regions. So, in the arid zone and in the zone of unstable humidification, the average dynamics of the vegetation indices NDVI have a completely different look: there are different levels of maxima, their onset and growth rate and decrease in NDVI. In the arid zones, a pronounced second maximum is observed at the end of November, and in the zone of unstable humidification there is only a tendency for the vegetation index to increase in the autumn period.
Лапенко et al. (Sun,) studied this question.