Assessment of Land Degradation Neutrality Based on Satellite Image Data

The study uses remote sensing data to calculate three indicators of land degradation neutrality for the territory of Penza oblast. It is established that the key indicator of land degradation is productivity of vegetation cover, assessed using the NDVI index. A sharp drop in vegetation productivity was observed in 2001–2006. Soil carbon reserves and the character of land use remain stable over the 20-year monitoring period.