Change in Land Cover and Cultural Landscapes in the Southwestern Part of Moscow Region, Russia

Over the last two-and-a-half centuries, cultural landscapes and land cover of the southwestern Moscow region have undergone major modifications determined by economic development, settlement system, and a range of natural factors. Long-term gradual development of these processes were overlapped by "revolutionary" dynamics at certain times. Multiform natureeconomic complexes have been changing individually, so the target of this comprehensive geographical research is to estimate the rate of this transformation and significance of change in areas occupied by forests, agricultural activity, and settlements (Yevdokimova, 1978).