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DATABASE COLLECTION FOR LAND COVER VALIDATION AND MONITORING ON 
REMOTE SENSING/GIS IN WEST PART OF MONGOLIA 
R.Tsolmon 1 , John van genderen 2 , D. Narantuya 3 
1 NUM-ITC-UNESCO Remote Sensing/GIS laboratory National University of MongoliaRoom 315, Building 1, National 
University of Mongolia - tsolmon@num.edu.mn 
2 ITC, Department of Earth Observation Science.P.O.Box 6, 7500 AA Enschede, The Netherlands.- genderen@itc.nl 
3 “National Geoinformation Centre for Natural Resource Management in Mongolia” in Ministry of Nature and 
Environment Mongolia (MNE) project - dnarantuya@yahoo.co.uk 
KEY WORDS: Situ data, ISPRS, Regional network 
ABSTRACT: 
The Research Addresses Two Major objectives related to land cover monitoring in Mongolia. First, we collected of in situ land cover 
variables by ground truth surveys and then implemented different land cover models to assess land cover and its change with remote 
sensing imagery in Mongolia. We then assessed the spatial composition and pattern of land cover within the special protected areas in 
western Mongolia. This project work is designed to develop the tools, methods, data, and collaboration needed to better characterize 
land-cover dynamics across the study area of west part Mongolia. The outcomes were intended to consolidate a regional network of test 
sites. 
1. INTRODUCTION 
Mongolia has undergone an economic and political transition into 
a market economy since the 1990s and has suffered great 
economic hardship. Little attention has been paid to problems of 
land degradation in western of Mongolia after the collapse of the 
communist system due to economic difficulties. Environmental 
scientists in Mongolia and abroad are coming to understand the 
importance of the study of land cover and land use analysis and 
particularly in the region of the Great Lakes Protected Area. 
During Mongolia’s transition to a free market, socio-economic 
factors such as poverty and profit-seeking have greatly increased 
small and large scale mining activities resulting in exploitation of 
the environment in the western region. This has contributed to the 
regional environmental 
deterioration related to the loss of biodiversity, increased land 
degradation and increased livelihood and social vulnerability. 
Land degradation in the western region of Mongolia, as well as in 
other arid areas, is a serious problem that threatens Mongolia’s 
sustainable development. The loss of regional economic activities 
has caused migration from western areas into urban centers. This 
has been coupled with significantly decreased cropland areas, 
increased pasture degradation, reduced surface and ground water, 
increased water pollution, and has generally exacerbated 
desertification pressures combined with drought and dust storm 
processes. In response to land degradation problems in the study 
region, the Government of Mongolia has initiated several soil and 
great lake conservation projects throughout the country. However, 
few research projects has been undertaken on factors that reduce 
land degradation in the protected areas in western regions of 
Mongolia using Remote Sensing/GIS data. 
This research aimed to establish a set of land cover test sites for 
analysis of boreal and temperate regions. This objective also 
directly addresses the goals of the Northern Eurasia Regional 
Information Network (NERIN). Researchers and students at the 
Khovd Agricultural University and University of Khovd were 
trained to complete ground truthing exercises, image processing 
with computer programs and perform land cover modeling 
procedures. For the land cover scenarios, we used forest coverage 
data, vegetation indexes, surface temperature data and snow 
coverage data. The land cover maps were processed with GIS 
land cover methods. This project involved mapping multi 
temporal patterns of land cover from different satellite imagery 
and modeling rates and types of changes in land cover patterns as 
a function of land cover change in Mongolia’s western provinces 
and provides an opportunity for the NERIN and the Northern 
Eurasian Earth Science Partnership Initiative (NEESPI) scientists 
working in these environments to share research results and to 
expand the participation of international partners and collaborators. 
Land cover classification and ground truthing exercises 
incorporated here: different vegetation zones in the region; 
identified areas affected by desertification pressures, land 
degradation linked to pasture overgrazing; hydrology-related 
issues, such as glaciers, water resources and snow cover. 
The approach of the project combined thematic collection land 
cover data and GIS data as well as continuous topographic and 
multitemporal satellite data. 
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