Abstract
Currently, human settlements, farms and areas with water points are hotspots of land degradation.One of the main causes of land degradation is overgrazing. The overgrazing of rangelands around villages is a problem, together with the drastic depletion of natural rangelands around densely populatedareas, especially in the South-Eastern part of the country. Traditional methods of mapping of soils andvegetation by expert-extrapolation method require considerable financial and time costs. At the moderntechnical level, the problem of obtaining information on the state of the land depends on the availability of remote sensing methods, which make it possible to quickly obtain a fairly complete amount of data onthe state of rangeland ecosystems. It is well known that remote sensing methods should be accompaniedby extensive corrective research.A new approach for assessing the state of rangeland resources was evaluated, which consists inchoosing “hot spots” by applying GIS data and conducting field research in selected basic plots for creation digital cartographic materials.The article presents the results of field geobotanical studies conducted in the foothill areas of theChu-Ili Mountains, in the zone of piedmont deserts. The state of rangeland vegetation and biologicalindicators of degradation were studied. The spectral characteristics of vegetation of the study area arerevealed. By the analysis of field data and the use of remote sensing methods, the state of rangelandswas assessed.Key words: rangeland, foothills, vegetation, biological indicators, degradation, spectral characteristics, community, ephemerals.