Chapter 2 "Environment (Nature). Ecology" is a component part of the National Atlas of Russia, created as an official governmental edition on the instructions of the Government of the Russian Federation from May 26, 2000 № АГ - П 9 - 14991.
Chapter 2 is intended for a wide use in economic, management, scientific, educational and other kinds of activity. The cartographic object of the Chapter is the natural conditions, natural resources and state of environment of the Russian Federation.
Chapter 2 contains 495 pages of maps, text and illustrated materials, grouped into 15 sections.
"Introduction" section contains cartographic and text materials, reflecting general characteristics of natural conditions and natural resources of the Russian Federation as well as illustrating general idea of geographical situation in Russia and its territorial features.
Section "Evolution of natural environment" is devoted to the evolution of geographical envelope on the territory of Russia with climatic and hydrometeorological characteristics, as well as the imaging of the development features of flora and fauna within the past 150 000 years, from the late Pleistocene till Holocene. Several cartographic materials show the dynamics of the borders of seas, washing the territory of Russia, in different geological epochs, the expansion of ice sheets and their degradation.
Section "Geological structure and subsoil resources" represents in cartographic form the information on geological structure of the territory of Russia, hydrological and geotechnical conditions, the allocation of features of geophysical and geochemical fields, as well as the allocation of the main kinds of minerals (ore, non-metal and hydrocarbon) supplemented with schemes and sections of the definite fields. Some maps display geological environment protection and the spread of unique geological objects.
Section "Relief" represents the maps, characterizing geomorphological structure and zoning of the territory of Russia, reflecting the general relief orography and hypsometry as well as the bulge forming processes. This section includes cartographic and illustrated materials showing the diversity of relief types and shapes, including their morphostructure and morphosculpture.
Section "Climate" consists of the set of maps and schemes, showing the spatial location of climatic characteristics of the territory of Russia, and the tendency of climate change considering natural and antropogenic factors which include the information on temperature and wind conditions, radiative balance, atmospheric precipitation, blanket of snow. In this section the following dangerous weather phenomenon are examined: mists, thunderstorms, storm rainfalls, hail, ice-crusted ground, dust storms, droughts, etc.
Section "Waters. Lands" contains the cartographic materials of general character, reflecting hydrographic net, drainage basins with the resources extraction of the surface and ground waters, and water power resources. The information is supplemented with the data on dangerous hydrological phenomenon (floods, freshets), ecological condition of water objects.
Section "Snow.Ice. Congelation" is dedicated to the glaciologic and cryopedologic conditions, and snow-ice resources. It contains the data on the development of contemporary glaciation and permafrost, and the dangerous snow-ice phenomenon.
In section "Seas" there is information on physical-chemical and hydrological characteristics of seas, washing the territory of Russia, including water density, salinity and temperature. Sea bioresources are represented here by the maps of allocation of phytoplankton, benthos, animal plankton, allocation of commercial algae, sea animals and fish. Information of dangerous natural processes and ecological situation of sea waters and sea shores is mentioned.
Section "Soil landscape and land resources" is made of maps and schemes, depicting common characteristics of the main soil types, information on their fertility, structure, water and temperature regimes, as well as the degradation processes in soils. Special attention is paid to the characteristics of Russian chernozem (black earth) as one of the national wealth of Russia.
Section "Flora" comprises the set of maps illustrating the features of the contemporary green cover (types and species of plant associations, zonal and altitudinal zonality, and flora changes within the definite time intervals). A special attention is paid to the green cover resources - forests, amount of forests of the territory of Russia with the forest density characteristics. In this section floristic wealth, ecological and social functions of green cover, rare species of plant formations are given.
Section "Fauna" gives the information on specific diversity of terrestrial and aquatic animals (mammals, fish, amphibian and reptiles) and birds. The materials on animals' resources and forms of their use are represented in greater detail. The set of maps is dedicated to animal's and bird's protection, availability of the regional Red Books in the Russian Federations' subjects and the data on the more essential red-listed animals in Russia.
Section "Landscapes" is represented by the maps and satellite images, depicting contemporary diversity of landscapes, illustrating landscape profiles and materials on their seasonal rhythms and hydrothermal seasonal phases. The section includes the maps of physiographic zoning and maps of natural conditions evaluation of population's life.
Section "State of environment" is devoted to the organization of ecological situation in Russia and includes cartographic materials on the different types of human environmental intervention as well as environmental impact of different industries (energy, mining, manufacturing industry), transport, agriculture, and forest exploitation.
To the Section "Environment conservancy" belong the maps of the environment conservancy as a whole and its components, and the nature management optimization. More detailed information concerns the natural areas of preferential protection of international, federal and regional levels. Important role play the maps devoted to the conservation system and participation of Russia in the international conservation conventions and agreements.
Final "Reference data" section includes the glossary and information sources (literary, cartographic and statistic).