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It is now possible to download the Agroatlas maps in GIS format. Vector maps of crops, their wild relatives and pests are in mid/mif format. Raster agroecological maps are in Idrisi (.rdc/.rst) format. The maps can be viewed with the Agroatlas viewer which can be downloaded from https://agroatlas.ru/en/downloads/. A Help Manual can also be downloaded. Because the map format is open, any GIS software can be used to view and analzye the maps.

GIS School The AgroAtlas Project will be conducting a GIS (Geographic Information Systems) school to teach students how to use GIS technologies to solve problems in biology and agriculture using the Project’s freely available GIS software, AgroAtlas GIS. The short course is being conducted by the Faculty of Geography and Geo-Ecology at St. Petersburg State University. The duration is 10 days, 8 hours per day, and will be repeated 4 times starting in September of 2010. Upon successful graduation, students will be issued a standard State Diploma. To successfully graduate, students will be required to write a diploma paper based on their own scientific and practical work. The best papers will be published in the inaugural addition of the international peer-reviewed journal, BioGIS. Admission requirements. Admission is competitive and open to scholars and experts in biology and agriculture through out the Former Soviet Union. Priority will be given to those working in higher education and research institutes who can demonstrate that they will pass on the knowledge they acquire to students and faculty at their own, and surrounding institutes. Grants for students. Twenty grants for studying at the GIS-school have been provided for by the Agricultural Research Service of the US Department of Agriculture, in cooperation with the International Science and Technology Center. Eligible students must come from Russia or the former republics of the USSR, including Central Asia, the Caucasus, the Ukraine and Belorussia. An equal number of students will be selected from each of these regions. The grants will be awarded on a competitive basis and will be used to cover transportation costs, lodging and meals. The Application Form of the GIS school can be found at https://agroatlas.ru/en/gis/ Please submit your applications for studying at the GIS-school to Drs. Stephanie Greene and Alexandr Afonin. - E-mail: GIS-school@yandex.ru