The article presents the results of mapping ecosystems of the protected area of the Natural Park “Medeu”,located on the northern slope of the Trans-Ili Alatau mountain range. The map of ecosystems and a legend has beencompiled. The legend contains 13 numbers. The largest sections of the legend are the natural ecosystems of the protectedarea and the natural-anthropogenic ecosystems of the buffer zone and the zone of limited economic activity. The habitatsof species from Red Data book of Kazakhstan that form communities (Malus sieversii (Ledeb.) M. Roem., Armeniacavulgaris Lam., Celtis australis subsp. caucasica (Willd.) C. C. Towns. identified, and their brief characteristics are given.

Capabilities of the remote sensing methods for making maps of actual and potential vegetation, and assessment of the extent of anthropogenic transformation of rangelands are presented in the paper. Study area is a large intermountain depression, which is under intensive agricultural use. Color photographs have been made by Aircraft camera Wild Heerburg RC-30 and multispectral scanner Daedalus (AMS) digital aerial data (6 bands, 3.5m resolution) have been used for analysis of distribution and assessment of the state of vegetation. Digital data were processed using specialized program ENVI 3.0. Main stages of the development of cartographic models have been described: initial processing of the aerial images and their visualization, preliminary pre-field interpretation (classification) of the images on the basis of unsupervised automated classification, field studies (geobotanical records and GPS measurements at the sites chosen at previous stage). Post-field stage had the following sub-stages: final geometric correction of the digital images, elaboration of the classification system for the main mapping subdivisions, final supervised automated classification on the basis of expert assessment. By systematizing clusters of the obtained classified image the cartographic models of the study area have been made. Application of the new technology of remote sensing allowed making qualitative and quantitative assessment of modern state of rangelands.