Аннотация:The paper presents the impact of geologic, geomorphological and climatic factors on the spatial distribution of vegetation communities of the alpine belt of the Greater Caucasus. The gomorphological factors such as: slope exposure and inclination or forms of micro- and nanorelief determine the allocation of the types of plant communities in all syntaxonomical ranges inside the belt, especially at local scale. Combined application of remote sensing and GIS methods is particularly effective for a complex survey and vegetation mapping in the regions difficult to access.