Spatio-temporal changes of vegetation coverage in Jingchuan County based on an analysis of TM imagery

Timely monitoring of the changes in coverage and growth conditions of vegetation (forest, grass) is very important for preserving the regional and global ecological environment. Vegetation information is mainly reflected by its spectral characteristics, namely, differences and changes in green plant leaves and vegetation canopies in remote sensing domains. The normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) is commonly used to describe the dynamic changes in vegetation, but the NDVI sequence is not long enough to support the exploration of dynamic changes due to many reasons, such as changes in remote sensing sensors. Thus, the NDVI from different sensors should be scientifically combined using logical methods. In this study, the Global Inventory Modeling and Mapping Studies (GIMMS) NDVI from the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) and Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) NDVI are combined using the Savitzky–Golay (SG) method and then utilized to investigate the temporal and spatial changes in the vegetation of the Ruoergai wetland area (RWA). The dynamic spatial and temporal changes and trends of the NDVI sequence in the RWA are analyzed to evaluate and monitor the growth conditions of vegetation in this region. In regard to annual changes, the average annual NDVI shows an overall increasing trend in this region during the past three decades, with a linear trend coefficient of 0.013/10a, indicating that the vegetation coverage has been continuously improving. In regard to seasonal changes, the linear trend coefficients of NDVI are 0.020, 0.021, 0.004, and 0.004/10a for spring, summer, autumn, and winter, respectively. The linear regression coefficient between the gross domestic product (GDP) and NDVI is also calculated, and the coefficients are 0.0024, 0.0015, and 0.0020, with coefficients of determination (R2) of 0.453, 0.463, and 0.444 for Aba, Ruoergai, and Hongyuan, respectively. Thus, the positive correlation coefficients between the GDP and the growth of NDVI may indicate that increased societal development promotes vegetation in some respects by resulting in the planting of more trees or the promotion of tree protection activities. Through the analysis of the temporal and spatial NDVI, it can be assessed that the vegetation coverage is relatively large and the growth condition of vegetation in this region is good overall.

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Spatio-Temporal Changes of Urban Forests and Planning Evolution in a Highly Dynamical Urban Area: The Case Study of Wrocław, Poland

Forests ◽

10.3390/f11010017 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

pp. 17 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Justyna Jaworek-Jakubska ◽

Maciej Filipiak ◽

Adam Michalski ◽

Anna Napierała-Filipiak

Keyword(s):

World War Ii ◽

Urban Forest ◽

Urban Forests ◽

Spatial Dimension ◽

Temporal Changes ◽

City Centre ◽

Socialist Economy ◽

Urban Green Spaces ◽

Spatio Temporal ◽

The City

Knowledge about urban forests in Poland is still limited, as it is primarily based on aggregate, formal data relating to the general area, ignoring the spatial dimension and informal green areas. This article describes and analyses spatio-temporal changes in the actual urban forest resources in Wrocław in 1944–2017, which covers the first period of the city’s rebuilding after its destruction during World War II and its development during the nationalised, centrally-planned socialist economy, as well as the second period of intensive and only partly controlled growth under conditions of market economy. The study is based on current and historical orthophotomaps, which were confronted with cartographic data, as well as planning documents. We found that between 1944 and 2017, the percentage contribution of informal woodlands increased tenfold (from 0.5 to 4.9% of the present total area of the city). The area occupied by such forests has grown particularly during the most recent years of the city’s intensive development. However, the forests have been increasingly fragmented. During the first period, new forest areas were also created in the immediate vicinity of the city centre, while during the second one, only in its peripheral sections. The post-war plans regarding the urban green spaces (UGS), including the current plan, are very conservative in nature. On the one hand, this means no interference with the oldest, biggest, and most valuable forest complexes, but on the other hand, insufficient consideration of the intensive built-up area expansion on former agriculture areas. Only to a limited extent did the above-mentioned plans take into account the informal woodlands, which provide an opportunity for strengthening the functional connectivity of landscape.

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