Remote monitoring of green plants of Ufa in 1988-2018

Abstract

Green spaces of the city are an integral part of its ecological framework. When planning urban space, information is needed on their actual distribution, condition and dynamics. To do this, it is advisable to use satellite images. The purpose of the work is to conduct remote monitoring of green spaces of Ufa using Landsat satellite images over the past 30 years. Image processing, including radiometric calibration, reducing the amount of data from 6 channels to 3 main components, uncontrolled classification of images, grouping classes to 5 types of underlying surface (open soil, no vegetation, grassy vegetation, tree and shrub vegetation, underwater), matrix construction changes were made using the tools of the SAGA GIS software product. As a result, a map was constructed showing spatial changes of the tree-shrub vegetation type over 30 years. The plots on which this type is preserved make up 16 073 ha, on which it was replaced by another type of underlying surface - 3700 ha. Plots characterized in 1988 by other types, and in 2018 converted to the tree-shrub vegetation type, occupy 8665 ha. On the one hand, there is a positive trend in the conservation and increase in the area of tree-shrub plantings. But this is not characteristic of the entire urban district, but mainly of the forests of the Ufa urban forestry, which are located mainly on the outskirts, around the central part of the city. For intracity tree-shrub plantings that are not related to the forest fund and located in the built-up part of the city, stable negative dynamics and a change in other types of underlying surface are characteristic.

The Green Space Availability in Ufa City Metropolis

“…The accessibility of green spaces is expressed by calculating the proportion of the population with access to green spaces, e.g., public green spaces, and determining green areas within a defined radius of the population's residence. The same group includes assessing the dynamics of urban green spaces over a certain period [8].…”

“…However, such data will be interesting and useful for domestic and international readers because Ufa is the capital of the Republic of Bashkortostan, a millionaire city, one of the largest economic, scientific, and cultural centres of Russia and an important transport hub. Earlier in Ufa, a forestry inventory was carried out for green stands [36,37], and their recreational importance [38] and stability under anthropogenic conditions [39], were determined using both instrumental methods and terrestrial remote sensing data [8]. Moreover, no work has been done to assess the availability of green space within a defined radius; this and the abovementioned statements explain the necessity/novelty of such kind of research.…”