Spatio-Temporal Analysis of Changes in Ecosystems of Municipal Waste Localisation Areas Using Gis and Remote Sensing Data

Abstract

The Zdovbytsia municipal solid waste (MSW) dump (the Rivne region, Ukraine) as a case study allows demonstrating informativeness of identifying waste dump sites and the adjusted areas using the spectral characteristics and texture of earth’s covers obtained from the satellite images for the different years. To identify the MSW dump in the surveyed area, direct coding features were considered, which characterized the properties of the object and are directly represented in the images. These are such features as geometric (shape, shadow, size), brightness (phototone, brightness level, color, spectral image), structural (texture, structure) ones. In addition, satellite images reliably identified the presence of discharging from the dump area, their directions, areas of unloading, the damage to herbaceous cover and other vegetation, etc. The informativeness of the study of dynamics for dump geometrical parameters, the change of its internal “structure,” the functional changes in the surrounding ecosystem elements (first, the changes in the forest stands and agricultural lands) is demonstrated. In particular, satellite image data for the period of 2003 to 2021 allow identifying the increase in a number of the Zdovbytsia MSW dump sites at the expense of adjacent forest stands. Thus, in 2003 one site of the dump is operated, whereas in 2019—already three ones, that integrated in 2021. The study of dynamics for the change of the total area of dump has revealed the increase of this area by approximately 6.25 times (from 6 521 m2 in 2003 to 20 438 m2 in 2021). In addition, the total perimeter along the contours of its stages has enlarged more than 3.35 times (from 438 to 1 466 m, respectively). The use of satellite images of higher spatial resolution in the area of about 0.6 m/pixel will specify the cases of unsatisfactory condition of the dump.