Crop proximity index for monitoring of peri-urban land use in agro-industrial crop regions

Abstract

The agro-industrial production of genetically modified organisms uses great amounts of pesticides, close to cities, which generates growing concern due to the numerous evidence of their negative effects on health and the environment. In a context of the lack, or inaccessibility, of official data on crop dynamics and pesticide use, environmental indicators using satellite data are needed for the proper monitoring of peri-urban areas. The objective of this research is to make a crop proximity index using satellite information to assess and monitor peri-urban agro-industrial activity. Twenty cities in Argentina and ten in the United States were selected. The CPI index is designed to evaluate a city and its peri-urban areas as a whole by taking account of the land uses and factors that can potentially influence the proximity to agro-industrial activity to the population living in those cities. Agriculture factor was weighted by proximity or remoteness using perimeter rings from the urban edge. All the necessary data for the calculation of the CPI index were obtained through the classification and processing of Sentinel 2 satellite images with software and the Google Earth Engine platform. The results show a worrying situation, 90% of cities in Argentina and 80% in the United States have a negative CPI. Most of the cities examined are extremely close to extensive areas of crops, that use a high amount of pesticides and which do not have the protection of trees or buffer zones.

Environmental problems in the sphere of legal regulation of the agro-industrial complex of the Russian Federation

“…Agricultural sector, as well as other sectors, considerably contributes to the climate change. Draining or, on the contrary, irrigation of land, carried out without accurate assessment, worsens the condition of the soil, disrupts the state of natural ecosystems [2,3].…”

Protection in the agro-industrial complex of all forms of property from criminal encroachments (the degree of its criminalization and measures of operational and investigative counteraction)

“…Adhering to this we note that the economic situation today is characterized by: 1. crop production; 2. provision of mineral fertilizers; 3. technical support; 4. provision of special materials; 5. lending for seasonal field work; 6. animal husbandry; 7. financial support for manufacturers; 8. the state of the food and processing industry [1].…”