Monitoring Urban Green Infrastructure Changes and Impact on Habitat Connectivity Using High-Resolution Satellite Data

Abstract

In recent decades, the City of Stockholm, Sweden, has grown substantially and is now the largest city in Scandinavia. Recent urban growth is placing pressure on green areas within and around the city. In order to protect biodiversity and ecosystem services, green infrastructure is part of Stockholm municipal planning. This research quantifies land-cover change in the City of Stockholm between 2003 and 2018 and examines what impact urban growth has had on its green infrastructure. Two 2018 WorldView-2 images and three 2003 QuickBird-2 images were used to produce classifications of 11 land-cover types using object-based image analysis and a support vector machine algorithm with spectral, geometric and texture features. The classification accuracies reached over 90% and the results were used in calculations and comparisons to determine the impact of urban growth in Stockholm between 2003 and 2018, including the generation of land-cover change statistics in relation to administrative boundaries and green infrastructure. For components of the green infrastructure, i.e., habitat networks for selected sensitive species, habitat network analysis for the European crested tit (Lophophanes cristatus) and common toad (Bufo bufo) was performed. Between 2003 and 2018, urban areas increased by approximately 4% while green areas decreased by 2% in comparison with their 2003 areal amounts. The most significant urban growth occurred through expansion of the transport network, paved surfaces and construction areas which increased by 12%, mainly at the expense of grassland and coniferous forest. Examination of urban growth within the green infrastructure indicated that most land area was lost in dispersal zones (28 ha) while the highest percent change was within habitat for species of conservation concern (14%). The habitat network analysis revealed that overall connectivity decreased slightly through patch fragmentation and areal loss mainly caused by road expansion on the outskirts of the city. The habitat network analysis also revealed which habitat areas are well-connected and which are most vulnerable. These results can assist policymakers and planners in their efforts to ensure sustainable urban development including sustaining biodiversity in the City of Stockholm.

Municipal Practices for Integrated Planning of Nature-Based Solutions in Urban Development in the Stockholm Region

“…During the last two decades, the city has focused on developing central areas through infills and extensive brownfield developments close to the inner city [35], and this has raised concerns about the loss of green spaces in central areas. A study of changes in nonurban land cover in the City of Stockholm shows that the quantity of green spaces decreased by 2% between 2003 and 2018 [36]. Täby and Upplands Väsby are both commuter municipalities located north of Stockholm.…”

“…spaces in central areas. A study of changes in nonurban land cover in the City of Stockholm shows that the quantity of green spaces decreased by 2% between 2003 and 2018 [36]. Täby and Upplands Väsby are both commuter municipalities located north of Stockholm.…”

Urban Green Infrastructure Monitoring Using Remote Sensing from Integrated Visible and Thermal Infrared Cameras Mounted on a Moving Vehicle

“…More spatially representative approaches for GI monitoring of cities are based on satellite remote sensing on relevant vegetation indices (VIs) related to growth and water status [ 12 ]. This has been applied in China for 70 major cities [ 13 ], and in Sweden [ 14 ] using Sentinel-2 and Landsat-8 satellites [ 13 ], as well as in Croatia using World View 1, 2, and 3 with high resolution visible and multispectral bands [ 15 ]. The use of satellite imagery can monitor large areas from a single image or stitched up images incorporating several square kilometers, which is a major advantage.…”

Yeşil Mutabakat Çerçevesinde Kentsel Yeşil Alanların Yeşil Altyapı Sistemine Entegrasyonu: Antalya-Konyaaltı Örneği

“…Bu gereklilik, Yeşil Mutabakat kapsamında 2050 yılı hedeflerine ulaşmada yeşil altyapı sistemlerinin kurulması ön plana çıkarmaktadır. Ayrıca yeşil altyapı, Avrupa Komisyonu tarafından 2030'a kadar Avrupa Birliği Biyolojik Çeşitlilik Stratejisinde ekosistemlerin korunması için önemli bir araç olarak tanıtılmaktadır [16].…”