Abstract
An urban ecosystem’s ecological structure and functions can be assessed through Urban Surface Ecological Status (USES). USES are affected by human activities and environmental processes. The mapping of USESs are crucial for urban environmental sustainability, particularly in developing countries such as India. The COVID-19 pandemic caused unprecedented negative impacts on socio-economic domains; however, there was a reduction in human pressures on the environment. This study aims to assess the effects of lockdown on the USES in the Kolkata Metropolitan Area (KMA), India, during different lockdown phases (phases I, II and III). The land surface temperature (LST), normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), and wetness and normalized difference soil index (NDSI) were assessed. The USES was developed by combining all of the biophysical parameters using Principal Component Analysis (PCA). The results showed that there was a substantial USES spatial variability in KMA. During lockdown phase III, the USES in fair and poor sustainability areas decreased from 29% (2019) to 24% (2020), and from 33% (2019) to 25% (2020), respectively. Overall, the areas under poor USES decreased from 30% to 25% during lockdown periods. Our results also showed that the USES mean value was 0.49 in 2019but reached 0.34 during the lockdown period (a decrease of more than 30%). The poor USES area was mainly concentrated in built-up areas (with high LST and NDSI), compared to the rural fringe areas of KMA (high NDVI and wetness). The mapping of USES are crucial in different biophysical environmental conditions, and they can be very helpful for the assessment of urban sustainability.
Highlights
In recent decades, rapid urban expansion and population growth have dramatically impacted ecosystems [1,2,3], increasing land degradation and reducing human wellbeing [4,5,6]
Kolkata Metropolitan Area is the third-largest megacity in Eastern India and is the Kolkata Metropolitan Area is the third-largest megacity in Eastern India and is the capital of West Bengal state (Figure 1)
The present study mainly focused on modelling the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on the Urban Surface Ecological Status (USES) in the Kolkata Metropolitan Area (KMA), Eastern India
Summary
Rapid urban expansion and population growth have dramatically impacted ecosystems [1,2,3], increasing land degradation and reducing human wellbeing [4,5,6]. This hashad negative impacts on urban inhabitants [7]. Previous works highlighted that the Urban Surface Ecological Status (USES) was influenced mainly by the surface biophysical components such as greenness, dryness, wetness, and heat. The conversion of a pervious land surface into an impervious surface is one of the most widespread forms of land use/land cover change (LULCC) [11]
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