Spatio-temporal investigation of urbanization and its impact on habitat fragmentation in natural ecosystems of Istanbul using Shannon’s entropy and landscape metrics in GIS

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This study aims to investigate the impact of spatio-temporal dynamics of urban sprawl on habitats in Istanbul, using the CORINE 1990 and 2018 land cover datasets. In this context, by means of geographic information system (GIS) tools and techniques, land cover maps are created for land cover change analysis and visualization, the Shannon’s entropy method is performed for measuring urban growth and sprawl, and the landscape metrics method is applied for assessing habitat loss and fragmentation. Results indicate that the rate of urban sprawl in the area increased by 0.1230 as per the Shannon’s entropy index over the 28-year period. Similarly, the Shannon Diversity Index and the Shannon Evenness Index rose from 1.74 to 1.85 and from 0.68 to 0.70, respectively, indicating an increase in urbanization within the area. Moreover, an analysis of patch numbers reveals that habitat fragmentation increased in shrub and/or herbaceous vegetation associations (72.55%), heterogeneous agricultural areas (45.11%), arable lands (42.5%), forests (36.13%) and pastures (15.05%), due to urbanization. Habitat fragmentation has had a detrimental effect on the local biodiversity. While 15 flora species were identified as vulnerable, 13 as endangered and 9 as critically endangered, 19 fauna species were identified as vulnerable and 5 as endangered. This study highlights that the natural habitats and biodiversity of Istanbul will suffer further decline due to urbanization unless sustainable urban planning and management policies are put into practice. It is essential to have controlled urban development to preserve the ecosystem’s carrying capacity, and urbanization decisions must consider this requirement.