Development Of Urban Ecosystem Research Articles

Dynamic assessment and prediction of land use alterations influence on ecosystem service value: A pathway to environmental sustainability

In the face of rapid urbanization, understanding and managing changes in Land Use and Land Cover (LULC) is crucial for the sustainability and resilience of urban ecosystems. Rapid urban growth resulting from changes in LULC, can lead to the fragmentation and degradation of Ecosystem Services (ES), including habitat provision, water regulation, and air purification. This study investigates LULC changes in Dhaka City, Bangladesh, from 2010 to 2021 and forecasts their future impacts on ES in 2030 and 2040. Landsat images were processed using the Google Earth Engine platform, and a cellular automata technique was integrated with an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) for LULC mapping and prediction. Results showed an increase in built-up areas from 31% to 42% between 2010 and 2021, with a projected decrease to 34% and 32% in 2030 and 2040, respectively. Water bodies, vegetation, and agricultural land declined from 2010 to 2021 but are expected to increase in 2030 and 2040. This trend indicates a growing awareness of the need for a sustainable environment and resilience in urban ecosystem development. The value of ES is predicted to drop from $172.66 to $160.23 over thirty years (2010–2040), primarily due to the degradation of water bodies ($7.64) and agricultural land ($6.89). However, the projected increase in water bodies, vegetation, and agricultural land by 2040 suggests a potential for recovery and enhancement of these ES values through sustainable practices. Future land use policies should promote sustainable agriculture and water resource management while fostering resilience against rapid urban growth. This approach will ensure the sustainable development of urban ecosystems. This study informs future land use strategies in Dhaka City, supporting sustainable natural resource management, urban ecosystem quality management decisions, and resilience planning. It underscores the importance of integrating sustainability and resilience into urban development policies for the benefit of both the environment and the city's inhabitants.

Assessment of urban ecosystem condition and ecosystem services in Shenzhen based on the MAES analysis framework

Rapid urbanization has led to a reduction in the capacity of urban ecosystems to provide essential services. Understanding the interplay between urban ecosystem condition (EC), ecosystem service (ES) capacity and environmental stress is important for achieving sustainable economic and social development. Taking Shenzhen, a representative region of rapid urbanization in China, as an example, this study analyzed the evolution of urban EC and spatial and temporal patterns of key ESs from 2000 to 2020. With reference to the Mapping and Assessment of Ecosystems and their Services (MAES) framework and its indicators, the analysis process used the InVEST model and empirical statistical methods. The spatial and temporal geographically weighted regression (GTWR) model was used to determine how the ESs responded to EC. The results demonstrated a tendency of increased environmental stress and degraded EC in the urban ecosystem during the study period. The supply of ESs was on the decline, with runoff retention and microclimate regulation showing significant declines, while noise reduction showed an upward tendency. ESs had an overall “east-high-west-low” spatial pattern. In terms of response relationships, the regulating and cultural services were mainly negatively correlated with PM10 concentration, temperature, and the percentage of construction land and positively correlated with vegetation cover. There was spatial and temporal heterogeneity in the mechanism of EC influence on specific services. The percentage of construction land was the key negative influencing factor, indicating that urban expansion exacerbates the decrease in the supply of ESs. The results of the study also provided evidence that the MAES analysis framework can accurately analyze environmental problems in urban ecosystems and offer a practical solution for urban ecosystem assessments. For the sustainable development of urban ecosystems, it is advised that the ES concept be included as a key decision factor in the development of urban planning policies.

Using a Novel Green Index to Support Ecosystem Services in a Megacity

We present a novel and efficient approach that enables the evaluation of environmental quality in cities worldwide using high-resolution satellite imagery, based on a new green index (GI) through multivariate analysis, to compare the proportion of urban green spaces (UGSs) with built and impervious surfaces. High-resolution images were used to perform a supervised classification of 25 districts in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. Only 11 districts showed higher urban forests, green spaces, green index, and green vs. built values, and impervious surface proportions with lower impervious and built spaces. On the other hand, the remaining districts had higher population densities and unfavorable conditions for urban ecosystem development. In some cases, urban green spaces were three-times smaller than the built and impervious surfaces, and none of the districts attained a high green quality index (0.75 to 1). Artificial intelligence techniques improved the precise identification of land cover, particularly vegetation, such as trees, shrubs, and grasses. The development of a novel green index, using multivariate statistical analysis, enhanced positive interactions among soil cover classes, emphasizing priority areas for enhancing environmental quality. Most of them should be prioritized by decision makers due to the low environmental quality, as identified by the low green index and worse ecosystem services, well-being, and health outcomes. The method can be employed in many other cities to enhance urban ecosystem quality, well-being, and health. The green index and supervised classification can characterize pastures, degraded forest fragments, and guide forest restoration techniques in diverse landscapes.

Urban ecological network construction in Loess Plateau regions in China-case study of Huanxian city

Cities in ecologically vulnerable areas have high ecological sensitivity, and the balance between urban expansion and the ecological environment is easily broken, leading to various environmental problems. These problems seriously interrupt the sustainable health development of urban ecosystems. Studying urban ecological network construction from the perspective of multifactor ecological processes is of important significance to the ecological safety and resource management of cities. In this study, an analysis of ecological elements was conducted separately to account for the “vertical” and “horizontal” ecological processes present in the ecological network. By using the superposition mode of vertical ecological processes, the composition of vital ecological patches was analyzed, and important ecological patches within the ecosystem were identified through ecological sensitivity evaluation index system. On the other hand, the composition of ecological corridors was analyzed through the use of horizontal ecological processes. The biological corridor was determined by source identification of biological processes and resistance surface analysis while the catchment corridor was determined through runoff simulation. Based on these findings, it was possible to propose an urban ecological network construction system specifically designed for Loess Plateau regions using a superposition of ecological sensitivity, biological processes, and catchment processes. Finally, a case study of the urban ecological network system of Loess Plateau regions was conducted in Huanxian City. Comparing the proposed urban ecological network of the Loess Plateau regions and the generated scheme with the overall planning scheme of 2016, the patch density and the largest patch index decreased by 1.522 and 13.794, respectively, while the fractal dimension, interspersion and juxtaposition index, the contagion index, and the connectivity index increased by 0.003, 2.188, 14.076, and 1.366, respectively. This trend proves that the research scheme improved in terms of ecological performance. Research conclusions can provide useful references for the construction of urban ecological networks in underdeveloped and ecologically vulnerable areas in China while offering guidelines for making decisions on the green development and management of urban spaces.

Assessment of soil development during rapid urbanization using the carbon and nitrogen stable isotope composition.

The proposed paper is devoted to the analysis of the urbanization effects on soil cover using physico-chemical parameters and stable isotopic signatures on the example of Tyumen. The study methods included analysis of C and N elemental and isotope (δ13C and δ15N) composition, analysis of soil physico-chemical properties and major oxides content. The results of the survey have shown that soil properties within the city limits vary significantly depending on both anthropogenic activities and geomorphological context. The urban soils of Tyumen differ from very strongly acidic with pH values down to 4.8 to strongly alkaline with pH values reaching 8.9, and from sandy loams to silty loams by texture. The study results have shown that δ13C values varied from -33.86 to -25.14‰ and δ15N values varied in range, especially, from -1.66 to 13.38‰. The range of these signatures was smaller than those reported for urbanized areas in Europe and USA. The δ13C values in our case were more related to the geological and landscape parameters of the study area, rather than with urban disturbances and development of urban ecosystems. At the same time, the δ15N values probably indicate zones with increased atmospheric N deposition in the case of Tyumen. The application δ13C and δ15N is a promising tool for analysis of urban soil disturbances and functions, though the regional context should be taken into account.

Assessment of ecosystem functions of green spaces as an important component of their inventory in the context of sustainable development of urban landscapes

An important area of research in the context of ensuring the sustainable development of urban ecosystems is the development of theoretical and applied aspects of the possibilities of obtaining information about the ecosystem usefulness of green spaces. The concept of evaluating and paying for eco-services that produce trees and shrubs for the environment and society is characterised by substantial international interest. In this context, it is important to analyse modern tools and techniques that can adequately determine and evaluate the amount of ecosystem services, which was the main goal of the study. In this paper, the possibility of using the i-Tree Eco tools for quantitative and cost determination of the volume of ecosystem services created by park spaces in the green space inventory process is tested. For this purpose, on the example of the prefix part of the Rayivskyy landscape park of the Ternopil region, the measurement of biometric and sanitary indicators of trees during their inventory was conducted, a number of ecosystem services of plants were determined (reduction of pollutants, absorption and sequestration of carbon, oxygen production, and regulation of avoided runoff), the replacement cost of trees was established, the data obtained were analysed, the interpretation of the information received in the form of an interactive electronic map was performed, and the advantages and disadvantages of this process were determined. The study showed that the cost of ecosystem services (in the context of the indicators under study) for the attached part of the Rayivskyy landscape park is 81894 UAH (€3044) per year, and the total replacement cost of the examined plantings is 4486,464 thousand UAH (€166,783). The monetised expression of the ecosystem utility of this plantation creates conditions for improving the understanding of the value of the phytocenosis for urban landscapes. The practical value of the study is the possibility of using its results to improve and increase the information content of the green space inventory process, by obtaining information about ecosystem services of trees in quantitative and cost terms to increase the validity of decisions in the field of nature management

Strategies for Restoring and Managing Ecological Corridors of Freshwater Ecosystem

Along with accelerating urbanization and associated anthropogenic disturbance, the structure and function of freshwater ecosystems worldwide are substantially damaged. To improve ecosystem health, and thus enhance the ecosystem security of the urban ecosystem, numbers of management approaches and engineering projects have been applied to mitigate the degradation of freshwaters. Nevertheless, there is still a lack of comprehensive and systematic research on the ecological corridor restoration of freshwater ecosystems; especially for Suzhou Grand Canal, one section of the world's longest and ancient Grand Canal which is inclined to severe ecosystem degradation. Through investigating the adjacent land use characteristics, habitat quality, vegetation cover, instream water quality, and habitat composition, we aimed to: (i) assess the water quality of the Suzhou Grand Canal; (ii) evaluate the ecological characteristics of the canal ecosystem; (iii) develop strategic countermeasures to restore the ecological corridors for the mitigation of ecological problems. The results demonstrated: a large built area, a smaller ecological zone, a low habitat quality and habitat connectivity, and a high degree of habitat fragmentation within the canal corridor, also a simplified instream habitat composition, and greater nutrient and COD concentrations in the surface water-especially in the upstream and midstream canal. All urbanization-induced multiple stressors, such as land use changes, altered hydrology, and the simplified riparian zone et al., contributed synergistically to the degradation of the canal ecosystem. To alleviate the ecosystem deterioration, three aspects of recommendations were proposed: water pollution control, watershed ecosystem restoration, and ecological network construction. Basically, building a comprehensive watershed ecological network-on the basis of associated ecosystem restoration, and the connection of multi-dimensional ecological corridors-would dramatically increase the maintenance of aquatic-terrestrial system biodiversity, and improve the regional ecological security pattern and watershed resilience toward stochastic future disturbances. This study contributes to the understanding of the ecological challenges and related causes of the canal ecosystem. The integrated strategy introduced in this study provides policymakers, water resource managers, and planners with comprehensive guidelines to restore and manage the ecological corridor of the canal ecosystem. This can be used as a reference in freshwater ecosystems elsewhere, to improve ecosystem stability for supporting the sustainable development of urban ecosystems.

County Ecosystem Health Assessment Based on the VORS Model: A Case Study of 183 Counties in Sichuan Province, China

The scientific assessment of the health level of county ecosystems is the basis for formulating county-based sustainable development strategies. In this paper, we take the county areas of Sichuan Province as the evaluation objects and combine the SDGs (the Sustainable Development Goals) to establish a county ecosystem health evaluation index system based on the VORS (Vigor–Organization–Resilience–Service) model. On this basis, we used the entropy weight method, the Moran index method, and the obstacle degree model to analyze the ecosystem health level, spatial distribution characteristics, and obstacles of 183 counties in Sichuan Province. The main results were as follows: (1) A total of 80.87% of the counties in Sichuan Province were at sub-healthy and healthy levels, concentrated in the southeastern part of Sichuan, and 19.13% of the counties were at an unhealthy level, mainly in the Aba, Ganzi, and Liangshan areas. (2) The health levels of county ecosystems in Sichuan Province had high spatial autocorrelation characteristics. The H–H (High–High) agglomeration area and the L–L (Low–Low) agglomeration area had significant agglomeration characteristics, which were distributed in the Cheng-Mian area and the northwestern Sichuan area, respectively. (3) The key indicators restricting the healthy development of urban ecosystems in Sichuan counties are economic vitality, economic resilience, and quality of life, all of which belong to the economic subsystems, with obstacles reaching 17.25%, 16.68%, and 13.52%, respectively. This study can provide theoretical and methodological support for research into ecosystem health evaluations at the county level, and provide a decision-making basis for promoting the health of county ecosystems and coordinating regional development in Sichuan Province.

THE PHENOMENON OF RESILIENCE AS A COMPONENT OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF URBOECOSYSTEMS

The article is devoted to the study of the phenomenon of sustainability as a component of the development of urban ecosystems. In today's conditions of globalization and hyper-urbanization, ensuring sustainable development and sustainability of the territories of settlements and urban planning systems is becoming particularly relevant, in particular in Ukraine. The priority tasks in the field of urban planning and territorial planning in accordance with the goals of sustainable development for the period 2016-2030 are to ensure the safety, viability and ecological stability of cities and settlements. The main attention is paid to the search for optimal and effective ways of development and functioning of urboecosystems, as a complex problem: natural, social, man-made, security, regulatory and organizational.
 Taking into account the fact that any settlement or settlement system should be considered as a complex ecosystem consisting, first of all, of natural and anthropogenic subsystems, or as a complete living organism, then, in our opinion, such a concept as «resilience» of urban ecosystems.
 The purpose of the article is to substantiate the phenomenon of sustainability of urban ecosystems, as well as the search for effective and modern ways to improve and optimize the environment or increase the sustainability of urban planning systems.
 Our task is to consider the phenomenon of sustainability at the level of the urban ecosystem.
 The relevance of the research is due primarily to the fact that today there is a very urgent need to find optimal and effective ways of development and functioning of urban ecosystems, as a complex problem: man-made, natural, social, security, regulatory and organizational. Achieving safety and sustainable development of cities is a multifaceted concept that involves a safe environment, quality communications and services, affordable housing, convenient urban planning and management, inclusiveness and barrier-freeness.
 The sustainability of urboecosystems should be understood as spatially, socially, economically and ecologically balanced changes of the social-territorial system of the city, aimed at the maximally complete realization of all components of its development potential and prevention of possible trends in the deterioration of the quality of life of the population. The need for in-depth research in the theoretical and methodological aspect of the interpretation of the concepts of "sustainable development" and "sustainability" as a phenomenon of globalization anthropogenic processes in the development of urboecosystems remains very acute and relevant.

Impact of urban expansion on carbon storage under multi-scenario simulations in Wuhan, China.

Carbon storage in terrestrial ecosystems, which is the basis of the global carbon cycle, reflects the changes in the environment due to anthropogenic impacts. Rapid and effective assessment of the impact of urban expansion on carbon reserves is vital for the sustainable development of urban ecosystems. Previous studies on future scenario simulations lacked research regarding the driving factors of changes in carbon storages within urban expansion, and the economic value accounting for changes in carbon storages. Therefore, this study examined Wuhan, China, and explored the latent effects of urban expansion on terrestrial carbon storage by combining the Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Trade-offs (InVEST) and Patch-generating Land Use Simulation (PLUS) model. Based on different socioeconomic strategies, we developed three future scenarios, including Baseline Scenario (BS), Cropland Protection Scenario (CP) and Ecological protection Scenario (EP), to predict the urban built-up land use change from 2015 to 2035 in Wuhan and discussed the carbon storage impacts of urban expansion. The result shows that (1) Wuhan's urban built-up land area expanded 2.67 times between 1980 and 2015, which is approximately 685.17km2 and is expected to continuously expand to 1349-1945.01km2 by 2035. (2) Urban expansion in Wuhan has caused carbon storage loss by 5.12 × 106t during 1980-2015 and will lead to carbon storage loss by 6.15 × 106t, 4.7 × 106t and 4.05 × 106t under BS, CP, and EP scenarios from 2015 to 2035, accounting for 85.42%, 81.74%, and 78.79% of the total carbon loss, respectively. (3) The occupation of cropland by urban expansion is closely related to the road system expansion, which is the main driver of carbon storage reduction from 2015 to 2035. (4) We expect that by 2035, the districts facing carbon loss caused by the growth of urban built-up land will expand outward around secondary roads, and the scale of outward expansion under various scenarios will be ranked as BS > CP > EP. In combination, the InVEST and the PLUS model can assess the impact of urban expansion on carbon storage more efficiently and is conducive to carrying out urban planning and promoting a dynamic balance between urban economic development and human well-being.

Impact of urbanization processes on availability of ecosystem services in National Capital Region of Delhi (1992-2010).

The Southern and Eastern National Capital Region of Delhi is experiencing diversified and expanding urbanization as in million-plus cities of the area the urban sprawl activities are more frequent than the urban densification activities. The progressing sprawl of residential and construction sites is transforming the regional ecosystems and hampering the generation of ecosystem services of fundamental importance, i.e. the benefits and services that we get directly or indirectly from the ecosystem functioning. The Costanza et al., (2014) approach shows that the ecosystem services value has decreased at US$ 56 ha−1 year−1 (0.09% per year) and absolute and cumulative losses are estimated US$ 285.4 ha−1 year−1 and US$ 502.8 ha−1 year−1, respectively. The ecosystem service values assessment shows that the ecosystem services like climate regulation and recreation have increased but food production, genetic resources, water supply, soil formation, raw materials and waste treatment have decreased over the time. The use of alternative ecosystem value coefficient shows that the estimated value of the ecosystem service value changed from a low of 0.005% for 1% change in the value of the forest coefficient, to a high of 0.749% for a 1% change in the value of the agricultural land coefficient. For each land use/land cover category, the sensitivity analysis reflects the inelasticity or robustness of the estimated ecosystem value with respect to the value coefficient. Overall, prioritizing the conservation and enrichment of natural and man-made ecosystems of critical value will lead to sustainable development of urban ecosystems.

RETRACTED ARTICLE: Application of remote sensing and GIS technology in urban ecological environment investigation

The degree of human impact on the environment is closely related to social development. Due to the process of industrialization, economic and social development, and the intensification of human activities, cities are facing serious environmental pollution and ecosystem degradation, which threatens the normal metabolic function and coordinated development of urban ecosystem. These regional ecological and environmental problems seriously threaten the atmosphere, land, and water resources that people rely on for survival and cause great economic losses. The study of the relationship between urbanization and ecological environment is an important part of the study of global environmental change, which is of great significance for the sustainable development of cities and the harmonious development of human and nature. This paper studies the remote sensing image data and night lighting data in the region, and uses appropriate spatial analysis methods in ENVI and GIS to separate the main building areas in the urban center, and quantitatively analyzes the spatial characteristics and the morphological development of urban buildings. Based on GIS and remote sensing technology, combined with pressure state model and analytic hierarchy process, this paper establishes an index system for evaluating urban ecosystem health. Using the method of time, space, quantity, and order of ecological integration, this paper makes a spatial quantitative analysis of geography and obtains the indexes of population disturbance, land reclamation degree, and ecological elasticity. The quantitative measurement of urban population is carried out, and the ecological system, spatial distribution characteristics, and urban evolution law are obtained, as well as the strategies of urban ecosystem in the framework of multi-element communication mechanism.

Land-Based Financing Elements in Infrastructure Policy Formulation: A Case of India

A rapid increase in land and property values has been one of the driving forces of urban ecosystem development in many countries. This phenomenon has presented project proponents/policymakers with multiple options and associated challenges, nudging them to configure or incorporate elements of land-based financing in their policies and legislations. Specifically, the Government of India and various state governments have sought to monetize land through diverse instruments, for augmenting the financial viability of infrastructure and area development projects. This paper compares Indian central and state infrastructure policies/acts with regard to land monetization strategies. The analysis indicates that policies and legislations are taking a turn towards promoting land monetization mechanisms as a financing tool for cities and project implementation agencies. However, the approach is cautiously used and implementation is often seen to fall behind actual project timelines. Based on the findings, key determinants of a successful policy that captures an increase in land values, are identified. The learnings provide useful inputs for states to strengthen their policy documents and legislative/institutional frameworks, for ensuring the effectiveness of land-based financing tools.

Analysis of Volume and Properties of Imported Soils for Prediction of Carbon Stocks in Soil Constructions in the Moscow Metropolis

Development of landscaping in modern cities makes it particularly important to study the properties and functions of artificial soil constructions. Carbon sequestration is one of the main ecological functions of soils, which is actively studied for the soils of natural and agroecosystems but is poorly known for urban and technogenic soils. Anthropogenic impacts are a key factor that influences the formation of carbon stocks in urban soils and, in particular, in soil constructions, characteristic of which is a high and hardly predictable heterogeneity. One of the main factors that determines the carbon pools in the soil constructions of Moscow metropolis is the volume and properties of imported soils. We have analyzed the market of soils supplied to Moscow for landscaping purposes in 2016 and 2017, the sources and volumes of imported soils and their components, their recipes, and properties using the surveys of supplier companies. Based on these data, the predicted average organic carbon stock in the upper (0–10 cm) soil layer is 84 t/ha. A comparison of our estimates and field survey data for a representative sample of Moscow soil monitoring points (n > 190) shows that the prediction gives a 1.5–2.0-fold overestimation. However, a relatively small absolute excess (by 30–40 t/ha) and similar yearly dynamics of the predicted and actual stocks (an increase by 10–14% in 2017 as compared with 2016) confirm the assumption on the decisive role of imported soils in the formation of carbon stocks in the soil constructions of Moscow and emphasize the importance of monitoring and rating of the properties of imported soils as the basis for sustainable development of urban ecosystems.

Easy Ride: A Secure Carpooling Mobile Application for Travellers

The advancement of technology has opened pathways for the rapid development of urban ecosystem. However, the population in urban areas is expected to increase exponentially which may lead to severe mobility problems. Various measures have been implemented by policy makers to mitigate the mobility problems and to provide better transportation facilities to people. Although the efforts are still in infancy stage, they are expected to yield positive results in the long run. In relation to this, the research proposes a mobile application called Easy Ride as an initiative to create an efficient carpooling ecosystem which brings huge advantage to the community in terms of transportation. Connecting people and creating a strong culture of sustainability will be the primary purpose of this application as it serves a path for people to reach out and connect with more travellers. Besides fostering social networks, this application is defined to be cost-effective as it helps the drivers and passengers to share the overall travel expenses. On the other hand, this research describes the agile methodology that has been chosen for the entire development of the application. The system was further tested and validated to determine the efficiency of the overall functionalities and design. The findings indicate that the proposed system has the potential to meet the expectation of the travelers and to enhance their daily lifestyles.

Using Machine Learning Tools to Classify Sustainability Levels in the Development of Urban Ecosystems

Different studies have been carried out to evaluate the progress made by countries and cities towards achieving sustainability to compare its evolution. However, the micro-territorial level, which encompasses a community perspective, has not been examined through a comprehensive forecasting method of sustainability categories with machine learning tools. This study aims to establish a method to forecast the sustainability levels of an urban ecosystem through supervised modeling. To this end, it was necessary to establish a set of indicators that characterize the dimensions of sustainable development, consistent with the Sustainable Development Goals. Using the data normalization technique to process the information and combining it in different dimensions made it possible to identify the sustainability level of the urban zone for each year from 2009 to 2017. The resulting information was the basis for the supervised classification. It was found that the sustainability level in the micro-territory has been improving from a low level in 2009, which increased to a medium level in the subsequent years. Forecasts of the sustainability levels of the zone were possible by using decision trees, neural networks, and support vector machines, in which 70% of the data were used to train the machine learning tools, with the remaining 30% used for validation. According to the performance metrics, decision trees outperformed the other two tools.

Scientific and methodological aspects of assessment of sustainable development of urban ecosystems

Scientific and methodological aspects of assessment of sustainable development of urban ecosystems

A Spatio-Temporal Autowave Model of Shanghai Territory Development

A spatio-temporal model of megacity development that treats the megacity as an active medium is presented. From our point of view, it is advisable to consider the process of urban ecosystem development from the standpoint of the theory of autowave self-organization in active media. According to this concept, the urban ecosystem is considered as interacting with each other’s natural and anthropogenic subsystems with significant heterogeneity of areas affected by human intervention and urban geobiocoenoses. The model is based on the general principles of active medium dynamics; therefore, it is universal for any object to be considered an active medium. The only difference when using the model to predict the development of urban ecosystems in countries with different socio-economic and political prerequisites is the variety of parameters included in the model, i.e., the activation parameter, the autowave process inhibitors, and the characteristic scales of the activator and inhibitor. The model was tested on the example of Moscow expansion in the period of 1952–1968 and showed good agreement with the map data. By means of the model, a prediction of Shanghai and surrounding territory development until 2030 was made.

Individual tree detection from airborne laser scanning data based on supervoxels and local convexity

Precise mapping of urban green spaces is critical for sustainable development of urban ecosystem. LiDAR remote sensing technology has been proved to be valuable for capturing geometrical structure of natural and man-made resources. However, there has been no automatic and operational method to extract individual urban trees. This is largely due to the complexity involved in processing the massive LiDAR point cloud. It has been a challenge to label tree canopy point cloud compared to the point cloud from man-made structures such as buildings. This study proposes an object-based labeling framework for delineating individual tree canopy clusters in urban green spaces from airborne LiDAR point cloud. In addition, to reduce the computational complexity, supervoxels - a computer vision technique, has been applied as a pre-labeling process. The LiDAR point cloud is then semantically labeled using an object-based point cloud labeling framework. Experiments on an airborne LiDAR point cloud of a public park in Bergschen-hoek, Netherlands demonstrate the proposed methodology offers 99% accuracy when compared with the reference individual tree canopies data. The results also indicate the possibility of delineating multiple tree canopies which are overlapped, a situation which often leads to erroneous results from optical imagery. The proposed methodology flow results in a vector shape file as the output with individual tree locations categorized based on elevation.

THE EVALUATION OF ECOSYSTEM HEALTH BASED ON HYBRID TODIM METHOD FOR CHINESE CASE

The health evaluation of urban ecosystem is the need of urban sustainable development and the construction of urban ecological civilization, in order to scientifically evaluate the ecosystem health, in this paper, we establish the mathematical model based on hybrid multiple attributes decision-making. Firstly, we introduce the original city ecosystem health evaluation indexes which reflect on Vitality, Composition Structure, Recovery Capacity, The Ecological System Continually Offering Service Function, Population Health and Ecosystem Cognition ecosystem health. Then in order to obtain the reasonable weights, we integrate the subjective weights by linguistic AHP method and objective weights by deviation maximization method, and get the combined weights for city ecosystem health evaluation indexes. Further, according to the characteristics of the different indexes, we propose an extended TODIM method to evaluate the city ecosystem health in which the indexes take the form of real number, interval number, and probabilistic linguistic term set. Moreover, with respect to the evaluation values of city ecosystem health in Jinan from 2011 to 2015, this paper evaluates the health status of Jinan ecological system, and analyzes the role of various indicators in the process of city ecological development. Result shows that: (1) Jinan ecosystem health status remained at the sub-health state from 2011 to 2015, and the ecological situation is not optimistic. (2) Prominent problems restricting are lack of investment in environmental protection efforts, increasing pollutant emissions, and imperfect industrial structure. To solve the problems in the healthy development of Jinan urban ecosystem, this paper puts forward corresponding countermeasures and suggestions to improve the healthy development of urban ecosystem.