GEODYNAMICS

Abstract

The article presents the analysis and monitoring of land-use/land cover (LULC) changes considering the case study of Stebnyk, Lviv region, Ukraine, as an area of increased anthropogenic hazard impact (characterized by the karst sinkholes creation which is the result of extracting the potassium salt from underground mines and the violation of their conservation). The extraction was carried out without backfilling the underground excavations, resulting in the void formation of about 33 million m3 lying under the residential sector and road infrastructure, and could potentially be the site of future landslides/sinkholes that threaten the inhabitants and landscape ecosystem of the region as a whole. The research is based on Landsat 7 and 8 satellite images (made in February 2002 and December 2019, respectively), and ETM+ (Enhanced Thematic Mapper) data. Supervised classification conducted by maximum likelihood method was used to identify and analyze the spatial and temporal LULC changes on the territory divided into four classes. Vegetation indices NDVI have been calculated, analyzed and featured for further supervised classification. The accuracy of the obtained data had been improved by raster image filtering. A post-classification comparison approach was used to analyze LULC changes over the research period. It was established that for the period 2002-2019 the built-up area has increased by 5.61%, and the areas of forests and fields have decreased by 2.77% and 2.36%, respectively. The area of water bodies has undergone the least changes (+0.37%). The accuracy estimation of carried out classifications showed that the classification based on RGB images is more accurate than the classification based on the NDVI; the filtered classification showed more accurate results for most classes, than the unfiltered one. LULC monitoring for balanced regional, local and national development, as well as territorial planning, is a new area of the application of the Earth remote sensing (ERS) data in Ukraine. It allows assessing the state of the geocomponents system and predicting their further changes. The study of anthropogenic activity makes it possible to predict dangerous technogenic processes and thus avoid or reduce their consequences. The results of the research can be used as a basis for further monitoring of the Stebnyk region. They will also be useful to territorial communities for harmonious, sustainable development and land management of the studied area.