Scholarly record
ASSESSING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN UKRAINIAN TERRITORIAL COMMUNITIES USING SATELLITE DATA
Abstract
The article presents the probability of degradation processes using remote sensing data on the example of the Kryvyi Rih Ukrainian test polygon, a territory with high anthropogenic impact. The probable changes in the state of the natural environment caused by degradation processes are analyzed across 17 amalgamated territorial communities within the Ukrainian test polygon. The territorial communities were ranked according to the values of the land degradation index used in the EWALD project based on the standard deviation (σ) criterion. For the land degradation index (LDI) used in this study, the minimum value corresponds to the highest state of degradation, and the maximum index value corresponds to the minimum state of degradation. It was found that urban territorial communities are the most degraded, with a land degradation index ranging from 0.5 to 0.8. Rural and settlement communities are less degraded; their index values exceed 0.8. The values of the land degradation index were compared with the total income and population of the amalgamated territorial communities of Ukraine. An inverse relationship was identified between the values of the land degradation index and the economic development of the amalgamated territorial communities of Ukraine. With a decrease in the values of the land degradation index used in this study (i.e., an increase in the degradation process), the economic development of the amalgamated territorial communities increases. The Kryvyi Rih industrial-urban community is the most degraded and demonstrates the highest level of economic development. The revealed relationship between the economic development of territories and the land degradation index will enable us to focus on and modernize the population's economic activities, thereby preventing and halting degradation processes at the initial stages of development.
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