Application of the NDVI-analysis method to assess the eff ectiveness of noise protection of highway green spaces

Abstract

The aim of the study is to evaluate the role of green spaces as one of the factors of acoustic load reduction in residential areas near highways by analyzing the values of normalized vegetation index (NDVI) and the level of noise impact. Materials and Methods. The Earth remote sensing (ERS) method, in particular, NDVI analysis and correlation analysis to investigate the relationship between NDVI-index, green space width and equivalent noise level near highways were used to determine the area characteristics of green spaces in the urban district of the city of Voronezh. Results and discussion. It is established that the area of green areas for the city of Voronezh is more than 311 m2 /person, however, the obtained values are determined without taking into account the peculiarities of the location of residential development on the territory of the urban district. Signifi cant exceeding of the normative area of green areas is caused by the location of forest areas (Voronezh Highland Oak Forest, Shilovsky Forest, etc.) located at a considerable distance from the settlements on the territory of the urban district. Analysis of the correlation between NDVI index, green belt width and noise level showed that the extent of green belt has a high degree of correlation with equivalent noise level (r = -0.74). Conclusion. The application of NDVI index to estimate the area of green areas is eff ective for analyzing the acoustic impact of highways on the urban environment. An inversely proportional relationship between the width of green spaces and the equivalent noise level has been established, refl ecting the high importance of the vegetation cover of the city in the formation of the acoustic regime of the territory.